Early trade in London saw Glencore shares jump by 15pc, after they rose as much as 72pc in Hong Kong following a revelation by the Sunday Telegraph that they would be open to takeover offers.
The company set the all-time record for the Asian market when they shot up to $18.02 in Hong Kong. As of this morning their shares were trading at 113.8p in London shortly after it was revealed that the senior management would not rule out a takeover of the entire firm if the approach was made.
Glencore Agricultural Business For Sale
It has also become clear that Glencore is engaged in dialogue with several different sovereign investors with regards to the sale of its agricultural business that could potentially be worth up to $2bn.
Whilst the management have not ruled out a takeover, one is not expected as the directors do not believe that any party is currently willing to offer the required sum of money.
Qatar Holdings are currently the company’s biggest investor and although they claim to be “raw” from the losses that they are set to make, they are still in support of CEO Ivan Glasenberg’s plans to balance the books. Glasenberg is currently set to remove $10.2bn of off the company’s debt through a series of asset offloads.
Impact of Chinese Markets
The mining company is one of many that have been badly affected by the downturn in China and the effect that that has had on commodity prices.
This morning Glencore said they were unaware of any reason for the change in stock price:
“The Board confirms that it is not aware of any reasons for these price and volume movements or of any information which must be announced to avoid a false market in the Company’s securities or of any inside information that needs to be disclosed.”
