Glencore Prepares for the Trade of All Trades With Rio Tinto

The potential combination of Rio Tinto Plc and Glencore Plc to create the world’s largest mining company is back on. There are some obvious reasons why a deal mooted so many times and for so many years is being reattempted now. But the bottom line is how good a price Glencore — a trader by DNA — can squeeze from its suitor.

The tie-up under discussion is being touted as a merger, but it’s hard to see it as anything but a takeover by Rio. The larger company is capitalized at around £102 billion ($137 billion), more than twice that of its target before the Financial Times reported on Jan. 8 that discussions had resumed.