GLENCORE is closing in on two multibillion-dollar disposals that could fund large shareholder returns, CEO Gary Nagle told investors at a private Goldman Sachs conference, the Financial Times reported.
Nagle said 2027 should be an exceptional year for cash returns as the group simplifies its portfolio and its traders profit from volatile markets. Trading profit for 2026 is expected to exceed $5bn, second only to 2022.
A deal to sell 40% of its Congo interests to Orion CMC, set up by Orion Resource Partners with the US government, could be concluded by early next year. The assets are expected to be valued at about $9bn including debt, though no final agreement has been reached.
Talks continue over selling its controlling Kazzinc stake to a Kazakh investor, with a decision due within two months. Analysts value the holding at up to $5bn.
A slimmer Glencore could find a transformative merger easier, one investor said. Talks with Rio Tinto collapsed earlier this year.
Nagle said a Collahuasi copper expansion in Chile, with partners Anglo American and Mitsui, could be funded through a desalination infrastructure deal. Glencore still plans to exit its 16% stake in agribusiness Bunge Global, worth nearly $20bn, within five years, and sovereign wealth funds and industrial groups have shown interest.
Glencore said in September its provision for Radiant World, the iron ore group facing fraud allegations and suing it in Singapore, would be under $500m.