Rio Tinto may buy Glencore to form mining leader with copper prices near record
By Steve Goldstein
World's biggest miner would be created
Swiss mining and commodity trading giant Glencore said early on January 9, 2026, it is in merger talks with British-Australian rival Rio Tinto.
Rio Tinto may buy Glencore to create the biggest mining company, both companies said on Friday, in a deal that comes as metals prices have soared.
Both companies, in brief statements, say they are in talks on a merger that could lead to Rio buying shares of Glencore in an all-stock deal. Rio Tinto will have until Feb. 5 to make an offer under U.K. takeover rules.
Rio Tinto (UK:RIO) (RIO) closed Thursday with a market cap of $148 billion, and Glencore (UK:GLEN) at GBP48 billion ($64 billion).
Glencore shares shot up 10% in London trade, while Rio Tinto stock fell 2%.
The two if combined would move ahead of BHP Group (BHP), which on Thursday had a market cap of $161 billion.
The front-month copper contract (HG00) has soared 36% over the last 52 weeks, as a range of metals have increased in value on demand for artificial-intelligence and electrification.
The two companies have previously held merger talks.
"After last talks failed in late 2024, Glencore's decision to restructure its coal assets under one unit in Australia in mid-2025 was a clear signal that the Swiss giant was preparing to be ready for a merger with Rio," said analysts at Alphavalue, a research service.
"Also, with BHP on weak footing - after various failed Anglo American takeover attempts, which may perhaps trigger search for a new 'external' CEO, Rio-Glencore merger talks couldn't have happened at a better time."
Analysts at Cowen said a combined company would be a leader in iron ore, copper, aluminum, lithium, cobalt, nickel, zinc, thermal coal and steel-making coal.
Bank of America analysts said Anglo American's (UK:AAL) deal to buy Teck Resources (TECK) created something of a "now or never" moment and said the big question is how BHP responds.
-Steve Goldstein
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-09-26 0600ET
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