Nomura London Unit Becomes Anglo American M&A Adviser -Nikkei

LONDON (Nikkei)--Nomura International PLC has been appointed to jointly advise major U.K.-based mining company Anglo American Plc. (AAL.LN), which in late June rejected a hostile takeover bid from Swiss rival Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN), the Nikkei reported in its Wednesday evening edition.

In cooperation with UBS AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which have also been named advisers, the London-based Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604.TO) subsidiary will advise Anglo American on such strategic options as fending off further takeover bids by Xstrata, and negotiating to raise the purchase price offered by the Swiss company from around Y4 trillion.

The appointment will involve Nomura in what is potentially one of the biggest M&A deals that the Japanese brokerage has handled overseas.

Nomura acquired the core European and Middle Eastern operations of now-defunct Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. last fall, and integrated them into its investment banking operations. It has since underwritten new share issues for European companies.