By Ed Ballard
LONDON--Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) said Tuesday it was no longer
considering a merger deal with rival miner Rio Tinto PLC (RIO).
In a statement, the company confirmed it had approached Rio
Tinto with an "informal" enquiry about a possible tie-up. Rio Tinto
earlier Tuesday disclosed it had received the approach but rejected
it and wasn't in further discussions with Glencore.
"In July 2014 [Glencore] made an informal enquiry by telephone
call to Rio Tinto, seeking to gauge whether there might be any
interest at Rio Tinto in investigating some form of merger between
the two companies," Glencore said in a statement Tuesday.
"Rio Tinto responded that it was not interested in pursuing
these discussions. Glencore confirms that it is no longer actively
considering any possible merger transaction with, or offer for the
shares of, Rio Tinto," Glencore added.
Write to Ed Ballard at ed.ballard@wsj.com
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