, Columnist
Should Anyone Be Buying What Glencore Is Selling?
The commodities giant is trying to create a second-hand market for cobalt.
A London vehicle is offering investors the opportunity to speculate on cobalt, the metal used in batteries.
Photographer: Junior Kannah/AFP/Getty Images
Commodity giant Glencore Plc produces lots of cobalt, the metal that goes into batteries. So much that it doesn’t know what to do with it all. So why not create a second-hand market? Enter Cobalt Holdings Plc, a company trying to raise $230 million in an initial public offering in London.
The venture’s business model is simple: Raise money from investors, use the proceeds to buy about 6,000 metric tons of cobalt from Glencore, stick the metal in several warehouses and wait. Hopefully, prices will rise. Or not.