Rio Tinto, Glencore confirm merger talks

Rio Tinto, one of world's leading iron ore producers, and Glencore, the Swiss-based mining giant, both confirmed on Friday that they are in preliminary discussions about a possible combination of some or all of their businesses, including an all-share merger.

In separate statements, both companies indicated that any merger transaction would be structured as a Rio Tinto acquisition of Glencore through a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement. If successful, the takeover will create the world's largest mining company with a combined market capitalization exceeding $200 billion. The renewed buyout talks between