[miningmx.com] – MICK Davis, CEO of Xstrata, may establish a mining fund investing in assets sold by diversified mining houses, said Bloomberg News citing people familiar with the situation.
Davis is due to leave Xstrata six months after its merger with Glencore International is finally approved by the regulatory authorities. Shareholders have already rubber stamped the merger after Glencore CEO, Ivan Glasenberg increased the Swiss firm’s offer for Xstrata – a development that carried a condition that Davis resign.
According to Bloomberg News, Davis will be joined in the fund by Trevor Reid who is the outgoing CFO at Xstrata. Reid announced his resignation after shareholders rejected a plan to install large executive retention bonuses post the merger.
Bankers led by Lloyd Pengilly, formerly at JPMorgan Chase & Co., are also setting up a London- based fund with investors from countries including Poland and Qatar, said Bloomberg News. That firm plans to invest mainly in African mining.
According to the news service Davis and Reid would seek investors in the Middle East and from emerging markets.
It’s thought many assets will become available after large mining houses looked to conserve cash and derisk their project pipelines amid a climb down in commodity prices.
An Xstrata official declined to comment on the speculation regarding Davis and Reid.
