Xstrata races to persuade investors on Glencore deal
MINING giant Xstrata has redoubled its efforts to get investors onside for its merger with commodities titan Glencore.
The board of Xstrata, which will put the latest version of the tie-up to shareholders on 20 November, took out advertisements over the weekend to publicly repeat its enthusiasm for the deal.
With proxy voting on the merger closing on Friday, London-listed Xstrata is racing to persuade investors that the offer from Glencore, which was sweetened in October, will be worthwhile.
Glencore has offered 3.05 new shares per Xstrata share, up from the 2.8 it offered in February.
Qatar Holdings, Xstrata’s second biggest shareholder after Glencore, has not yet declared which way it will vote. The sovereign wealth fund helped scupper the original offer in June by demanding a share ratio of 3.25.
Last week shareholder body Pirc recommended that its members vote against the deal over concerns that board members will not be independent enough.
But Scottish Widows on Friday came out in support of the merger and its payouts for top staff.
Glencore and Xstrata were forced to separate out a vote on retention packages, after some shareholders revolted over the terms and requirement to approve the pay packets as part of the merger.