BHP BHP Group Limited

By Scott Patterson 

Glencore PLC said Thursday it would purchase $1 billion in stock from investors, launching the buyback just days after disclosing it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Glencore's shares fell as much as 12% Tuesday after it said the Justice Department was seeking records related to its compliance with American antibribery and anti-money-laundering laws in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Venezuela. It declined to provide details.

Glencore's shares are down 16% so far this year, compared with advances by mining-giant rivals that are benefiting from strong commodity prices amid steady appetite for resources in China and elsewhere. Anglo American PLC is 12% higher year-to-date, BHP Billiton Ltd. is up 11% and Rio Tinto PLC has gained 2%.

Glencore has long signaled a buyback. Amid several years of low commodities prices, Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg sold off assets and pared back debt dramatically. More recently, prices have bounced back strongly, boosting Glencore's stock price. On Thursday, shares rose more than 2% after the buyback disclosure.

The Anglo-Swiss mining company's shares have been weighed down this year by a series of negative news surrounding its giant copper and cobalt mining operations in Congo. The Congolese government has imposed a new mining code seeking to extract higher payments from mining companies, a move Mr. Glasenberg and other mining executives have rallied against.

Glencore faced a legal threat from Congo's state-owned mining company, Gecamines, which sued one of its Congo copper companies, Katanga Mining, over its $9.2 billion debt load. Glencore later said a unit of Katanga Mining would issue $5.6 billion in stock to retire debt, resolving the dispute.

Glencore also sued in Congo by its former partner, Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, who last year was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged corruption in Congo. Glencore temporarily halted royalty payments it owed Mr. Gertler following the sanctions, prompting the lawsuit. In June, Glencore said it would resume the payments.

Write to Scott Patterson at scott.patterson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 05, 2018 08:43 ET (12:43 GMT)

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