Rio Tinto says it is no longer in talks with Glencore about a takeover that would have created the world’s largest mining company as it could not reach an agreement that would deliver value to its shareholders.
Glencore shares fell as much as 10.8 per cent to 456 pence.
Rio Tinto’s London-listed shares were down 2.6 per cent at 6,820 pence by 3.35pm in the United Kingdom (2.35am AEDT on Friday).
Rio Tinto told shareholders on Thursday that it “is no longer considering a possible merger or other business combination with Glencore”.
Attempts to combine the companies have repeatedly fallen short.
The British-Australian company rejected a merger approach from Glencore in 2014, saying it was not in the best interests of shareholders, and another round of discussions in 2024 also fizzled out without a deal.
“The key terms of the potential offer were Rio Tinto retaining both the chairman and chief executive officer roles and delivering a proforma ownership of the combined company which, in our view, significantly undervalued Glencore’s underlying relative value contribution to the combined group,” Glencore said in a statement.
Glencore said it concluded that the proposed acquisition on these terms were not in the best interests of its shareholders.
The abandoned talks echo other ambitious mining deals that have faltered, including BHP’s $US49 billion ($A70 billion) approach for Anglo American, which unravelled over concerns about the structure of the offer, even as the sector pushes to consolidate amid rising demand for metals.
with PA