Hedge funds including GLG Partners, DE Shaw & Co, and Pentwater Capital Management were told this month by a prominent London mining banker to prepare for an all-but-inevitable takeover of Rio Tinto Group by Glencore Plc (GLEN), according to people familiar with the meeting.
Former JPMorgan Chase & Co. dealmaker Ian Hannam, who now runs a boutique advisory firm, convened representatives of more than 20 investors at Corrigan’s Mayfair restaurant in the British capital in mid-November to share his views on the potential deal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The meeting was intended in part to help position Hannam’s firm, Hannam & Partners, to win a role in the transaction, the people said.
“If not today, this deal will happen sometime in the near future,” Hannam said in his presentation, according to a copy seen by Bloomberg. “Glencore is M&A savvy and times deals well. The combination will create a super-major with a diversified portfolio of world-class mining assets.”
Neil Passmore, chief executive officer of Hannam & Partners, said the firm is not working for Glencore or Rio Tinto (RIO), nor is it in discussions to do so. Spokesmen for Rio Tinto and Glencore declined to comment, as did representatives for Pentwater and DE Shaw. GLG couldn’t be immediately reached. The three funds have more than $70 billion in assets under management, according to their websites and regulatory filings.
Hannam’s presentation dwelled heavily on his dealmaking experience, describing the banker as “responsible” for the the merger of BHP Ltd. (BHP) and Billiton Plc that created the world’s largest mining company. It also highlighted his work alongside Xstrata Plc, which he advised on its 2012 takeover by Glencore and on earlier transactions.
Baar, Switzerland-based Glencore said last month it had abandoned a bid for Rio Tinto after a July proposal to create the world’s largest miner, worth about $160 billion, was rebuffed.
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