Glencore sticks to guns on Xstrata deal as profits rise

Glencore has given no sign of adjusting the terms of its Xstrata takeover offer as it reports a 7% rise in full-year profit despite numbers slumping in the second half of 2012.

CEO Ivan Glasenberg said the proposed $90bn merger with miner Xstrata, announced on 7 February, was the "logical next step for two complementary businesses to create a new powerhouse in the global commodities industry." Shareholders including Standard Life and Schroders have said they will vote against the deal unless Glencore improves terms, which currently involve it offering 2.8 of its own shares for each of Xstrata's. Brewin Dolphin analyst Nik Stanojevic told Reuters he expects the final agreement to be closer to a ratio of three shares for every one of Xstrata's, but said "strat...