GLENCORE is considering changes to CEO Gary Nagle’s pay package that would allow his long-term share awards to vest sooner if the commodities group were taken over, the Financial Times reported.
The miner is consulting shareholders on a new remuneration deal for Nagle, who has led Glencore since 2021.
Under the proposal, his shares would vest if Glencore were acquired and he were replaced as CEO. A portion of the awards would still remain subject to restrictions preventing their sale for several years. The final details are still being worked out.
The proposal has attracted attention after Glencore and Rio Tinto held talks earlier this year about a $260bn merger. Those discussions collapsed over valuation differences and questions about management of the combined group.
One investor told the FT the proposed change could revive speculation about a transaction because it specifically addresses what would happen to Nagle’s pay in a takeover.
Most of Nagle’s remuneration comes through a “career shares award”. He received about $2m in basic salary this year, with long-term incentives taking total pay to $7.5m.
Glencore’s board awarded him shares worth 512.5% of salary, or 97.6% of the maximum available. The company is now proposing to raise the current 525% upper limit by slightly more than 10%.
It is also considering a modest inflation-linked increase to Nagle’s fixed pay, unchanged at $2m for three years.
The talks come as Glencore’s shares have risen about 28% this year. Nagle said last week that 2027 could bring strong shareholder payouts, with Glencore in advanced talks over two multibillion-dollar asset sales and its trading division expecting a strong year.