Qatar holding to oppose glencore merger bid for Xstrata

Qatar Holding (QH), Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and the second largest shareholder in mining group Xstrata, has announced it will oppose a $31-billion proposed merger with Glencore under the current terms, making it effectively impossible for the deal to go ahead. “QH announces that, although it continues to support the principle of a combination of Glencore with Xstrata, it has determined that it will not support the proposed merger terms of 2.8 new Glencore shares for every one existing Xstrata share,” said a statement by QH. “Accordingly, QH will vote its entire shareholding in Xstrata against the proposed scheme and merger terms at the Scheme Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting of Xstrata to be held on 7th September, 2012,” the statement added The Qatari entity said its move is taken in the interests of market transparency and in order to preserve its ability, under applicable laws, to continue to buy shares in Xstrata as and when it wishes to do so. “QH believes that Xstrata has a strong future, whether in combination with Glencore on acceptable terms or as a stand-alone entity, and that its shares represent an attractive long-term investment,” added the statement.