Pre-market trading started yesterday (19-05-11), but full market trading to start next week, Tuesday as it now stands (could change). 530p the float price.

Chart to come when I get it, and any other updates/corrections that I happen to spot.

..Glencore and Xstrata unveil $90bn merger

By Martin Strydom | Telegraph – 28 minutes ago

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Miner Xstrata and trading house Glencore have unveiled a $90bn (£56.9bn) merger to create the world's fourth largest natural resources company.

Glencore, which owns 34pc of Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) , has offered 2.8 shares for each Xstrata share.

The deal is a 15pc premium to Xstrata's share price of £11.19½ on February 1, and values the miner at £12.90 a share, or £39.1bn.

Glencore shareholders will own 55pc of the combined group, with Xstrata shareholders holding the rest of the new company which will be named Glencore Xstrata International.

Xstrata chief executve Mick Davis takes up the same role in the enlarged group and opposite number at Glencore, Ivan Glasenberg, will be deputy chief executive.

Mr Davis said in a statement : "Our industry landscape is evolving ever faster. Sources of supply are diverging from traditional mining regions to more complex and disparate locations, with a range of new industry participants seeking access to markets.

"At the same time, demand growth has shifted from Europe (Chicago Options: ^REURUSD - news) , Japan (EUREX: FMJP.EX - news) and the US, to emerging Asian economies. The commodities value chain is becoming longer and more complex, creating opportunities for a company that can pre-emptively participate at every stage. Glencore Xstrata would be well positioned to do just that, creating value from resource extraction to customer sales and services, at a time when demand for our combined products continues to grow."

The company will have combined reveneus of more that $200bn and it will be a global leader in export thermal coal, ferrochrome and integrated zinc production, the third largest producer of copper growing into the largest independent producer within four years, and fourth largest producer of nickel.

Operations and project will cover 33 countries, 101 mines and more than 50 metallurgical facilities and have around 130,000 employees.

The group believes increased scale will lessen risk, lower capital costs, and enable it to take part consolidation in the industry.

Mr Glasenberg, who holds a $9.6bn stake in Glencore, said: "We have a fantastic opportunity to create a new powerhouse in the global commodities industry ... This is a natural merger which will realise immediate and ongoing value ... but the opportunity is even greater than that."

Glencore Xstrata will be listed in London and Hong Kong and have its headquarters in Switzerland. It will continue to be incorporated in Jersey.

Some Xstrata shareholders have said the merger represented a better deal for Glencore, whose 12 top executives own 31pc of the company.

Besides shareholders, the two companies also have to persuade competition authorities especially in Europe to allow the deal to go ahead.

Xstrata chairman Sir John Bond will continue in that role in the enlarged company. The finance director's post will be taken up by Trevor Reid, the current Xstrata chief financial officer. Steven Kalmin, the Glencore CFO, will be his deputy.

On Monday Xstrata shares slipped 1.7pc, while Glencore lost 4.5pc. Over the past month Glencore shares jumped 24pc and Xstrata's surged more than 30pc on hopes of a merger.

The new mining-to-commodities giant

Liberum note on the merger:
"The much-anticipated ‘merger of equals’ between Glencore ans Xstrata has been announced this morning.
We think the key points are 1) the price has been confirmed at 2.8x Glencore shares per Xstrata share, equivalent to a 20% market cap premium 2) Key managerial positions will be held by Xstrata executives with Mick Davis CEO, Trevor Reid CFO and John Bond as Chairman and 3) Synergies have been flagged at $500m which are predominantly marketing, we think this is conservative.
With Xstrata getting the three top jobs and a small premium we fail to see how Xstrata shareholders have come out poorly here. They gain access to some very fast growing assets and a world class trading platform and the shareholder tensions that have dogged the company since the failed sale to Vale in 2008 have been killed once and for all. For Glencore, it looks to be an almost accretive deal and strategically completes their move from the private world. Using the flagged $500m in EBITDA synergies we estimate the deal will be 4% dilutive for Glencore shareholers on 2012 EPS, but 23% accretive for Xstrata shareholders. As such, we think only a marginal bump would be palatable to Glencore shareholders and therefore see Glencore as the lower risk entry point into the deal given the asymmetric downside under a deal-break scenario.
A done deal? On these terms and team composition we feel the deal will be passed by Xstrata shareholders.
Voting it down is simply too destructive – shareholders would get no synergies, no premium and be left with two big problems a) what to do with management (the logic of “back or sack” implies succession/leadership issues). b) how resolve a heightened problem with its biggest shareholder Glencore. With the leak marking up both shares to an extent the market has already ‘approved’ of this deal."

By Rachel Cooper | Telegraph – 8 minutes ago
Xstrata was amongst the sharpest fallers on a weaker benchmark index after its merger with Glencore received a mixed reaction.

With two of the top ten shareholders in Xstrata saying on Tuesday that they would vote against a takeover by commodities trader, Glencore , the miner slipped 2.8pc. Glencore, however, gained 0.5pc.

Standard Life Investments, the fourth largest investor in Xstrata, and Schrodershead of UK equities said the deal to buy the remaining 66pc of Xstrata for $41bn undervalued their shares.

I think this cannot go down much further. Recovery should come soon.

..Glencore bidding for grain handler Viterra - report

Reuters – 1 hour 0 minutes ago
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REUTERS - Commodities and mining giant Glencore has made a 3.5 billion pound (US$5.5 billion) approach for Canada's biggest grain handler Viterra, Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper said on its website on Saturday.

The London-based paper did not cite sources, but said it understood that Glencore had made an approach to Viterra, which triggered a statement by Viterra on Friday that it had received expressions of interest from third parties.

Shares of Viterra spiked 24 percent in Toronto on Friday after a brief trading halt, during which the company disclosed interest from parties it did not name. Viterra's market cap soared to more than C$5 billion (US$5.05 billion) with the stock surge.

Viterra is one of three big grain handlers in Canada - along with privately held Richardson International Limited and Cargill - and the only one that is publicly traded. Interest in the company comes as the Canadian government moves to eliminate the Canadian Wheat Board's 69-year-old wheat and barley marketing monopoly in Western Canada on August 1, 2012.

That change will eventually add C$40 million to C$50 million to Viterra's annual earnings, the company has said, as it can buy wheat and barley directly from farmers for the first time.

Canada is the leading exporter of spring wheat, durum, canola and oats.

Viterra also owns grain handling assets in South Australia.

Viterra representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

A Glencore spokesman declined to comment, according to the Telegraph.

Glencore is also attempting a $36 billion merger with mining group Xstrata, and has expressed interest in buying U.S. energy and grains trader Gavilon Group, according to a source familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Humm 400p.

..Pressure lifts on Glencore as Xstrata shares tumble

By Emma Rowley | Telegraph – 6 minutes ago

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The pressure on commodity giant Glencore to raise its offer for miner Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) is decreasing as Xstrata shares traded at their lowest level in relation to Glencore’s since the companies’ planned £50bn-plus merger was announced.

Swiss-based Glencore has offered 2.8 of its shares for each one held by Xstrata shareholders, many of whom have complained the deal undervalues their company.

But wider economic fears are now driving markets. Xstrata on Friday closed at 914.7p and Glencore at 345.35p, signalling each Xstrata share was changing hands for less than 2.65 of Glencore’s share price the lowest ratio since the deal was announced on February 7.

“Trading is being driven by wider macro [economic] concerns,” said one analyst who asked not to be named. “But if the ratio persists and macro worries stay, Xstrata shareholders may decide that offer looks better than at the time of the deal.”

Another analyst said the offer now looks “at the higher end” in comparison to the trading ratio: “Glencore don’t need to bump [their offer].”

Both FTSE 100 resource companies have been hit by the sell-off in the mining sector amid growing economic concerns stoked by the eurozone crisis.

But Glencore, which floated in London and Hong Kong in May last year, is thought to be somewhat protected by the small size of its free float, which makes it harder to short its stock. It is also supported by buying from index tracker funds which need to raise their stakes in the FTSE’s new arrival.

Xstrata meanwhile tends to underperform its sector during a downturn.

Documents detailing the deal are due to be sent to shareholders before the end of this month. Company watchers say Xstrata’s management could come in for criticism, as the papers are expected to reveal chief executive Mick Davis’s new pay package as head of the combined group.

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Link not live mn.. it must be live -):

There you go then Glencore protests at nationalisation of Bolivia mine :-)

That's better.. I thank you -):

.

I blame Stan! :-)

Oh no not.. agaaaain -):

..Glencore and Xstrata merger close to collapse as Qataris oppose deal

By Alistair Osborne | Telegraph – 28 minutes ago


The $65bn (£41.6bn) mega-merger between commodities giant Glencore and miner Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) was close to collapse last night after Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund said it would oppose the deal.

In a shock announcement, Qatar Holdings, Xstrata’s second biggest shareholder with almost 11pc, said that while it saw “merit in a combination of the two companies, it is seeking improved merger terms”.

Qatar was widely thought to be ready to back a deal which has already infuriated some shareholders. But its opposition is expected to sound the death-knell for the merger as it currently stands.

Roughly a quarter of Xstrata shareholders are now ranged against the deal, which requires 75pc approval. As Glencore cannot vote its 34pc stake in Xstrata, meaning a no-vote from 16.75pc of investors is enough to sink it.

Ivan Glasenberg, Glencore's chief executive, had offered 2.8 of the company’s shares for each one of Xstrata’s and had calculated he could ride out shareholder opposition from vocal opponents of the deal, including Schroders (Berlin: PYX.BE - news) and Standard Life (Other OTC: SLFPF.PK - news) .

However, the Qataris said last night that they believed “an exchange ratio of 3.25 new Glencore shares for every one existing Xstrata share would provide a more appropriate distribution of benefits of the merger whilst properly recognising the intrinsic stand-alone value of Xstrata”.

Opposition from the Qataris gives Mr Glasenberg little choice but to dig deeper and re-cut the terms of the deal or walk away.

Many Xstrata investors are already incensed that, as part of the deal, the company was trying to railroad through a “retention package” totalling £173m for the miner’s chief executive Mick Davis and senior managers to ensure they remained with the merged group. No performance criteria were attached.

Mr Davis was in line for £29m over three years merely for remaining with the merged company despite the fact that he was one of the main architects of the now crumbling deal.

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Merger Update

In the light of the recent press speculation, Glencore confirms that it has received a proposal from the Board of Xstrata in relation to certain amendments to the management incentive arrangements that were proposed in the Scheme documents. We are considering that proposal and will make a further announcement when appropriate.

Glencore expected to sweeten terms to win Xstrata

(Reuters) - Commodities trader Glencore, scrambling to save its $30 billion (19.2 billion pounds) offer for miner Xstrata, is expected to sweeten its bid in order to seal the deal, after key shareholder Qatar said it could oppose the takeover on current terms.

Qatar, which remained silent on its intentions for months as it built the second-largest stake in Xstrata, said in a surprise statement on Tuesday that it supported the principle of the deal but demanded an improvement in terms from 2.8 new Glencore shares for every Xstrata share to 3.25.

..Glencore offer for Xstrata 'must be raised’

By Emma Rowley | Telegraph – 11 hours ago
A key shareholder in Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) will demand that commodity trader Glencore raises its offer for the FTSE 100 (Euronext: VFTSE.NX - news) miner despite the company reporting its interim profits have halved this week.

The City expects Xstrata to report a slump in earnings over the first six months of the year on Tuesday, as commodity prices have tumbled in the weakening global economic environment.

Xstrata will report that profits for the half dropped 50pc to $1.4bn (£900m), according to the City’s consensus estimates.

In contrast Glencore, whose trading activities mean it can profit from commodity price swings, is expected to report later in the month that its own earnings suffered a less steep fall of 37pc, to $1.5bn, according to analysts at Liberum Capital.

The results, according to Liberum, “will leave many concluding Glencore will not increase its offer to Qatar Holding’s desired 3.25”.

Nonetheless Qatar Holding, Xstrata’s second-biggest shareholder after Glencore, will remain firm in its insistence that Glencore must raise its offer from the 2.8 shares on the table for each Xstrata share, handing the miner’s investors more of the combined company.

The Qataris are understood to see the ball as firmly in Glencore’s court. Amid market suspicions that talks have ground to a halt, their position is that if there is a conversation, Glencore must initiate it and that it will have to be around improving the ratio.

Last week Qatar Holding continued increasing its stake in Xstrata, which on Wednesday edged further above 11pc.

Analysts said that this sent Glencore a warning that they were happy to remain an investor in the miner as a stand-alone company and can keep increasing their holding. “If Qatar owns 20pc then Glencore’s 34pc is not as important as it used to be,” said a fellow Xstrata shareholder.

If the merger falls apart, the investor suggested, “Glencore comes back with another deal which is maybe even worse but the Qataris won’t let them do this, seems to be the pretty clear message.”

However, Glencore maintains that its current offer represents a more-than-adequate premium for Xstrata, particularly given the latest earnings estimates.

With both companies’ shareholders due to vote on the deal on September 7, the expectation is now that Glencore will wait before its own results are out on August 21 before raising or tweaking its offer.

But that is not seen as a certainty by those watching the deal.

Analysts at Liberum now assign just over a one-in-two probability that the deal completes with Glencore offering 2.8 or 3 shares.

They rule out the chance of Glencore going all the way to the 3.25 level at which it can rely on the Qataris’ support

Interim Results