Vale Says Not Seeking Big Ticket M&A

Roger Agnelli, the CEO of Brazilian miner Vale, says he is not focused on large acquisitions, according to wire reports citing his remarks on a Thursday conference call. A more likely scenario is for Vale to make small and medium-sized purchases, according to the reports. Agnelli reportedly considers acquisitions possible but not probable. The company is also actively developing a number of organic growth projects. Earlier this year Vale tried to acquire Xstrata for some $90bn, and raised upwards of $50bn in debt financing for the deal, which fell apart before any agreement was signed. It is also in talks to acquire Paranapanema assets in Brazil, and rumored as a potential bidder for CSN’s Namisa and Mexico’s Autlan, both of which are on the block. In June it raised $12bn through an equity follow-on without specifying use of proceeds, other than saying capex and potential acquisitions were possible. An eventual acquisition of Lonmin by Xstrata would make the Swiss company even more expensive. Xstrata this week made an unsolicited bid $10bn for Lonmin, which was summarily rejected by the target.