Xstrata PLC Mick Davis not to take Glencore Xstrata CEO role (4607C)

TIDMXTA

RNS Number : 4607C

Xstrata PLC

16 April 2013

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

NEWS RELEASE

Mick Davis not taking up role as CEO of Glencore Xstrata on completion of merger, other Executive Committee members to step down

Zug, 16 April 2013

Xstrata plc Chief Executive Officer Mick Davis has agreed with Glencore International plc to not take up the six month role of Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Glencore Xstrata plc ("Glencore Xstrata" or "the Combined Group") following completion of the merger.

Consequently Mr Davis will step down from Xstrata plc upon completion of the merger, currently expected to be 2 May 2013, allowing Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg to assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Combined Group from the effective date.

Mr Davis has agreed to act as consultant to the Combined Group until 30 June 2013 in order to support the integration process. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger, Mr Davis's position on the Glencore Xstrata Board will be taken by a current Xstrata executive from the effective date.

A number of other Xstrata plc Executive Committee members have indicated their intention to step down from their roles on the effective date. As previously announced, Xstrata's Chief Financial Officer Trevor Reid has decided not to take up the position of Chief Financial Officer of Glencore Xstrata plc upon completion of the merger. Xstrata Copper Chief Executive Charlie Sartain, Xstrata Nickel Chief Executive Ian Pearce, and Loutjie Smit, Interim Chief Executive of Xstrata Alloys, will leave the company on the effective date. Executive General Manager, Strategy and Corporate Affairs Thras Moraitis, and Chief Legal Counsel Benny Levene will also step down on the effective date but, along with Trevor Reid, have agreed to act as consultants to the Combined Group for a period of up to six months following the effective date in order to support the integration of their respective functions.

Xstrata plc Chairman Sir John Bond said:

"The building of Xstrata over the past decade from modest origins to a FTSE 20 global diversified mining major has been one of the outstanding entrepreneurial achievements of our time. Based on a vision about the impending mining super cycle and the opportunities it created for a nimble new mining group, it was the exceptional leadership, drive and business acumen of Mick Davis and his team that turned this vision into reality. They built a business that embedded an entrepreneurial spirit within a committed but lean management team, combined with a clear sense of purpose and dedication to sustainability, to deliver value in its broadest sense to the many stakeholders in our business. As Xstrata transitions into the merged company with Glencore, Mick and his team can look back with pride on a decade of exceptional achievement. They leave Xstrata with the warmest appreciation of the Board for their outstanding accomplishments."

Mick Davis commented:

"I look back on the past eleven years at Xstrata with enormous satisfaction. I have had the great pleasure and privilege of working with a talented and committed group of leaders. Together we were able to build a $50 billion global company from a $500 million minnow, delivering significant returns to our shareholders in the process. At the same time we created a unique culture that empowered individuals to perform and identify opportunities to create value, while making a positive and lasting contribution to the communities and countries in which we work.

"My executive team and I are pleased to hand over to the new Glencore Xstrata a company with a strong legacy for value creation and growth, a high quality portfolio of operations and growth options, supported by a very healthy balance sheet. As importantly, we are certain that each of our 84,000 employees and contractors will bring to the new merged entity the unique set of capabilities and values which have made Xstrata so successful and, in particular, an approach to sustainability which is looked to as the model for the industry. All those who travelled on the journey enjoy my most sincere respect and of course great appreciation. At Xstrata we have been proud not only of producing the vital building blocks of society, but also of the way we have gone about this quest - with a clear understanding of the need to do so in an entrepreneurial and sustainable manner that creates shared value for all stakeholders. I look to my colleagues to keep this legacy alive within the new Glencore Xstrata for many years to come. "

As referred to in the merger update announcement released by Glencore today, following receipt of approval in China and Glencore having now given effect to the commitments required by the European Commission, completion of the Merger is now only conditional upon completion of the Xstrata court process as further set out in the New Scheme Document in connection with the Merger published by Xstrata on 25 October 2012. The expected timetable in connection with the Merger is as set out in Glencore's merger update announcement.

Ends

Neither the content of the Xstrata's website nor the content of any other website accessible from hyperlinks on the company's website is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

Xstrata contacts

 
  Alison Flynn 
 Telephone    [phone] 
 Mobile       [phone] 
 Email        [e-mail] 
 www.xstrata.com 
 
 Aura Financial                     Stockwell Communications 
 Michael Oke [phone]       Philip Gawith [phone] 
 Andy Mills 
 
 
 
 

Notes to editors

Mick Davis

Mick Davis became CEO of Xstrata AG in October 2001. He joined Xstrata from Billiton, where as Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer he was instrumental in achieving the merger of BHP and Billiton. At Xstrata, he set about transforming a heavily indebted $500 million ferroalloys and zinc business with limited growth options into a major mining company. The first step on this journey was an Initial Public Offering in London in March 2002 to create Xstrata plc and the simultaneous acquisition of Glencore's South African coal assets to expand the portfolio and create scale.

Since that time, under his leadership, Xstrata has increased operating profit by 2,800%, completed $35 billion of acquisitions in 40 separate transactions, raised $17 billion from the capital markets, delivered a total of $2.2 billion of real cost savings and successfully developed 23 major growth projects, including the recently commissioned Antapaccay copper mine in Peru and the newly producing Koniambo nickel mine in New Caledonia. A further 10 major projects are on track to reach completion in the next two years.

During this period Xstrata's Total Shareholder Return of 338.5% outstripped the FTSE 100 performance of 92.1% and the FTSE 350 mining index performance of 260.8%. Xstrata plc has been recognised as a leading company in the mining sector for sustainability performance, including as sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for five consecutive years.

Charlie Sartain

Charlie Sartain originally worked with MIM Holdings for more than 20 years, initially in a number of mining engineering and management roles at Mount Isa Mines, then as General Manager of the Ravenswood Gold operations and General Manager of the Ernest Henry Mine, all in Queensland, Australia. In mid-2000 he was appointed General Manager of Minera Alumbrera in Argentina, and then Executive General Manager - Latin America in mid-2002. In July 2003 Charlie was appointed Chief Executive Copper Americas for Xstrata, before being appointed Chief Executive of Xstrata Copper in January 2004.

Charlie is a director and immediate past Chairman of the International Copper Association, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, a member of the Senate of the University of Queensland, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, a director of Wesley Research Institute and a former director of the Australian Government's Council on Australian Latin America Relations.

Ian Pearce

Ian Peace is currently Chairperson of the Mining Association of Canada. He has worked for more than 27 years in the metallurgy and mining field. He joined Falconbridge in 2003 where he spearheaded the advancement of major growth initiatives as Senior Vice President of Projects, before being appointed chief operating officer in 2006. He was appointed Chief Executive of Xstrata Nickel following the acquisition of Falconbridge in August 2006. Previously, Ian worked on Canadian oil sands projects as well as metallurgical and mining projects for Fluor in Canada, Indonesia, Chile and South Africa. He holds an engineering HND in mineral processing and a BSc from the University of Witwatersrand.

Ian sits on the board of directors of the Mining Association of Canada and the Nickel Institute, and is on the Advisory Board of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100.

Further Information

Defined terms used in this announcement, unless defined herein, have the same meanings as in the new scheme circular published by Xstrata plc on 25 October 2012.

This announcement is for information purposes only. It is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Merger or otherwise nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law.

This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or prospectus equivalent document.

Notice to US holders of Xstrata Shares