Glencore Plc’s attempt to seal mining’s biggest deal in a decade has thrust Chief Executive Officer Gary Nagle into center stage.
Little known outside Glencore before taking the job nearly two years ago, the energetic South African is pursuing one of mining’s most unattainable targets, in a bitter brawl that’s headed for a potential climax this week.
Teck has rejected Glencore’s approaches, saying investors should support its own plan to spin off its coal mines before it’s willing to entertain offers. Crucially, that view is backed by Norman Keevil, the Canadian mining patriarch whose family’s “supervoting” shares give him a veto on any big decisions. For decades, the Keevil stake meant that Teck was viewed as untouchable across the industry, even as rivals coveted its mines.
Glencore would overnight go from being the world’s biggest coal shipper to a company with no exposure to the dirtiest fuel at all. It would also become one of the biggest metal miners, poised to benefit from surging demand as the global economy decarbonizes. Glencore says nothing has changed — it will exit its coal business when shareholders say they want it to — but the structure of the Teck proposal provided the first concrete sign that the company was considering such a move.Glencore’s overtures have been given short shrift by Teck. The company has branded the approach as opportunistic, as it starts up a huge new copper mine, and pointed to differences in the two cultures, including Glencore’s record of bribery and price fixing.
Glencore, under Glasenberg, first approached Teck in 2020. After six months of talks, based around a similar structure that Glencore has proposed again now, Teck said it was not interested. Inside Glencore, Teck’s announcement set the clock ticking. Within months, the door would slam shut on its own long-coveted deal. It made its proposal in late March, and a week later Teck announced its rejection.
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