--Qatar buys Xstrata shares over two consecutive business days
to boost stake to 11.03%
--Qatar and six other shareholders own 14.9% of Xstrata's
shares, just shy of the 16.4% needed to block the deal
(Adds details)
By Alex MacDonald
LONDON--Qatar Investment Authority, owner of Qatar Holding LLC,
increased its stake in Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) to
11.03% following two consecutive days of buying the stock on the
cheap compared to its previous purchases.
The move could possibly give Qatar Holding more sway in
negotiations with commodities titan Glencore International PLC
(GLEN.LN) after the sovereign wealth fund called on Glencore last
month to sweeten its offer for the Anglo-Swiss miner in a merger of
equals that aims to create the world's fourth-largest diversified
miner with a market capitalization of about $57 billion.
The company said Tuesday it bought 500,000 shares in Xstrata at
815 pence and 614,200 at 813.78 pence, lifting its total holding
including options to 331.3 million shares, or 11.03%. This follows
the purchase of 590,390 Xstrata sharea at 847.88 pence on
Friday.
Qatar Holding surprised the markets last month by calling on
Glencore to raise its share-swap ratio from 2.8 to 3.25 Glencore
shares for every Xstrata share in order to secure Qatar Holding's
shareholder vote on Sept. 7.
Only 16.4% of the Xstrata's existing shareholder base would need
to vote against the deal in order to block it since the deal is
structure in such as way that Glencore, Xstrata's largest
shareholder with a 34% stake, isn't allowed to vote on the
deal.
Qatar, along with six other shareholders who have said the share
swap ratio isn't enough, already own about 14.9% of Xstrata's
shares.
Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg, who has been known to walk away
from deals, has said the current offer is attractive.
Xstrata's shares closed Tuesday down 1.8% at 799 pence a share,
while Glencore's shares closed down 2.3% at 302 pence a share,
resulting in an effective share-swap ratio of 2.65 Glencore shares
for every Xstrata share.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
-Rory Gallivan in London contributed to this story.
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