Glencore raises $2.5bn via shares sale

Swiss mining giant Glencore, hit by collapsing commodities prices, on Wednesday raised $2.5 billion via a shares sale as part of its vast debt-slashing plan.

London-listed Glencore said in a statement that it had sold new shares worth about £1.6 billion or 2.2 billion euros in order to pay down debt.

The company, which has lost 57 percent of its market value this year, is grappling with tumbling commodity prices as China's economic slowdown weighs on demand and sparks havoc across markets.

The rights issue sent Glencore's share price soaring to the top of the London stock market in early morning deals on Wednesday.

Shares jumped 2.77 percent to 131.60 pence on the FTSE 100 index, which opened 0.69 percent higher.

Glencore had last week revealed the $2.5-billion shares sale as part of broader plans to slash its $30 billion debt pile by about a third.

The company sold the new stock at 125 pence per share, which marked a 2.4-percent discount to the closing price on Tuesday. It offloaded 1.3 billion shares worth up to 9.99 percent of the group.

A slowdown in China, the world's top commodities consumer, has reverberated around the globe, with major producers, including Brazil and Canada, falling into recession.

Concerns over prolonged stalled Chinese growth have slashed iron ore prices by roughly a half, as coal, copper and other commodities have fallen by 20-40 percent.