Xstrata pushes for merger with Anglo American

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2009

GENEVA (AFP) — Swiss mining group Xstrata said Wednesday it would still try to convince rival Anglo American of the advantages of a merger between the two, citing potential annual benefits of more 1.0 billion dollars.

"It is well recognised that the combination of Xstrata and Anglo American is a natural fit and the most compelling major transaction available in our industry," Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis said in a statement.

London-based Anglo American, a British-South African enterprise, on Monday rejected the merger proposal, dismissing it as "totally unacceptable."

But Davis maintained Wednesday that Xstrata remains "convinced of the undeniable logic for a merger of equals."

The statement estimated that there would be "pre-tax synergies" of more than...