Commodities-trading giant Glencore International PLC (GLEN.LN)
said Friday it will not be able to complete its proposed merger
with mining company Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) by March 15, as it had
intended, because it is still awaiting regulatory approval from the
authorities in China.
Glencore, which is seeking to combine with Xstrata to form the
world's fourth-largest diversified miner, said it will provide a
further update Tuesday on the date the transaction is expected to
complete.
There is no date set for when the Chinese regulatory decision
will come through. If Chinese approval is secured, the two
companies still have some final work to do in the law courts before
the deal can close.
This is the second extension to the deadline for the deal this
year. Earlier in January, Xstrata and Glencore gave themselves
another six weeks to secure regulatory approvals, taking the final
deadline to Mar. 15.
The merger already has the backing of regulators in the European
Union and South Africa, and both companies' shareholders. Both sets
of regulatory approvals secured so far imposed some conditions on
the deal.
The Competition Tribunal in South Africa limited the timing and
scope of any layoffs stemming from the merger. The European Union
required Glencore to end a long-term contract to sell zinc produced
by Belgium's Nyrstar NV (NYR.BT).
Write to Selina Williams at selina.williams@wsj.com; Twitter:
@selinawilliams3
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