Major Vale SA shareholders are close to endorsing a new shareholder pact that would disperse share ownership in Vale within six years, under which no major shareholder will control the decision making for the company, Reuters reported Jan. 18, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Vale's current 20-year shareholder pact is set to expire in April, and talks among leading shareholders, including Bradespar SA, Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and Brazilian pension fund Previ, are underway for the replacement.

One of the sources said Bradespar and Previ proposed the conversion of Vale's different types of stock into a single type of share as the first step toward distributing shareholding in the miner to boost its appeal to investors.

According to Reuters, Bradespar and Previ did not immediately respond to requests for comments, while Vale declined to make a statement.

In a separate report, however, the newswire said a Vale securities filing confirmed that a new shareholder agreement for the miner is being discussed.