Glencore worth £36.5bn as it prepares for float

The planned listing will propel Glencore into the FTSE 100 Index and is set to raise around 10 billion US dollars (£6.1bn) for the Swiss-based company.

The company also confirmed 31 per cent of the shares offer will go to a select group of cornerstone investors – understood to include Arab emirate Abu Dhabi – while the move is also expected to create nearly 500 paper multi-millionaires, including chief executive and largest shareholder Ivan Glasenberg.

Glencore, which deals with metals, minerals, energy and agricultural products, confirmed the price range for the initial public offering (IPO) will be between 480p and 580p per share. This values the company at £36.5bn at the mid-point of the price range.

Glencore plans to sell around 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the company, with a primary listing in London and a secondary listing in Hong Kong. Conditional trading will start on May 19.

Glencore was founded by US tycoon Marc Rich in 1974 and has been owned by its traders since a management buyout in 1994.

The company employs around 57,500 staff worldwide, of which around 200 are based in London.

The group’s flotation will fast track it into the FTSE 100 Index on the day its shares start trading – the first time such a move has been made since the British Gas privatisation 25 years ago.

Mr Glasenberg, a former coal trader who also sits on the board of Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata, in which Glencore holds a 34 per cent stake, said: “We are pleased by the strong investor interest shown in Glencore’s unique commodity business model.

“Today we are able to announce one of the largest cornerstone investor participations ever achieved for an IPO.

“Over the decades we have built our business on long-term mutually-beneficial relationships with customers, suppliers and capital providers.

“We believe that the price range of our offer continues that approach and we look forward to welcoming new shareholders as long-term partners in our growth.”

Other cornerstone investors are reported to include fund managers Blackrock and Fidelity, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), the Asian nation’s sovereign wealth fund, Swiss banks UBS, Pictet and Credit Suisse and Chinese gold and base metals miner Zijin Mining.

The group recently revealed embattled former BP boss Tony Hayward – who quit after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster – will join the board as senior independent director.

The group also confirmed Simon Murray, the former managing director of Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, will be non-executive chairman.