Bond 'ignores" Xstrata shareholders in £29m pay row Their line is they wouldn't have agreed to a deal without a retention package. Our argument is you've got to put performance conditions in place. But he didn't say 'Ok, we'll think about it. It was very much thanks, but no. His concerns came as Andrew Keen, HSBC's global head of metals and mining research, said he believed a change was likely before the shareholder vote on July 12. He said the executive retention package could be "de-linked" from the merger vote, but also raised the prospect of the 2.8 Glencore share to 1 Xstrata share merger deal being improved. "If the deal is unchanged, we believe a no vote is likely, given the concerns above, and argue that it is not the completely unthinkable option for medium to longer-term investors suggested by some," he wrote. His comments are all the more significant given HSBC was one of the banks which advised Glencore on its £37bn float in May 2011. Sources close to Xstrata indicated, however, that there have been more than 300 meetings with shareholders since the deal was first announced, led by Sir John and members of the board as well as its investor relations team. Another adviser pointed out that without Mr Davis in position, the merger would simply amount to a nil-premium merger of Xstrata by Glencore, with the latter's management in pole position.