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.

Telegraph: Questor link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/8533799/Questor-share-tip-Avoid-buying-Glencore-there-are-better-mining-plays.html

Newly listed commodities trader Glencore has been barred from borrowing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) because of "serious concerns about how the company is run". The bank, the lending arm of the EU, yesterday said it had frozen all new loans to the Switzerland-based group which floated in London last month with a 36billion price tag that catapulted it straight into the FTSE 100.

SP. not unduly affected so far, down about 5p.

Xstrata confirms merger discussions with Glencore Intl

Xstrata confirms that it has received an approach from and is in discussions with Glencore International regarding an all share merger of equals which may or may not lead to an offer being made by Glencore for Xstrata.

There can be no certainty that any offer will be made.

At 8:10am:
(LON:GLEN) share price was +13.03p at 444.78p
(LON:XTA) Xstrata share price was +138p at 1257.5p

Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

..Biggest-Ever Mining Merger On The Cards

Sky News 2012 | Sky News – 1 hour 16 minutes ago

The chance of the biggest-ever deal in the mining sector has shot the two companies involved to the top of the FTSE 100 (Euronext: VFTSE.NX - news) risers.

The world's biggest mining and commodities trader Glencore already owns 34% of miner Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) , and has admitted it is in talks to acquire the remainder.

The company has until March 1 to confirm whether it will make a firm offer.

"We've always had the belief these two companies should be together," Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said at a financial conference in Moscow.

Xstrata gained 9.9% on the back of the talks on Thursday, while Glencore rose 6.9%.

However, Britain's main share index closed only fractionally up by 0.1% - the gains in the mining sector were offset by losses in other sectors.

Through the all-share 'merger of equals' that has been proposed and with the day's price rises, the combined group would be worth more than £50bn.

But analyst Tom Gidley-Kitchen from Charles Stanley & Co said Xstrata shareholders will expect to be compensated "for swapping a pure miner for a mining/trading combination".

"If they had wished to own the latter they would not have invested in Xstrata. Also, arguably, everyone knew that a bid would come eventually and few people would have bought Xstrata shares on the basis that they might be sold to Glencore at a nil premium," he added.

Both Glencore and Xstrata have headquarters in Switzerland, are listed on both the Swiss and London markets and have South African chief executives.

Six (SNP: ^SIXY - news) global investment banks, though none of them British, are said to have been consulted to advise on the deal which will command a total fee of up to $140m (£88.5m).

..

Glencore was the largest faller on the blue-chip index following reports about its planned £50bn merger with Xstrata . On Monday, The Daily Telegraph reported that the deal could face a probe from the European Commission, while others have suggested Xstrata's shareholders will demand a significant premium to approve the deal. Glencore dipped 21.8 to 460.75, while Xtsrata fell 21½ to £12.61½.

..Glencore and Xstrata unveil $90bn merger

By Martin Strydom | Telegraph – 28 minutes ago

......
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
....
Share0EmailPrint.....
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)

..

Humm 400p.

..Pressure lifts on Glencore as Xstrata shares tumble

By Emma Rowley | Telegraph – 6 minutes ago

......
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 -):