Reuters leaves competition in the dust on Glencore IPO details

Reuters was ahead of Bloomberg and Dow Jones by more than one hour on April 14 with the IPO details of top commodities trader, Glencore. Reuters clients had all the major details of the offering, London’s largest ever, including its planned size, lock up for senior management and use of proceeds. The story added to our exclusive interview published earlier in the week with the Hong Kong businessman who ended up being nominated chairman of Glencore. The companys credit default swaps gained 2 basis points on Thursday, posting the best performance in the iTraxx Europe index, on expectation the offering will improve Glencore’s credit profile. Two days later, Reuters revealed that two of the banks backing Glencores listing value the commodity trader at up to $78 billion, including the new money raised in what could be a record London flotation. The analysis, which at its most bullish surpasses the maximum $73 billion implied by Glencores own figures, shed light on how Barclays, Credit Suisse and others are presenting the Swiss firm to prospective investors. The story, citing research seen by Reuters, was used by newspapers including Britains Independent and The Standard of Hong Kong; prompted a front-page story in Londons City AM; and was the top story in FT Alphavilles 6am Cut email.