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CHINA Minmetals said yesterday that a consortium led by one of its subsidiaries MMG has agreed to buy Glencore Xstrata Plc.’s stake in the Las Bambas copper mine project in Peru for US$5.85 billion.
China Minmetals, a State-owned mining giant and the parent company of MMG, called it the largest overseas acquisition by China’s metal mining industry.
“The Las Bambas project is in line with the long-term strategy of Minmetals and MMG,” Minmetals president Zhou Zhongshu said in a statement. “[The acquisition] will further optimise the mining asset composition of Minmetals.”
Demand for metals and other raw materials to fuel growth in China, the world’s second-largest economy, has become a key influence on global commodities markets.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, pending approval by governments and shareholders, Minmetals said.
The statement also said that lenders including China Development Bank, ICBC and Bank of China will provide funding support for the takeover.
Peru is the world’s second biggest copper producer, and Las Bambas is located in the Apurimac region in the country’s southeast. China is the world’s biggest copper importer.
Glencore Xstrata also announced the deal in a statement Sunday.
The consortium is “owned 62.5 percent by MMG Ltd., 22.5 percent by GUOXIN International Investment Corporation Ltd. and 15 percent by CITIC Metal Co.,” the Anglo-Swiss mining giant said.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to maximising value for our shareholders,” Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore, said.
Earlier this month, Chinese State-owned grain giant COFCO announced, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals, that it would take a majority stake in the agricultural commodities subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Noble Group.
COFCO had announced a deal in late February to buy 51 percent of Netherlands-based Nidera, a trader of grains and soybeans among other agricultural commodities and active in Brazil and Argentina.
(SD-Agencies)
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