LONDON — Glencore International Plc has received approval from the South African Competition Tribunal for its proposed merger with Xstrata Plc following a Jan. 18 hearing, according to the company.

The merger’s success now depends largely on approval from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, although no word has yet been given on when or if this might happen. It is also dependent on the completion of the Xstrata court process, which was set out in the new scheme document on the merger, published by Xstrata in October, Glencore said.

Baar, Switzerland-based Glencore must also carry out the commitments set out by the European Commission in order to meet the conditions of its approval.

The completion date for the deal was recently pushed back by six weeks to March 15 in order to allow Glencore time to release its preliminary results before the merger is completed (amm.com, Jan. 18).

Meanwhile, South African power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. dropped its objections to the merger, the companies said Jan. 18, after they reached a confidential agreement on the future supply of coal. 

A version of this article was first published by AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin.