Glencore boost as Glasenberg buys shares
GLENCORE chief Ivan Glasenberg has splurged £10m on 2.9m shares in his FTSE 100 company as part of his promise to spend all of his $110m in dividends on stock.
His move is intended to shore up shareholder support ahead of the commodities trader’s proposed merger with Xstrata, which has sparked anger among some investors who say they are getting a bad premium on their shareholdings of the miner. Their ire was also stoked after it emerged that Xstrata boss Mick Davies is to get a $30m share package just for staying on in the role of chief executive after the merger.
Glencore was given a boost yesterday, however, by Australia’s decision to grant permission for its $6bn takeover of grain producer Viterra. That followed on from permission granted by Canada on Friday. Glencore and Xstrata are hoping to complete their merger later this year.
It also emerged yesterday that Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has raised its stake in miner Xstrata to over 10 per cent.