Glencore's controversial decision to allocate 22% of shares to employees indicates a positive commitment to the business, according to Baring Asset Management's global mining manager Clive Burstow.
The commodity giant raised $2.5bn in a share issue last week as it looks to reduce its net debt from $29.6bn to $27bn. However, the Investment Association and the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) criticised the company for "serious breach" of shareholder rights. The group allocated 22% of the new shares to employee shareholders, thereby ignoring the pre-emption rights of its other shareholders set out in the principles originally agreed upon when it first sought shareholder approval for the issuance back in May. However, Barings' Burstow (pictured) said the fact Glencore c...
To continue reading this article...
Join Investment Week for free
Signup and gain exclusive members-only insights - all free of charge!
- Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
- Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
- Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
- Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
- Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes
