A near-€6 million deal is likely to be seen a small price to pay by Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann and five other defendants to walk from a second trial over allegations that €60 million of bonuses were illegally awarded to Mannesmann executives during the 2000 takeover by Vodafone which ranked then among the biggest corporate deals.
There will be no judgement of whether the six defendants were guilty. All have vigorously denied the breach of trust charges against them. A court will need to approve the agreement next week.
The draft structure will be based on earnings and will see €5.8 million being paid to a charity named by the court. Mr Ackermann, whose €12 million-a-year salary drew a gasp from the court when revealed earlier in the proceedings, will pay €3.2 million.
Mr Ackerman told the court last month that the bonuses he endorsed served as special compensation for extraordinary performances in the past. For Vodafone there is no such compensation. It is still paying the price for the deal.
The performance of Mannesmann since its purchase contributed to the £23 billion which the telecoms giant has written off against the German and Italian business and which helped Vodafone record the largest loss in UK corporate history.