Anglo American abandons multimillion-pound CEO bonuses tied to Teck merger after investor backlash
The London-listed mining titan Anglo American has ditched plans to pay its top executives hefty bonuses if its proposed $50 billion merger with Canadian peer Teck Resources goes ahead. The decision follows strong pushback from shareholders.
Previously, the FTSE 100 company sought approval to award its chief executive, Duncan Wanblad, a share bonus worth £8.5 million should the Teck deal close and create a global copper powerhouse. Other senior leaders would have benefited from updated long-term awards dating back to 2024 and 2025, guaranteeing at least 62.5% of their share awards upon completion of the merger.
Anglo argued that pay structures must be “fully aligned to … a successful delivery of the merger,” noting that achieving this would require exceptional performance from the group’s senior management. The plan also aimed to help retain top executives through a period of significant transition.
However, on Monday the company revealed that investors had raised several concerns, leading to the decision to drop the plan.
The reversal comes after influential voices criticized the proposed bonuses. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), while recommending support for the merger, cautioned that tying variable incentives to the completion of transactions is not best practice and that the proposed payout was overly generous relative to other performance metrics.
Anglo said it would continue engaging with shareholders on director pay ahead of next year’s annual general meeting.
This U-turn comes just ahead of the votes from Anglo and Teck investors on the merger, which, if approved, would create one of the world’s largest copper producers. The deal would rank among the mining industry’s biggest ever collaborations; the record is the Glencore-Xstrata merger valued at about $90 billion in 2013.
If the merger proceeds, it would signal a substantial bet on copper amid rising demand for the metal in low-carbon technologies like solar farms and electric vehicles.
Market response showed a cautious tone: Anglo American’s shares slipped about 0.9% in early trading, though they remain up more than 40% for the year.
