Anglo American confirms analyst predictions and promptly rejects BHP’s $40.5b takeover proposal
Anglo American has told BHP it needs to dig deeper into its wallet if it wants the British mining giant’s prized copper mines.
A day after BHP lobbed an all-scrip deal that valued Anglo at $59.6 billion the takeover target on Friday rejected the proposal.
Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers said the proposed structure was “highly unattractive”.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“The BHP proposal is opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American’s prospects, while significantly diluting the relative value upside participation of Anglo American’s shareholders relative to BHP’s shareholders,” he said.
“The proposed structure is also highly unattractive, creating substantial uncertainty and execution risk borne almost entirely by Anglo American.
“With copper representing 30 per cent of Anglo American’s total production, and with the benefit of well-sequenced and value-accretive growth options in copper and other structurally attractive products, the board believes that Anglo American’s shareholders stand to benefit from what we expect to be significant value appreciation as the full impact of those trends materialises.”
The rejection aligned with comments made by analysts on Friday that BHP’s $40.5 billion bid would not be enough to attract Anglo to the table.
BHP’s takeover proposal had a price tag of $59.6b on Anglo, but the Big Australian wanted to effectively pay $40.5b after turning its nose up at Anglo’s South African platinum and iron ore units.
More to come.
