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BlackBerry Ltd.’s new interim chief executive and executive chair is worth a lot to the struggling smartphone manufacturer – enough to warrant up to US$3-million in yearly salary, and a signing bonus based on Thursday’s share price worth US$85-million in stock.

John Chen officially joined the company on Nov. 4 as part of a larger deal with Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd that would make BlackBerry the recipient of a US$1-billion cash injection, abandoning a previous bid that would have taken the company private for US$4.7-billion, or US$9 per share.

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Instead, Fairfax is working with other investors to purchase convertible debentures, and in the process, announced former CEO Thorsten Heins would be stepping down.

BlackBerry’s shares were down 2.33%, or US$0.15, to US$6.51 at the close in New York.

The latest details on the Waterloo, Ont.-based company’s transition were found in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made public on Thursday, where it was also revealed that Fairfax has found partners for its funding deal.