Commodities giant Glencore has started talks with Rio Tinto's largest shareholder, Aluminium Corp of China (Chinalco), as it seeks to pave the way for a possible merger in 2015, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
Reuters reported last month that Glencore could make a move for mining rival Rio Tinto to gain exposure to iron ore, citing banking sources.
Bloomberg said in its report that Glencore had made a preliminary step towards securing the tie-up by holding discussions in recent weeks with Chinalco, which owns a 12.91 percent stake in Rio Tinto, according to Reuters data.
Citing two people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg reported that Glencore had opened the talks to gauge Chinalco's interest in a potential deal.
Spokesmen for both Rio Tinto and Glencore said their companies do not comment on market speculation.
(Reuters: Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by David Goodman)
