Round III. First, last week’s vision of a grand merger of equals detailed in a private letter from Xstrata to Anglo American. Next, a frosty rebuff by Anglo’s board. Now, an Xstrata bear hug – well, sort of.

Mick Davis, Xstrata’s chief executive, has not yet gone hostile. Nor is there any sign of a killer premium. Yet he has started to squeeze Anglo’s board by publishing his offer letter, so taking his arguments for a nil premium combination straight to shareholders. That is a tad unfriendly but no more so than the brusque rejection by Anglo. It seems to treat Xstrata’s idea as some kind of Trojan horse. Why, though, if Anglo believes its standalone case is so compelling, is the company behaving so defensively?