GENEVA: The long-awaited merger between Swiss commodities trader Glencore and mining giant Xstrata was completed yesterday and the new company will be listed on stock exchanges in London and Hong Kong, it said.
As of yesterday, “the entire issued ordinary share capital of Xstrata is owned by the Glencore Group,” the new company said in a statement, adding that the company’s new joint name “is expected to become effective in Jersey later today”.
Glencore Xstrata thus takes the stage alongside leading global commodities companies such as BHP Billiton, Vale and Rio Tinto.
Trading in the new Glencore Xstrata shares will begin in London on May 3 starting at 0800 GMT, while Hong Kong trading of the shares will start at 0130 GMT on May 6, it said.
At the same time, Xstrata will be delisted from the London stock exchange today and from the Swiss stock exchange on Monday.
Shareholders will receive 3.05 new Glencore shares for each of the shares they currently hold, said the new company, which now counts Xstrata’s former non-executive director John Bond as its chairman.
Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg will wear the same hat in the new company.
Glencore and Xstrata’s shareholders had voted in favour of the merger last November, with a view to sealing the deal by the end of 2012. That target was pushed back to March 15, before again being shifted due to delays in China’s regulatory approval, which finally came through last month.
Glencore detailed the combined group’s new management to employees. A source familiar with the company said Telis Mistakidis, Glencore’s veteran head of copper, would lead both trading and industrial operations for the red metal within the combined group. Glencore’s head of oil, Alex Beard, and its head of agricultural products, Chris Mahoney, will keep their roles in the combined group.
In coal, Glencore’s Tor Peterson will lead trading operations while Xstrata’s Peter Freyberg — the only divisional manager from Xstrata to come over to the combined group — will take on coal mining, the source said.
In zinc, another key commodity for the combined group, Glencore’s Daniel Mate will run trading, while the mining operations will be run by Glencore’s Chris Eskdale.
Earlier, in a letter to employees, Glencore lauded its success in combining the two companies but also pointed to more staff and asset shake-ups ahead. “We see scope to improve the efficiency of the group and optimise the combined asset portfolio and growth pipeline for the benefit of all stakeholders,” Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg said.
AFP/Reuters
