Glencore Declines Offer for DRC Operations Last Year
(Reuters) - Miner and commodity trader Glencore said on Friday it had rejected an unsolicited approach from an unnamed buyer for its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of last year.
"Glencore has not engaged any banks or advisors and is not running a sale process for its operations in the DRC," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Earlier in the day, the Financial Times reported that the miner was considering selling a part or all of its Congolese assets and had held preliminary discussions about its copper and cobalt mines in the region.
Glencore declined to name the buyer when contacted by Reuters.
Shares of the FTSE 100 company rose as much as 4.8% after the FT report. They were up 3% by 1357 GMT and were among the top gainers on the benchmark index.
Glencore, one of the world's biggest producers of coal and base metals, approached Rio Tinto last year about combining the two big copper producers into the world's biggest listed miner, Reuters reported in January.
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
