Anglo says has not found right fit for big merger

By Eric Onstad

LONDON (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) has evaluated possible major mergers amid a consolidation wave in the mining sector but has not found anything that would create shareholder value, CEO Cynthia Carroll said on Wednesday.

"I'm of the belief that there will be in all likelihood further consolidation," she said during a question period after a speech at London's Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Responding to a question about China taking a stake in rivals like Rio Tinto (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) and speculation Brazil's Vale (VALE5.SA) may be interested in buying Anglo, she said:

"We're regularly looking, we're regularly refreshing, we're regularly assessing what it means to be independent, what the embedded value potential is in Anglo.

"So far, we have not established that there is the right fit to create shareholder value, but we are open for business, we are flexible, we're always looking.

"I don't expect that we're going to be swallowed up by the Chinese tomorrow. I do think there are a lot of rumours going around, starting first probably with our friends in Brazil, but we're very clear about our expectations and really at the end of the day creating value for shareholders."

Media speculation has pegged Anglo as a possible takeover target of Vale RIO.N, which called off negotiations in March for a possible acquisition of Xstrata (XTA.L).

Vale, the world's biggest iron ore producer, said last week that it would sell up to $15 billion (7.6 billion pounds) in shares to help finance growth in its existing businesses and potential acquisitions, but denied it was in takeover talks.