ENRC shares lead FTSE on Glencore talk
SHARES in Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) jumped 4.65 per cent yesterday following rumours that Glencore is planning a £12bn takeover bid.
The Kazakh miner was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 after reports that Glencore held talks in recent weeks with ENRC’s three billionaire shareholders Alexander Mashkevitch, Patokh Chodiev, and Alijan Ibragimov, who control about 45 per cent of ENRC’s shares.
Takeover speculation led ENRC ’s stock 34.5p higher to 776.50p, spurring investor interest despite concerns about last week’s boardroom row over corporate governance, which saw non-executives Sir Richard Sykes and Ken Olisa voted off the board.
However Manoj Ladwa, senior trader at ETX Capital, said that any upside could be short-lived with corporate governance issues continuing to weigh on the company.
Moody’s Investors Service has rated the miner for the first time, acknowledging the company’s good access to high grade mining assets in Kazakhstan with more than 35 years of reserves at current production.
Glencore – which updates the market on trading today – added 14p to close at 523.4p, still below its 530p a share float price.
Kazakhmys, which owns 26 per cent of ENRC, climbed 26p to £12.35.