Marconi bosses pocket big bonuses

MARCONI's top brass secured a further £18m in bonuses, including £8.6m for chief executive Mike Parton, after striking a deal to sell the technology group's main US operations.

Their bonuses come on top of the £4.4m directors pocketed last month.

The North American network access operation is being sold to Advanced Fibre Communications for £135m cash. Parton called it 'a reasonable price' and noted the division has moved from loss to profit in 18 months.

The cash allows Marconi to pay off debts from last year's financial restructuring.

With the shares up 20p to 617p, it leaves the company's market value above £1bn. These two achievements trigger huge windfalls in free shares, to be handed over in stages over two years.

Parton has now secured £15m in bonuses. He will collect another 1m free shares if the shares top 750p, valuing the group at £1.5bn.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for the man who emerged from obscurity 18 months ago. He inherited the top job when the group's crisis forced the ousting of his predecessor Lord Simpson, chief architect of the former GEC's woes.

Marconi shares have risen from 270p since emerging from May's £4bn debt-forequity swap.

Tech stocks are back in fashion and the group has worked hard to slash costs. But Parton has cooled the more euphoric hopes for a return to the boom years. 'Conditions have stabilised,' he said.