The saga of the former Marconi pension fund looked set to be resolved today as Telent, the rump of the fallen telecoms giant, agreed a £398 million sale to a specialist pensions management group run by Edmund Truell.

Mike Parton, Telent's former chief executive, is in line for a payout of at least £4.5 million if the deal completes by the end of October, thanks to a clause in his contract. Mr Parton,left after a proposed sale collapsed late last year.

The chances of Mr Truell's Pension Corporation winning Telent - and its £3 billion pension fund - were further boosted after it agreed to buy a 26 per cent stake from Polygon, the hedge fund that is the group's largest shareholder.

Polygon controversially thwarted a £346 million planned sale to Fortress, the hedge fund investment group, late last year.

Fortress had offered 529.5p a share but walked away after its offer was voted down by shareholders.

Polygon is understood to retain a holding of about 3 per cent.

Pension Corp, which recently bought the Threshers and Thorn pension schemes, has offered 600p a share to take control of both the pension fund and Telent's operating company. This represents a premium of 18 per cent to last night's closing price for Telent of 510p.

The scheme has about 62,000 members.

Pension Corp said the current management team at Telent, led by Mark Plato, would stay on and run the firm as a technology business in the future.

"Pension Corporation believes that there is a benefit to Telent's operating business being allowed to develop away from the public markets," the specialist fund said. Mr Truell is the former chairman of private equity group Duke Street.

The fund, which has set up a specialist vehicle known as "Co-investment No 5" for the deal, is backed by big financial players including Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Swiss Re and JC Flowers, the private equity group.

It specialises in buying up final salary pension schemes and managing their liabilities more effectively.

Telent shares soared almost 15 per cent to 586p, but remained below the 600p offer price amid suggestions Fortress was unlikely to return to the fray.

Lazard, the investment bank, is advising Telent, while Merrill Lynch advised the Pension Corporation.

Today's deal appears to mark the final chapter in the troubled history of Marconi and its predecessor GEC.

Telent picked up the scheme along with some of Marconi's telecom assets in 2005, when Swedish mobile handset maker Ericsson brought the majority of the group. Telent has about 2,000 staff and annual revenues of more than £300 million.

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