Glencore-Rio merger will happen hedge funds told

The most intriguing idea that’s floating around is a merger between Glencore and Rio Tinto, which would combine the world’s second and fourth largest miner and knock BHP Billiton off its throne.

After going away for a while talk that a combination may happen after all is resurfacing with Ian Hannam, the once and future king of mining M&A, jockeying for position in the event of a mega-merger Bloomberg reports:

Hedge funds including GLG Partners, DE Shaw & Co, and Pentwater Capital Management were told this month by a prominent London mining banker to prepare for an all-but-inevitable takeover of Rio Tinto Group by Glencore Plc (GLEN), according to people familiar with the meeting.

Former JPMorgan Chase & Co. dealmaker Ian Hannam, who now runs a boutique advisory firm, convened representatives of more than 20 investors at Corrigan’s Mayfair restaurant in the British capital in mid-November to share his views on the potential deal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The meeting was intended in part to help position Hannam’s firm, Hannam & Partners, to win a role in the transaction, the people said.

“If not today, this deal will happen sometime in the near future,” Hannam said in his presentation, according to a copy seen by Bloomberg. “Glencore is M&A savvy and times deals well. The combination will create a super-major with a diversified portfolio of world-class mining assets.”

SEE ALSO: What will Ivan buy next? and GlenTinto: A second take