Glencore gets a green light in Hong Kong April 3, 2011 HONG Kong has given Glencore permission for the Asian leg of its float, according to sources close to the commodities giant. The commodities and trading giant, which is valued at $60bn (£37bn), received a letter on Friday giving it the go-ahead for its Hong Kong listing as part of a dual London-Hong Kong listing plan [...]
Rusal trebles profits after bumper year March 31, 2011 RUSAL, the world’s top aluminium maker, said its 2010 net profit more than tripled, beating forecasts, and expects strong global demand for the light metal to continue this year. RUSAL shares rose more than four per cent to their highest level in more than a month, outperforming a 0.4 per cent rise in the broader [...]
June IPO planned for SUEK March 30, 2011 RUSSIAN coal giant SUEK is planning a $1bn (£623m) float in London by the end of June, City A.M. has learned. The float is being shopped around some of the world’s biggest investors in commodities during pre-marketing meetings in London, with BlackRock and Renaissance Capital having been approached. The deal, which is being led by [...]
Goldman gets off to a slow start in the M&A leagues March 28, 2011 Maybe it just says something about the company I’m keeping but I’ve recently been drawn into countless discussions about the relative underperformance of Goldman Sachs in the latest Thomson Reuters mergers and acquisitions (M&A) rankings. In the worldwide category, Goldman, normally such a predictable M&A machine, slumped from first to fourth. In M&A with a [...]
ENRC profits double on production rises March 23, 2011 KAZAKH miner ENRC met forecasts with full-year underlying profit that more than doubled, on record production and demand recovery, and said the global economic outlook was still improving. “We remain positive on the group’s prospects for 2011, although the control of costs growth and the development of our assets in Africa will be important issues [...]
Glencore close to hiring eight banks for float March 22, 2011 GLENCORE, the Swiss commodity trading giant, is close to hiring eight banks to supervise its planned multi-billion-dollar London and Hong Kong listing, a person familiar with the matter said. Glencore, valued earlier this year by one analyst at about $60bn (£36.7bn), is continuing to prepare for what could be a record London initial public offering [...]
Gem shares sparkle on Lucara talks March 21, 2011 RARE diamond producer Gem is in early-stage takeover talks with Africa-focused rival Lucara Diamond, it confirmed yesterday. London-listed Gem, which told investors last week it was eyeing acquisitions for growth, said any deal would currently be classed as a reverse takeover because recent reserve statements show its assets to be lower than Lucara’s. But Gem [...]
ISS pulls its £1.6bn float March 17, 2011 DANISH outsourcing firm ISS pulled its listing plans at the eleventh hour in a dramatic turnaround last night. The highly anticipated £1.55bn float in Copenhagen was to be one of Europe’s biggest this year and its cancellation is a major setback for ISS’s equity-holders. It is 55 per cent owned by EQT and 45 per [...]
Xstrata board change clears Glencore path March 7, 2011 MINING group Xstrata has sought to put clear water between its board and commodity trader Glencore’s by choosing banking veteran Sir John Bond as its next chairman, though the miner has hinted that its long-term future is in a merger between the two firms. Sir John will take the job in May when sitting chairman [...]
Sir John prolongs his stay in the City with mining role March 7, 2011 SIR John Bond, one-time chairman of HSBC and outgoing chairman of Vodafone, hopes to extend his stay in the FTSE 100 after agreeing to chair mining group Xstrata. Sir John, aged 70, has wasted no time, joining Xstrata’s board as a consultant with immediate effect ahead of his departure from Vodafone in July. Sir John [...]