Mining giant Rio Tinto renounces merger with Glencore

No two without three. The planned merger between Rio Tinto and Glencore, a $260 billion deal that could have created the world's largest mining group, has once again foundered. After the period within which British law requires a bid to be formalised or withdrawn, Rio chose the second option, announcing on the last possible day that the amicable negotiations had reached a dead end: 'impossible to reach an agreement that creates value for shareholders,' explains the company's statement.

There had already been two other failed approaches, at the end of 2024 and before that in 2014, both at the instigation of Glencore, which sheds some light on the reasons for yet another snub, hinting at disagreements over governance (Rio insisted on keeping its current chairman and ceo at the top) and the offer price, which 'significantly underestimated' the value of Glencore and in particular its copper business: the most valuable endowment, now that the red metal trades at all-time highs, on predictions of a demand boom (and a large supply deficit) driven by electrification and artificial intelligence.

According to Bloomberg sources, the Swiss company insisted on a premium rich enough to give its shareholders 40% of the post-merger group.

On the London Stock Exchange, Glencore lost more than 10 per cent, although it later retraced its decline to -2.6 per cent at the close. Shares in Rio Tinto, which is also listed in Australia, also fell on the UK stock exchange.