Glencore-Xstrata merger vote ‘delayed’

A shareholder vote to seal the proposed multi-million dollar merger of Swiss commodity giants Glencore and Xstrata has been pushed back to September, press reports said yesterday.

Shareholder meetings have been postponed from mid-July amid negotiations between Glencore and Qatar Holding, one of Xstrata’s largest shareholders, the Financial Times said.

A Glencore spokesman declined to comment when contacted.

Mining group Xstrata will this week publish revised terms of the deal, according to the British daily, which cited three people familiar with the case.

In February, commodities trader Glencore and Xstrata formalised a highly anticipated deal to create a raw materials juggernaut with a market capitalisation of $90 billion (€72 billion). Glencore is offering 2.8 of its shares per Xstrata share.

However, Qatar Holding, which holds a 10.98 per cent stake in Xstrata, announced at the end of June that an exchange ratio of 3.25 Glencore shares “would provide a more appropriate distribution of benefits of the merger while properly recognising the intrinsic stand-alone value of Xstrata”.