Listing will make billionaires of top staff at Swiss giant Glencore

Five Glencore executives are set to see their personal wealth rocket into the billions when the Swiss commodities giant lists later this month.

The figures emerged as the trader laid the ground for a strong market debut yesterday with a pricing range of £4.80 to £5.80 ($10 to $12) a share, which, assuming the stock is ultimately priced at the mid-point, values the business at nearly £37 billion.

Conditional trading is set to begin on May 19, with the company on track to secure a berth in the FTSE 100 index.

The dual London and Hong Kong float could see chief executive Ivan Glasenberg end up with a 15.8 per cent stake worth £5.8 billion, catapulting the publicity-shy former coal trader into the ranks of the world's super rich.

Glencore's prospectus also showed that the heads of its zinc, copper and lead businesses, Daniel Badenes and Aritotelis Mistakidis, could end up with shareholdings worth more than £2 billion each, while Tor Peterson, the head of Glencore's coal and coke department, could end up sitting on a stake worth about £1.9 billion. Alex Beard, who runs the firm's oil arm, could be in line for a 4.6 per cent stake worth £1.7 billion. Chief financial officer Steven Kalmin, who will own 1 per cent immediately following admission, will have a stake worth around £370 million. The figures assume that stock is priced at the mid-point, and are subject to other moving parts, including that the over-allotment option is not exercised. The shareholdings are also subject to certain lock-up arrangements.

Alongside figures on major shareholders, the hitherto secretive trading house also published pay details for its revamped board.

Glasenberg and Kalmin are on annual salaries of £925,000 and £700,000 respectively, while the non-executive chairman Simon Murray's yearly fees stand at £675,000. Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of BP, is being paid £158,000 a year as Glencore's senior non-executive director. He is also on a number of board committees, including the trading giant's environment health and safety committee.

Historically, Glencore has been entirely owned by its employees. By pricing the offering at a lower level than anticipated by some analysts, it was seen as paving the way for a strong performance after its initial public offering, something that would make sense given that the vast majority of the listed firm will remain in the hands of employees.

The float is backed by a number of cornerstone investors, who between them will take up about 31 per cent of total offer.

The list features the likes of Abu Dhabi's Aabar Investments, which will plough US$850 million ($1 billion) into the IPO, and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, which has committed US$400 million.

THE GLENCORE FIVE

The Swiss commodities trader lists on the FTSE 100 index this month, with a market value of $77 billion. Here is what the stakes of its key players are expected to be worth:

* Ivan Glasenberg: $12.1 billion

* Daniel Badenes: $4.2 billion

* Aritotelis Mistakidis: $4.2 billion

* Tor Peterson: $4 billion

* Alex Beard: $3.5 billion

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