Anglo-Swiss mining company Glencore International has been dogged by another delay for its $35bn acquisition of miner Xstrata.
The miner has been waiting for months for the merger approval from Chinese federal government after it set a deadline of 31 October 2012. Glencore has stated that it had positive discussions with China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), following which it has postponed its deadline to 2 May 2013.
In its statement, the company asserted that the discussions are in its final stages.
"However, Glencore does not expect to receive the final decision from MOFCOM in time for the merger to be completed by 16 April 2013," it, however, added.
Earlier in 2012, Glencore had to wait for months to secure approval to acquire grain trader Viterra that completed in December after it sought for approval in March.