ANGLO AMERICAN will name a new chief executive to replace Tony Trahar in the next few days, The Times has learnt.

Mr Trahar will retire at the company’s annual general meeting next March and Anglo has been seeking a replacement for the past six months.

Philippe Varin, the chief executive of the steel-maker Corus, was an early favourite for the job but he is understood to be no longer in the running. Mr Varin has said that he was committed to seeing through Corus’s acquisition by the Tata Group.

Internal candidates are thought to include Rene Medori, the finance director, and Simon Thompson, head of the base metals division.

Anglo’s headhunter, Spencer Stuart, is also thought to have been interviewing senior executives at both BHP Billiton and Shell. The company yesterday refused to comment on the timing of an announcement except to reiterate earlier guidance of “before the end of this year”.

The imminent appointment of a new chief executive comes as Anglo is again the centre of takeover speculation. Brian Gilbertson, who will become non-executive chairman of Rusal, the Russian aluminium company, is understood to have targeted Anglo for a possible reverse takeover next year.

Anglo is considered vulnerable by many mining analysts because its wide spread of divisions are ripe for breaking up. In recent months Anglo has been linked with Rio Tinto, Xstrata and others.

Numis Securities in a note to clients yesterday said: “It increasingly appears that there may be a hotly contested battle for Anglo American, the key protagonists being Xstrata, CVRD, Rusal and, somewhat less likely, Rio Tinto. Further players, such as a Chinese consortium, joining the fray is also possible.”

Anglo is a sprawling industrial conglomerate that includes some of the world’s biggest mines, a 51 per cent stake in AngloGold Ashanti and a 45 per cent stake in De Beers.

It has been divesting non-core assets in a bid to improve its focus and will seek an initial public offering for its Mondi paper and packaging division later this year, which could raise about $7 billion.

Anglo is also considering the sale of its 51 per cent stake in AngloGold Ashanti.

The company’s supporters insist that Anglo is on track and its share price has risen 37 per cent since October last year, when it announced a strategic review of its various divisions. By comparison BHP’s shares are up 21 per cent and Rio’s 28 per cent.

Anglo will also return $7.5 billion (£4 billion) to shareholders this year through buybacks.

With both Xstrata and Brazil’s CVRD having just completed deals worth more than $20 billion and Rusal integrating its rivals Sual and Glencore, a takeover may not be possible until next year. Also, Mr Gilbertson’s hopes may not sit well with Rusal’s existing management.

Numis said: “We continue to believe that an Anglo American take-out is a 12- to 18-month story.”

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