Video Related To: Xstrata and Glencore boards meet

Commodities trader Glencore has said it will not improve its revised $36bn (£22.5bn) bid for miner Xstrata after days of intense negotiation - reportedly brokered by former Prime Minister Tony Blair. But the Swiss multinational hopes to win over recalcitrant Xstrata shareholders by allowing the miner's chief executive, Mick Davis, to become boss of the new company for six months. He will then step aside and hand the reigns to Glencore's chief executive Ivan Glasenberg - who became an overnight billionaire when the company floated on the London Stock Exchange last year. The so-called merger of equals between Xstrata and its biggest shareholder had been teetering on the brink of collapse after it became clear that Glencore's initial bid would be defeated by shareholders led by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. Mr Blair is thought to have been brought in to help broker a revised offer, with media reports saying he was paid up to $1m (£625000) for his efforts at the three-hour meeting at Claridge's hotel in Mayfair, London. Glencore has now stressed that its improved bid of 3.05 new shares for every Xstrata share - increased from 2.8 -- is its final offer. "Glencore confirms that it is an all-share merger, and it will not increase the merger ratio further," the company said. "The increased merger ratio represents a substantial premium for a company with a 34% shareholder." The new bid will now be studied by Xstrata's board and non-executive directors who will then decide whether <b>...</b>