Mick Davis net worth is estimated to be in excess of $5 billion (Photo: Gianluca Colla/Bloomberg)

Mick Davis net worth is estimated to be in excess of $5 billion (Photo: Gianluca Colla/Bloomberg)

According to a Bloomberg article last week, 'Big Mick' Davis, the former CEO of Xstrata Plc, is seeking to raise $3 billion for his private, X2 Resources, prior to him acquiring any assets.  Davis, the 55 year-old South African, has raised $1 billion from investors including private equity firm TPG and Asia's largest metals trader, Noble Group.  With that amount of cash, X2 may be able to target acquisitions in excess of $12 billion when combined with a debt.  According to the sources, Davis may first limit investors to six or seven at $500 million each.  It is rumored that Australian private equity fund IFM is set to be one of those investors.

Davis originally oversaw one of the great transactions in the mining business between BHP and Billiton to create the world giant, BHP Billiton.  Then, he followed that success up by growing Xstrata Plc's market value from $500 million to over $50 billion in the course of a decade through a number of accretive acquisitions which eventually led to its merger with Glencore.

According to sources close to Davis, he favors copper, coal and/or zinc assets.  Additionally, he is looking to acquire mines already in production or ones that are close to producing.

Davis plans to keep his new venture private and may consider selling once it grows enough to return value to its investors, according to the sources.

Read: Ex-Xstrata CEO Davis Said to Seek $3 Billion to Buy Mines