Glencore’s $534m cash payment to increase its stakes in two Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) copper operations coincides with expectations that copper prices will continue to firm on rising demand and restricted supply. Glencore’s shares, which added almost 8% to R55 on the JSE in the two days before the deal was announced, slipped 2% to R53.72 on Tuesday. Glencore said it would increase its stake in Mutanda Mining to 100% from 69% and its stake in Katanga Mining, which is listed in Toronto, to 86.33% from 75.28% previously. It is buying shares from and taking over loans owing by Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler’s Fleurette Group. The US Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Fleurette as part of a probe into Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, which pleaded guilty in 2016 and paid a fine for bribing officials in the DRC to acquire mining assets. Some of Fleurette’s projects in the DRC were funded by Och-Ziff, but Gertler has strongly denied paying bribes. In a note, In...
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