Creditors of the German lead factory are negotiating to sell it to Glencore.

SMM: according to news, creditors of Weser Metall, a major insolvent German producer, have decided to start exclusive negotiations on the sale of the lead factory to Glencore, a commodities group.

Glencore said it would not comment.

Weser Metall GmbH, based in Nordenham, produces about 105000 tons of lead a year and is one of the leading lead producers in Europe. In May, the company filed for bankruptcy after demand for metals fell due to the Xinguan pneumonia crisis.

The lead factory stopped production last weekend.

The company's creditors had earlier said they planned to start negotiations with potential buyers in July.

A meeting of creditors on Tuesday decided that the process of finding potential buyers was over, according to a statement.

"negotiations on the continued operation of the company will take effect immediately, only with Glencore."

Glencore's acquisition could also depend on negotiations with the local government of the German state of Lower Saxony, including the lead factory, over its past responsibility for environmental pollution.

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