LONDON: Former British prime minister Tony Blair is to be paid nearly $1 million –£620,000 – for just three hours of work last week, when he helped broker the world’s biggest corporate takeover.
Blair was drafted into a late-night meeting at Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair, central London, between Ivan Glasenberg, the £4 billion tycoon who runs the commodities giant Glencore, and Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani.The men had reached an impasse over Glencore’s plans to merge with Xstrata, the £30 billion mining company.
Qatar, Xstrata’s biggest investor, vowed to vote against it unless Glasenberg increased his offer. Sources close to the deal say that Glasenberg appealed to Blair to intervene just hours before the shareholder vote on Friday. He mediated a three-hour discussion at Claridge’s until after midnight. On Friday, Glencore unveiled an improved bid to cement the creation of a natural resource giant. – Dailytimes
