Glencore-Xstrata deal gets backing of Qatar

Commodity trader Glencore's takeover of miner Xstrata has received the backing of Qatar Holdings, Xstrata's second largest shareholder.

On Thursday, Qatar Holdings (QH) released a statement in which it announced: "QH continues to see merit in a combination of the two companies and is satisfied with the terms of the proposed merger, having secured the improved exchange ratio of 3.05 new Glencore shares for every one existing Xstrata share."

Qatar will therefore use its 11.67% shareholding to support the deal at the meetings to be held on November 20th.

Separately, Reuters reports that Glencore has offered to sell Xstrata's German zinc smelter to win EU regulatory approval for the deal.

CM