Tata: Right strategy

London, Oct. 22: Thousands of Corus steelworkers are in line for windfalls of around £5,000 each from the £4.3 billion sale of the Anglo-Dutch company to India’s Tata Steel.

Many Corus workers, including hundreds at the company’s Port Talbot plant in south Wales, took advantage of the share ownership scheme, buying up to £150 worth of shares a month with a “no lose” guarantee. Some bought shares as low as 19 pence each.

The prospect of a payout was not enough to ease concerns of job cuts among the company’s 3,000 workers at Port Talbot where steel has been produced since 1920. Gareth Mills, who has contracted for Corus for seven years, said: “We are all very worried, there are lots of rumours going around. As a contractor you are out first. The Indians can get the raw materials cheaper, there would be no point in keeping the heavy end open.”

Tata group chairman Ratan Tata, however, insisted that “the deal is based on a strategy for growth”. He added: “Our offer for Corus is not based on an opportunistic strategy.”

CEO gain

Philippe Varin, the chief executive of Corus, stands to net more than £13 million if the deal goes through, adds PTI.

The Frenchman joined the Anglo-Dutch steel-maker three years ago when its shares were a fraction of last week's recommended 455 pence-a-share bid. He would scoop around £5 million from performance-related options early as a result of the Tata deal, according to The Independent daily.

Varin has a personal holding of just under 1.8 million shares, worth £8.2 million if Corus is taken out at 455 pence, according to the company’s annual report.

He is also in line to receive another £5 million next year because of Corus's improved financial performance this year. That could take his total payout up to £18 million.

Corus chairman Jim Leng, who recruited Varin, justified his highly incentivised pay package.

“He took an enormous risk (joining Corus). We had a competitive package to get the right man,” he said.