Bhp again rejected by Anglo, preparing marriage with Teck
The mining giant confirms that it is back in the running, but has given up on the purchase after yet another two-fer from its competitor's board, now engaged in a friendly merger with Canadian Teck Resources
The latest instalment in the Bhp-Anglo American saga was short-lived. So short that, with the distractions of the weekend, many missed it.
After last year's failed takeover, the Anglo-Australian mining giant is back at it again. But rumours about a new attempt to take over the competitor, which filtered through to Bloomberg on Sunday 23rd, lost weight within a few hours: not because they were unfounded, but because Bhp - while confirming that it had held 'preliminary discussions' with Anglo's board - revealed that it had also received a two-fer this time.
In the note circulated on Monday 24 Bhp states that it 'continues to believe that a combination with Anglo American would have a strong strategic value and create significant value for all stakeholders'. But it also adds that it has 'stopped considering' this hypothesis, relying instead on the 'highly compelling potential of its organic growth strategy'.
In short: Bhp is throwing in the towel, on this and perhaps on other takeover hypotheses. Or at least this is the message it wants to communicate to the market, which is thus returning to focus on the other game in progress, which risked being disturbed by a competing offer: that for a friendly merger between Anglo American itself and Canadian Teck Resources, a deal worth almost 60 billion dollars that in the mining sector would be among the largest in history.
The maxi share swap to create Anglo Teck will be put to a vote at the shareholders' meetings of the two companies on 9 December.
