Rio Tinto and Glencore in potential merger talks - Bloomberg

Combining the two businesses would potentially create a company to leapfrog longstanding industry leader BHP Group, which is worth about USD126 billion.

Rio Tinto PLC and Glencore PLC have been discussing combining their businesses in what could result in the industry's largest-ever deal, Bloomberg said on Thursday.

According to Bloomberg sources, Rio and Glencore have recently held early-stage talks about a deal, although it is unclear whether the talks are still live.

Rio Tinto is British-Australian multinational company that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation. At Thursday's closing share price of 4,931.50 pence, it had a market value of GBP85.51 billion.

Glencore is a commodities trader and miner based in Barr, Switzerland. At Thursday's closing share price of 370.50p, it had a market value of GBP45.49 billion.

Combining the two businesses would potentially create a company to leapfrog longstanding industry leader BHP Group, which is worth about USD126 billion.