A combination of scale and commercial reach that looked compelling on paper, but one that unraveled quickly once the detail — and the power dynamics — came into focus. This week, the music stopped. Rio Tinto and Glencore have formally ended merger discussions, unable to agree on terms. Publicly, this is being framed as a simple failure to deliver shareholder value. Privately, it looks far more like a collision between two corporate DNAs that were never going to coexist without one of them blinking first. And neither did. Glencore’s response cut straight to the bone. The board’s objection was not about price alone; it ... (full story)