Merger of Rio Tinto and Glencore is inevitable, says UK banker

Glencore is inevitably set to takeover Rio Tinto to create the world’s largest mining group, according to sector-merger expert Ian Hannam.

“If not today, this deal will happen sometime in the near future,” said Hannam, a former J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. dealmaker and commodity-merger expert, told more than 20 investors, Bloomberg reported.

His remarks were made to a group of hedge-fund managers in London earlier in November, sources told the business news outfit.

Hannam, who helped orchestrate the merger of BHP Ltd and Billiton plc in 2001, reportedly predicted that the potential cost savings from a deal would be $1.8bn.

Chief executive officer of Hannam & Partners Neil Passmore said the firm was not working for Glencore or Rio Tinto and is not in discussions.

Rio Tinto and Glencore declined to comment.

News of a potential merger first surfaced in early October but Rio Tinto said it had snubbed a deal because the miner believed it was not in the best interest of shareholders.