Mitsui & Co., holding a record $17 billion in cash, wants to buy mining stakes and expand operations to triple copper output and more than double coal production, easing its reliance on iron ore sales.
The biggest Japanese iron ore supplier is looking to buy 9 million metric tons of annual coal production from Russia, Australia, South America and Africa, Fuminobu Kawashima, head of resources of the Tokyo-based company, said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Commodities trader Glencore brushed aside requests from Xstrata investors to improve an agreed $37 billion bid for the miner, saying its existing offer was fair to all shareholders and emphasising its own growth prospects.
Glencore’s tie-up with Xstrata, in which it already owns a 34 percent stake, would be the largest deal in the mining sector since Rio Tinto’s acquisition of Alcan in 2007, but has faced opposition from some key Xstrata shareholders who say the terms do not recognise the company’s potential………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The world’s biggest metals market has drawn multiple takeover bids and its board is meeting on Feb. 23 to review them.
Among those expressing interest were CME Group (CME), NYSE Euronext (NYX), and IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified because the negotiations are private. The companies declined to comment………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing has reportedly bid for the London Metal Exchange in an attempt to diversify into commodities trading. The bourse had put in a “high bid”, the South China Morning Post reported. No bid price was disclosed.
The LME, which handles about 80 per cent of global trade in metals futures, has a “good number of bids” to consider for a possible take-over when the board meets on Feb 23, spokesman Chris Evans said at the weekend………………………………………..Full Article: Source

CME Group Inc. has made a bid for the London Metal Exchange as the world’s largest metals futures market plans a meeting next week to consider offers, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The price CME Group offered wasn’t disclosed, said the person, who declined to be identified because negotiations are private. A purchase of the LME by Chicago-based CME Group would add to its metals that trade through the Comex, where futures based on gold, silver and copper are traded………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Shareholders in Xstrata Plc shouldn’t expect that a takeover by Glencore International Plc will deliver a windfall if the history of the deals that created two of its biggest rivals is any guide.
Rio Tinto Group’s London shares gained 0.5 percent in dollar terms in the five years after the company was formed in 1995, a time when aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. more than doubled, data compiled by Bloomberg show. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Mining giant Xstrata has announced that it plans to merge with the world’s biggest commodities trader, Glencore creating at one stroke a $90 billion giant.
If the merger takes place, the new company will be the biggest exporter of thermal coal, the largest producer of zinc and will have dominant positions in other metals and commodities………………………………………..Full Article: Source

After years of courting, mining company Xstrata and commodities dealer Glencore International have agreed to marry in a $90 billion deal that would create the world’s fourth-largest natural resources group.
The announcement of the terms of the deal comes just a few days after the first public acknowledgment that the two companies were in discussions about a long-rumored deal — merger talks, codenamed ‘Everest,’ have gone on for years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Glencore International PLC’s multibillion-dollar merger with Xstrata PLC, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to China, where trade and other economic issues are expected to dominate the agenda: It’s a big week for commodities with large consequences for Canada and for what Paul Taylor, the chief investment officer of BMO Harris Private Banking, calls the country’s “trees and rocks and bank-based economy and equity market.”
About 50 per cent of Canada’s domestic equity market is represented by commodities, Mr. Taylor points out, so most Canadian investors have some financial stake in how these two events turn out………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Glencore is already the world’s largest commodities trader. Now it’s planning to get even bigger. It’s aiming to merge with leading mining group Xstrata.

Glencore already owns 34% of Xstrata. Combined, they’d form the fifth–biggest listed mining group on the planet. They’d also have one of the largest market caps on the UK market. But the last time Glencore hit the news headlines – at the time of its IPO (initial public offering) – it neatly marked the top of the market……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The talks between Glencore and Xstrata over an $88bn (£57bn) merger, the biggest mining deal ever seen, are promising to shake up the world of commodities. If successful, the joining of trading giant Glencore and the world’s fourth biggest miner would create a global leader in zinc and thermal coal and a top five producer in copper and nickel.

The tie-up would also allow Glencore’s “marketing” or trading arm to access a much expanded production base, boosting profits, and create a company with huge capacity for acquisitions – a super-predator on the mining scene……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Shareholders in global miner Xstrata Plc are set to receive 2.8 shares in commodities trader Glencore International for each share held as the two firms try to seal an $88 billion deal, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The terms of the all-share deal, likely to be unveiled on Tuesday, would represent an 8 percent premium to Xstrata’s share price before news of the merger talks surfaced last week, the newspaper said in an unsourced report……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investment banks face fresh calls to curb their fees on big takeovers as shareholders demand the right to claw back advisory charges if a merger turns sour. The merger of mining and commodities giants Glencore and Xstrata has prompted leading institutions to press for penalties for the advising banks if it turns out to destroy value in the long term.

The merger – likely to generate £90 million of advisory charges – will create a global giant in mining and commodities trading worth about £69 billion, making it the eighth-biggest member of the FTSE 100 and the world’s fourth-biggest miner. The return of mega-deals has prompted institutional shareholders to renew calls for fees to be more tightly controlled……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The global value of mergers and acquisitions in mining and metals rose 43% in 2011 and is expected to continue rising this year, driven by robust demand fundamentals, strong balance sheets and appetite for growth, Ernst & Young said in its annual mining-transactions report Monday.

Global M&A in the mining sector rose to $162.4 billion in 2011 from $113.7 billion in 2010, with megadeals of $1 billion or more accounting for two-thirds of total deal value, primarily driven by strategic domestic consolidation where synergies could be identified……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Healthy demand fundamentals, strong balance sheets and an appetite for growth will drive a step-up in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global mining and metals sector in 2012, Ernst & Young (E&Y) global mining and metals transaction leader Lee Downham said on Monday.

Commenting on the release of E&Y’s yearly global mining and metals sector transaction report, ‘Recognizing value in volatility’, Downham said mining and metals companies were learning to live with uncertainty and were well positioned to seize opportunities……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in Australia’s mining sector is tipped to be dominated by smaller transactions this year, with fewer than 10 potential $US1 billion-plus ($930 million) deals forecast for the industry.

Access to funding for infrastructure will drive merger and acquisitions (M&A), with the spotlight to be on the mid-tier and junior sector in 2012, according to Paul Murphy, Ernst & Young’s Australia and Asia-Pacific transactions leader……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Ivan Glasenberg, the chief executive of the world’s largest commodities trader Glencore, has been pushing for a deal for years, but price could be an issue. Commodities trader Glencore and miner Xstrata are in active talks about merging to create a £50bn global mining group.
News of the talks, which could lead to a deal being formally announced as early as next week, sent shares in Xstrata rocketing almost 10% to close at £12.30 and Glencore shares were up almost 7% to 461.70p……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Glencore, the world’s largest publicly traded commodities supplier, has confirmed that it has made an approach about an all-share offer for the stake in Switzerland-based Xstrata that it does not already own as part of its current 34% holding.
The combination of the Zug-based Xstrata with Glencore, located just two miles away in Baar, would decisively bring together the two groups that separated a decade ago when Xstrata bought Glencore’s Australian and South African coal mines for $2.5 billion and went public in London………………………………………..Full Article: Source

NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse said on Wednesday that they were in talks to call off their planned merger, after European antitrust regulators formally opposed the deal.
Both exchanges said they fundamentally disagreed with concessions that the European Commission had requested, notably the divestiture of major parts of the combined company’s business………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The failed merger of Deutsche Boerse AG and NYSE Euronext has highlighted their grip on Europe’s futures and options trade, raising the prospect of reform to open the market to new entrants.
European futures and options trading, estimated at some $62 trillion in 2011 by the World Federation of Exchanges, is systemically important to the European financial system………………………………………..Full Article: Source

London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) is considering a bid for the London Metal Exchange, the Sunday Times said, which cites unidentified sources close to the auction.
The London Stock Exchange may team up with a partner such as the Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX) to compete for the world’s biggest metals bourse, according to the newspaper………………………………………..Full Article: Source

U.S. Gold Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rob McEwen said gold companies will seek acquisitions this year as higher metal prices boost their cash reserves. “There’s a lot of opportunity out there,” McEwen said in an interview yesterday at Bloomberg’s Toronto bureau.
Gold miners are seeking to replace resources and increase production of the commodity, which posted its 11th straight annual increase in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), a PSU navratna that finances and promotes rural electrification projects, is close to buying 16% in upcoming commodity futures bourse Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX) for Rs 16 crore.

“UCX’s promoter has offered us 16% stake in the exchange,” Hari Das Khunteta, director (finance), REC, told ET. “We are keen on picking up the stake, subject to necessary approvals.”……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kotak Mahindra Bank, the promoter of Ace Derivatives & Commodity Exchange Ltd., has sold an 11% stake in the exchange to private investors for about 200 million rupees, the Economic Times newspaper reported Monday.
The bank has now brought down its stake in the commodity exchange to 40% from 51% to meet regulatory guidelines, the report said, citing Narayan S.A., president commercial banking and capital markets of the bank. Narayan is also the chairman of the commodity exchange. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

JP Morgan has dramatically boosted its influence in the battle to acquire the London Metal Exchange by increasing its stake this week to become the biggest shareholder.

JP Morgan Chase now has stronger input into any changes proposed by suitors while making a tidy profit from any sale, but retains the option to team up with others to block a takeover, analysts and industry sources said………………………………………Full Article: Source

The potential sale of the London Metal Exchange, home to the city’s last open-outcry trading, means Metdist Ltd., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), MF Global (U.K.) Ltd., UBS Ltd. and Sucden Financial Ltd. have the most at stake.
The five companies are among the biggest shareholders in the 134-year-old bourse, according to a filing to the U.K.’s Companies House a year ago. The exchange told members in a notice on Sept. 23 that it had received “several expressions of interest” and would begin a process that may lead to “an acceptable offer for the company being received.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Swiss-based commodities giant Glencore Wednesday announced a takeover bid for Australian nickel miner Minara, its first major play since listing in London and Hong Kong. The off-market cash bid for the 27 percent of Minara’s shares Glencore does not already own, values the cobalt and nickel firm at Aus$1.02 billion (US$1.07 billion), or 87 cents a share.
Glencore said the offer was a “substantial premium to Minara’s recent trading price and an attractive exit opportunity” for shareholders after the miner reported a 31.2 percent drop in half-year profit to Aus$27.3 million……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The National Stock Exchange of India is likely to have until the end of September to reduce its stake in the country’s second-biggest commodity bourse following a recently introduced rule, two senior government officials said Thursday.

The National Stock Exchange owns 11.1% of the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, or NCDEX, but it has to cut its share-holding, because of a rule introduced in July 2010 that prohibits an exchange from owning more than 5% of another……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Kotak Mahindra Bank, which holds 51% in Ace Derivatives & Commodity Exchange, is in talks with foreign and domestic investors to sell 11% in the bourse. Anchor investor Kotak has to cut its stake to 40% from 51% by October 26 to comply with a government rules on shareholding in a commodity exchange.
“We are in talks with both foreign and domestic investors who have evinced interest in buying stake in ACE,” said Narayan SA, group head, commercial banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Mining Mergers and Acquisitions double in H1 - Ernst & YoungMining mergers and acquisitions doubled in the first half, coming close to the total for the whole of last year, although the pace was tempered by concerns over global macroeconomics and resource nationalism, advisory and accountancy firm Ernst & Young said.
Total deal value jumped to $96.3 billion from $47.9 billion in the year-earlier period, in part reflecting the larger size of deals in the sector. There were $113.7 billion of deals made in the whole of last year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Commodities giant Glencore says it is buying a majority stake in Peru’s Mina Justa copper mine for $475 million.
Swiss-based Glencore International PLC said Monday the purchase of a 70 percent stake in Marcobre SAC from CST Mining Group Limited is subject to inspection of the books and price adjustment……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Stillwater Mining Co. (SWC) is so sure commodities will keep surging that it’s willing to spend more than the Montana palladium producer itself is worth to buy and develop copper and gold projects in Argentina.
Stillwater, which offered to buy Peregrine Metals Ltd. (PGM) for $487 million in cash and stock this week, projects it will cost as much as $2.5 billion to develop the Altar project in western Argentina over the next seven years, Chief Executive Officer Francis McAllister said………………………………………Full Article: Source

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Germany’s Deutsche Boerse AG looked set to pull off its $9.7 billion takeover of the New York Stock Exchange group on Thursday after its shareholders backed the deal to create the world’s largest exchange operator.
Shareholders in NYSE Euronext approved the deal last week but it still faces formidable anti-trust hurdles on both sides of the Atlantic, analysts say……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) Thursday said a subsidiary will pay about $512 million to acquire a 12% interest in Brazilian clearing-house operator Cetip SA from two other holders.
The move comes after ICE and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) in May withdrew their $11 billion proposal to acquire NYSE Euronext (NYX) after the U.S. Justice Department suggested the deal wouldn’t clear antitrust hurdles………………………………………Full Article: Source

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Concerned about the negative impact the absence of an active commodity exchange is having on agricultural commodities trading in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday asked the federal government to allow it take over the Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange (ASCE) to help it deliver on its mandate.
CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was speaking at the opening of a two-day stakeholders’ conference on Nigeria’s Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) in Abuja, said if properly positioned through adequate funding and clarification of its corporate governance policies, the Exchange could provide the platform for trading in agricultural commodities……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Canada was home to the biggest deal in a red-hot metals sector in the first quarter of 2011, though a strong dollar and global financial tightening are expected to moderate the pace of Canadian transactions for the rest of the year, according to a report released Thursday.
Deal activity in Canada in the first quarter reached levels last seen in the second quarter of 2007, according to the report, Forging Ahead, from PwC. “Globally, the value of metals deals more than doubled year-over-year and a heightened pace of mergers and acquisitions activity is expected for the balance of 2011.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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It had all the makings of Aditya Birla group’s fourth acquisition in five months in commodities. Until Australian miner Whitehaven scrapped a plan to sell the business as attractive valuations weren’t coming its way.
But it didn’t take too long for chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla to spot another opportunity for inorganic growth in the business of coal mines. The $30-billion metals-to-telecom conglomerate is one among three Indian business groups to be shortlisted for a second round of bidding for the coal mines of Bandanna Energy in Australia……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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With stronger balance sheets, improved credit availability and stabilizing metal prices, PwC Tuesday forecast the recovery in global metals M&A is expected to continue for this balance of this year.
Iron ore targets were the primary driver of global metals M&A activity during the first quarter of 2011, contributing almost 40% of the deals worth a total of $5.1 billion, a significant increase over full-year 2010 when iron ore represented only 20% of total deals……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Merger and acquisition activity in metals mining kept on track in the first quarter of 2011, boosted by stronger balance sheets and better credit availability, PwC said in a quarterly report.
There were 26 deals with value greater than $50 million in the metals mining industry in the first quarter of 2011, the same number as last quarter and two more than in the same period of 2010. The 26 deals accounted for $12.9 billion in total deal value, up from $6.3 billion in the same period last year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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We’re all well aware by now that the world is facing a copper supply deficit. The price of the metal rose 30 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, London Metal Exchange (LME) copper inventories fell 25 percent – below what the world consumes in a single month.
Of course, the usual suspects are to blame: booming growth in the emerging and developing worlds. But the tight supply situation means there are plenty of opportunities for investors……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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The London Stock Exchange has become a credible takeover target as it faces a battle to merge with its Toronto counterpart and after NYSE Euronext beat off a hostile approach, analysts said.
LSE Group, led by chief executive Xavier Rolet, insists it is committed to a merger with its Toronto counterpart, TMX Group, after a Canadian consortium launched an informal takeover bid that could derail the deal……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Oman Investment Fund (OIF), a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) owned by the Omani government, may buy close to 5% in upcoming Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX), making it the first investment by an SWF in a local commodity bourse and reflecting the growing interest of foreign investors in India’s nascent commodity futures market.
The deal, if completed, will value the yet-to-be-launched UCX at Rs 400-500 crore, around 30% lower than that of NCDEX, India’s second-largest commodity exchange (commex), promoted by Delhi-based broker Jaypee Capital Services and leading sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars………………………………………Full Article: Source

The National Stock Exchange is likely to get a three-month extension for diluting its stake in National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) from 11 per cent to 5 per cent in line with ownership norms of the Forward Markets Regulator (FMC).
While the deadline for stake dilution ended on March 31, NSE had sought six months’ time from the ministry of food and consumer affairs since it was not under the purview of commodity market regulator — FMC……………………………………….Full Article: Source

NYSE Euronext’s board affirmed its commitment to a merger with Deutsche Boerse AG, spurning an unsolicited offer from Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. and setting the stage for a possible decision by shareholders.
The directors voted unanimously to back NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Officer Duncan Niederauer’s agreement with Frankfurt- based Deutsche Boerse, saying it will create more long-term value and has greater odds of winning regulatory approval, according to a statement released after a meeting in New York. The board’s response “does not reflect the best interests of their shareholders,” Nasdaq OMX said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Jefferies Group said on Thursday it would buy Prudential Financial’s global commodities and derivatives trading business for $430 million. The deal is Jefferies’ latest push to expand into new lines of business to better compete with larger Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
The business, Prudential Bache’s Global Commodities Group, is a broker for listed derivatives, including futures and options. It also clears trades, and does over-the-counter trading in foreign exchange, base and precious metals, and energy and agriculture swaps………………………………………Full Article: Source

The real upstart of Friday’s takeover bid for the New York Stock Exchange isn’t the 40-year old Nasdaq. It’s IntercontinentalExchange Inc., which got its start in 2000 as a place where utilities could trade electricity.
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. couldn’t have made an $11.3 billion offer for NYSE Euronext without ICE, and the Atlanta company would emerge as the biggest winner by some measures if the deal gets done. One example: ICE would swell in size to the fourth-largest derivatives exchange in the world, up from No. 14 now……………………………………….Full Article: Source

After a lull in 2009, global mergers and acquisitions activity in the metals space is witnessing a resurgence with as many as 188 deals worth $27 billion being announced in 2010.

The metals space is expected to see a sizeable number of global M&A deals in 2011 as well, according to a report by global consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers……………………………………….Full Article: Source

India’s commodity futures trading volumes have surged fast enough to increase the profitability of the commodity exchanges, but is that enough to attract instituitional interest in the bourses? Not necessarily.

Both Multi-Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), India’s largest bourse and National Commodity Exchange of India (NMCE), India’s first national level electronic bourse to commence trading in 2003, have been given more time to comply with a legal directive to bring down anchor investor stakes to 26% of the paid up capital………………………………………Full Article: Source

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.’s potential hostile bid for NYSE Euronext would face substantial antitrust questions in the U.S., where it would merge two direct competitors and create a monopoly in the market for corporate listings, according to antitrust lawyers.
Much will depend on how a bid might be structured, but antitrust experts see few palatable options for Nasdaq to allay concerns that the deal will harm competition……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Seekingalpha.com: Immediately following the announcement of the proposed NYSE-Euronext / Deutsche Boerse deal, I stated that the main risk to the transaction would be European antitrust regulators who are not keen, to say the least, on the vertical integration of exchanges and clearinghouses (the “silo” model).
A close watcher of these developments, Anthony Belchambers of the Futures and Options Association, believes this risk is quite real:………………………………………Full Article: Source

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