Ex-Xstrata CEO Mick Davis has raised $1 billion from Noble Group and private-equity fund TPG to start a new mid-tier diversified mining company; South African-born Davis and a small team helped build Xstrata into one of the world’s biggest resources companies.
Noble, Asia’s largest raw-materials trader, and TPG agreed to invest $500 million each into X2 Resources, according to a statement from X2 Partners, also founded by former Xstrata CFO Trevor Reid. Both were part of the team that set up Xstrata, which grew 100-fold to a market value of about $50 billion after a decade of mergers, acquisitions and expansions.
Glencore International, which completed the $29-billion purchase of Xstrata in Q2 2013, aims to sell Las Bambas, a Peruvian copper project it inherited from the takeover, to accommodate the Chinese regulatory approval creating the world’s No. 4 mining company.
X2, however, will likely bid against the Chinese or with the Chinese for the Las Bambas in Peru, according to analysts. Chinalco Mining Corp. International, MMG Ltd. and Citic Resources Holdings Inc. are among Chinese companies studying offers for Las Bambas, potentially valued at about $5 billion, observers said.
Davis departed as CEO of Xstrata in May with $121 million, when current Glencore-Xstrata CEO Ivan Glasenberg took control.
