Glencore shares surge on takeover talk

Glencore shares jumped 15pc in early trade in London, having surged by as much as 72pc in Hong Kong after the Sunday Telegraph revealed that the embattled mining giant would listen to takeover offers.

Shares in the company bounced by the most on record in Asia to trade as high as HK$18.02 and reached 113.8p in London this morning after it emerged that the firm's senior management would not dismiss an approach for the entire business if one were forthcoming.

It has also emerged that Glencore is in talks with a number of sovereign wealth fund investors about the sale of a stake in its agriculture business, which could raise around $2bn.

However, the Telegraph understands that a full takeover of the company is not on the agenda and than senior management don't believe that any potential buyer would make a high enough offer in the present market.

Glencore's largest shareholder, Qatar Holdings, is understood to be "raw" about the significant losses it now faces on its investment but backs a plan by the chief executive Ivan Glasenberg to shore up the balance sheet by slashing debt and offloading assets.

Mr Glasenberg has unveiled a plan to shave $10.2bn off the mining company's $29.5bn net debt pile after facing a barrage of concerns about its financial position from investors.

Glencore, like a number of mining companies, has been caught out by the deterioration of commodity prices led by a decline in demand from China.

The shares opened last week down 30pc in London after a series of damning notes about the company's prospects from prominent analysts.

In a statement this morning, Glencore said it was not aware of any reason for the stock price bounce: "The Board confirms that it is not aware of any reasons for these price and volume movements or of any information which must be announced to avoid a false market in the Company's securities or of any inside information that needs to be disclosed."