Glencore share price slips back while reports suggest it held a secret meeting with investors
Embattled Glencore reportedly held a secret meeting with an influential investor trade body yesterday, over the commodities miner and trader's £1.6bn share placing earlier this month.
A meeting took place between the Investment Association – whose members manage £5.5 trillion of client assets – and John Burton, Glencore's company secretary, according to Sky News.
The summit focused on concerns that shareholder pre-emption rights, which give existing shareholders the first refusal on any new share issue, were not applied to the share placing.
Read more: Glencore’s equity placing attacked for ignoring shareholders’ rights
The Investment Association and the National Association of Pension Funds previously issued a statement saying: "this sets a very damaging precedent for market practices."
Glencore's shares closed down 30 per cent yesterday over fears about how its debt-heavy balance sheet will hold up if copper prices fail to recover. But the shares sustained a relief rally this morning, popping more than nine per cent at the open, however they've since fallen back to 6.5 per cent.