Anil Agarwal plans to pick 13% stake in Anglo American for $2.4 billion

Move will make Agarwal the 2nd-largest shareholder after South Africa's Public Investment Corp

Anil Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta Resources, plans to buy as much as $2.4 billion of Anglo American Plc shares in the market after a merger proposal failed last year. The full stake would equate to about 13 per cent of Anglo’s stock, making Agarwal the second-largest shareholder after South Africa’s Public Investment Corp. It will give him a strong voice in the company’s strategy as the blue-chip British mining firm cements its recovery from a slump in commodity prices.

While Agarwal said the purchase was a family investment and he won’t make a takeover bid, the brash Indian tycoon offered to