CAPE TOWN/LONDON (Reuters) – Top executives at trader Glencore (GLEN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and miner Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are hammering out the final details of an $80 billion tie-up to seal the industry’s largest ever takeover, which could be announced as early as Tuesday.

Xstrata, in which Glencore already has a 34 percent stake, announced last week it had been approached by the world’s largest diversified commodities trader and was in discussions over an all-share “merger of equals,” a deal that would be the largest in the sector since Rio Tinto’s takeover of Alcan in 2007.

LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore’s (GLEN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) earlier-than-expected move on mining group Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) could indicate that mining company valuations have reached a bottom, getting bankers excited about the prospect of a revival in merger activity.

Glencore is already Xstrata’s biggest shareholder and a deal has been expected since the commodities trader went public in 2011.

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Glencore’s
earlier-than-expected move on mining group Xstrata could
indicate that mining company valuations have reached a bottom,
getting bankers excited about the prospect of a revival in
merger activity.

Glencore is already Xstrata’s biggest shareholder and a deal
has been expected since the commodities trader went public in
2011.

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Advisers on the potential 50
billion pounds ($79 billion) merger of Glencore and
Xstrata are facing a reduced fee pot of up to $140
million, based on estimates from Thomsonreuters/Freeman
Consulting.

Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg has recruited
Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, people familiar with
the matter said, which will share $50 million to $70 million in
the event of a successful deal.

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Mining group Xstrata
and commodities trader Glencore are in talks over an
all-share merger that could create a combined group worth more
than 50 billion pounds ($79 billion), shaking up the industry
with its biggest deal to date.

Glencore, the world’s largest diversified commodities
trader, already owns 34 percent of Xstrata and a tie-up between
the two Swiss-based companies — in a deal which would trump Rio
Tinto’s $38 billion acquisition of Alcan in 2007 — has
long been expected, as Glencore aims to add more mines to its
trading clout.

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Bank of America Merrill
Lynch stands to earn the lion’s share of a fee pot worth
around $100 million as the only bank to win a role related to
both multi-billion dollar bids for Swiss companies Roche
and ABB.

The firm would collect $25-$33 million for advising
engineering group ABB if a $3.9 billion friendly deal with U.S.
electrical components maker Thomas & Betts goes ahead,
according to estimates from Thomsonreuters/Freeman Consulting.

ZURICH/LONDON Jan 30 (Reuters) – Swiss engineering
group ABB has agreed to buy U.S. electrical components
maker Thomas & Betts for $3.9 billion to ramp up its
presence in the world’s largest market for low-voltage products.

Under the terms of Monday’s deal, ABB will pay $72 per share
in cash — a 24 percent premium over the stock’s closing price
on Friday — for the company, which supplies the construction,
communications and power industries with connectors for cables,
steel masts and heating and ventilation products.

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) – The most lucrative client
relationships take years to build, yet the tough lending
decisions banks now face could sever them in minutes.

Europe’s banks have long discounted loans to clients in
order to maintain close links with borrowers so they can win
more profitable business from them at a later date.

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Global investment banking
fees hit their lowest level for three years in 2011, costing $5
billion in lost income compared with 2010, as dealmaking
collapsed, stoking fierce competition for the trickle of
remaining appointments.

Concerns about Europe’s sovereign debt crisis rocked markets
in the second half, reversing a promising start to the year and
sending global fees down 6 percent year-on-year to $81 billion,
according to ThomsonReuters data.

LONDON/NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Dealmakers
could find themselves with even more free time on their
hands next year if Europe’s fiscal roadmap fails to convince
investors and stabilize global markets.

In Europe, activity will be flat at best next year even
if measures agreed to at last week’s EU summit restore
confidence that the continent can overcome its debt crisis.