Rio Tinto and Glencore have been in talks to combine their companies
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Rio Tinto and Glencore held talks last year to combine some or all of their businesses, a sign of how miners’ efforts to secure metals needed for the energy transition have focused executives on large-scale deals.
The London-listed companies only held initial discussions in October, but the talks did not result in an agreement, according to people familiar with the matter.
A full merger between Rio and Glencore — which have market capitalizations of $103 billion and $55 billion, respectively — would be among the largest ever deals in the mining industry.
Discussions followed between the two companies BHP’s £39bn bid for Anglo American failed last year, prompting rivals to explore strategic options.
BHP was interested in Anglo’s copper mines in part because the metal is used in renewable energy and electric vehicle projects.
Both Glencore and Rio declined to comment. Bloomberg first reported that Rio and Glencore had discussed combining their businesses.
Rio’s Australian-listed shares fell 1.8 percent in early trading in Sydney before rising to 1.4 percent.
Demand for raw materials needed to decarbonize the global economy – such as copper, lithium and aluminum – has led to a flurry of business activity in the mining industry over the past year.
Rio announced a $7 billion deal to acquire Arcadium Lithium last year as the company increases its presence in metals used in electric vehicle batteries.
People close to the company said the deal was still being digested.
An activist shareholder campaign is also pushing for Rio to move its main listing from London to Sydney to allow for more equity-based deals in the future.
Glencore, which has a large commodities trading business and mining operations, is debating the future of its coal business.
The company announced in 2023 that it would spin off its coal mines into a separate publicly traded company, but then changed his mind last year and decided to keep them.
Rio rejected a takeover offer from Glencore in 2014.
