Billionaire denies bid

INDIAN billionaire Anil Agarwal says he has no plans to push for a seat on Anglo American’s board despite plans to buy a £2bn stake.

The chairman of miner Vedanta resources says he is not an activist investor, nor is he looking for Anglo assets in South Africa.

‘I believe in the management, I believe in the company,’ the 63-year-old told the FT Commodities Global Summit in Switzerland.

Speculation mounted about Agarwal’s plans for Anglo after he said his family trust, Volcan Holdings, planned to buy nearly 13pc of the miner, to make it the second-largest shareholder.

Agarwal was rebuffed when he suggested a merger last year. Anglo shares rose 1.3pc, or 16p, to 1234.5p.