Companies insisted that the delay to the paperwork would not alter the overall timetable to complete the deal in the third quarter
The £23bn tie up between Glencore and Xstrata has hit a glitch after the two companies admitted that crucial paperwork related to their planned deal would be posted out to shareholders a month later than planned.
Shareholders in the mining group Xstrata and the commodity trading outfit Glencore will have to wait until next month before being able to scrutinise the mountains of paper supporting their deal while the two companies continue to hold "constructive discussions" with competition authorities in Europe.
In February, shortly after the deal was announced, the two companies admitted that they would be subjected to "anti-trust" scrutiny but stressed at the time that their merger would "not result in any negative impact on competition in the commodity markets in which the two companies operate".
While the companies insisted that the delay to the paperwork would not alter the overall timetable to complete in the third quarter, it comes as the bosses of the two companies are embarking on a charm offensive to convince shareholders they should back the deal.
The shareholder vote on the deal will now place in July and while the tie-up had long been anticipated in the City as Glencore already owns a third of Xstrata, not all shareholders are impressed with the terms being offered.
Glencore is offering 2.8 new shares for every Xstrata share it did not already own and some analysts have argued that an offer closer to 3.3 shares would be more likely to entice Xstrata shareholders yet to be convinced of the merits of the deal - including Standard Life and Schroders.
Glencore shares slipped 15 to 399.8p - well below the 530p at which they were first sold to investors during the flotation a year ago. Headquartered in Switzerland, it is the world's biggest commodities trader and the flotation is often regarded as having taken place to not only unleash millions of pounds to its employees but also to facilitate the tie up with Xstrata, whose shares slipped 3p to 1102.5p..
The investor roadshows being led by Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg and his counterpart at Xstrata Mick Davies are not thought to be including the Qatar Investment Authority, the wealthy Middle Eastern investor which has been building up its stake in Xstrata and is thought to be supportive of the deal.
John Meyer, mining analyst at Fairfax, argued that the competition authorities in Europe would be unlikely to spoil the deal because the companies are already interlinked. "Xstrata has always been linked to Glencore so how can they possibly turn round and say 'you can't do the deal?'," he said.