State-run Abu Dhabi investment company heads list of major stakeholders that includes US private equity houses, Swiss banks and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund
Asian and Middle Eastern investors, as well as big US investment and hedge funds, will emerge owning more than 30% of new Glencore shares when the company lists on 24 May. Glencore has locked in 12 "cornerstone" investors who have promised not to sell for at least six months. Leading them is Aabar, part of the Abu Dhabi government's International Petroleum Investment Company, which has had a relationship with Glencore for 15 years.
The Abu Dhabi investment vehicle has been allocated the biggest single stake, worth $850m (£514m), and could buy more shares during the book-building process over the next fortnight. China's Zijin Mining will acquire a $100m holding, while GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, has agreed to spend $400m.
American funds are heavily represented, with BlackRock, Fidelity and York Capital accounting for around $800m. Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse, and US hedge fund Och-Ziff, are also to take large stakes.
Michael Tamvakis, professor of commodity economics and finance at Cass Business School in London, said: "By attracting big international investors with interests in commodities from one side of the world to the other, Glencore is advertising its potential for future growth and expansion. It's a tremendous vote of confidence."
Tamvakis added that the flotation was an opportunity for Glencore to invest in new projects, which will consolidate its position "not just as an intermediary trader, but an industrial concern taking more control of the commodity supply chain".
Ivan Glasenberg, Glencore's chief executive, said that agreements between international investors and the Swiss-based group "represented one of the largest cornerstone books by value ever achieved for an IPO".
He added: "Over the decades we have built our business on long-term mutually beneficial relationships with customers, suppliers and capital providers."
Analysts said that demand for Glencore stock was bound to be strong among Asian and Middle Eastern investors because they are keen to diversify out of US government debt and secure supplies of vital raw materials.
Jan Randolph, head of sovereign risk at IHS Global Insight, said: "The Chinese, in particular, want to lock in supply chains and reduce their exposure to the dollar."
Glencore's disclosure that big international players are planning to come aboard will be a fillip for the company, which has drawn fire over its corporate governance and sexist remarks made by its chairman, Simon Murray.