By Thy

Glencore looks like to be the first mover among the mining and commodities giants to vocally look for M&A opportunities after the divestment trend to cut debt, according to the crowd-based signals from the Sentifi machine.

The Australian reported that Glencore and Apollo Minerals had joined hands to offer a $1 billion deal to acquire Anglo American’s metallurgical coal mines in Australia.

Glencore seems to be more proactive in seeking for M&A deals at the moment while other rivals are still trying to lower their debt through asset sales. CEO Ivan Glasenberg said that the company was looking at every opportunity in the market provided that the balance sheet would not be damaged.

The Swiss mining and commodity giant had sold 70% of its stake in Vasilkovskoye gold mine in Kazakhstan for more than $2 billion and been in talks to unload 9.9% stake in its agriculture unit for around $625 million in May. Glencore saw its profit dip 70% last year amid the commodities slump.

The sale of coal mines from Anglo American is among its massive sale plan to dispose coal, iron ore, manganese and nickel to reduce debt and return to profit. Anglo American has also accepted the offer from China Molydenum to sell its niobium and phosphates businesses in Brazil for $1.5 billion. The company expects to unload between $3 billion and $4 billion of its assets this year.

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