RIO Tinto has assembled a roster of prominent investment bankers to guide its pursuit of Glencore, including veteran dealmaker Simon Robey, said Bloomberg News citing sources familiar with the arrangements.
The Anglo-Australian miner has retained advisers comprising Evercore, which acquired Robey’s London boutique Robey Warshaw last year, alongside JPMorgan Chase, Macquarie Group and UBS Group, one of its corporate brokers, the newswire service said.
Citigroup, which maintains longstanding ties to Glencore and has participated in numerous recent transactions involving the Swiss company, has been discussing a potential advisory position, Bloomberg said citing sources.
Recent days have seen Citigroup, JPMorgan and UBS either restrict or suspend their equity research coverage of both Rio Tinto and Glencore shares, Bloomberg data shows.
Following this month’s disclosure of preliminary discussions between the two mining giants, leading Wall Street institutions including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley have competed vigorously for mandates on the high-profile transaction, sources indicated. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan previously advised Rio Tinto on its $6.7bn acquisition of Arcadium Lithium, completed in 2024.
Several prominent advisers face potential conflicts stemming from existing assignments on significant industry transactions, notably Anglo American’s pending purchase of Teck Resources. Institutions with established relationships with BHP are similarly unlikely to secure major roles.
As financial houses compete for advisory and financing mandates, both companies are expected to appoint additional firms, said Bloomberg News.
