Published: May 23, 2024 | Share This

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Anglo American rebuffed an improved $49.87 billion takeover proposal from rival BHP Group, following two prior rejections over the last month, in what would have been the largest-ever mining deal.

Despite the rejection, Anglo’s board said it is willing to engage with BHP and has therefore requested a one-week extension to the formal offer deadline. BHP now has until May 29 to state whether it will make a new bid.

The multinational, diversified miner said Wednesday that under the proposed bid, it would have received 0.886 BHP shares for each Anglo share held, with the proposal representing a total value of around $37.35 (GBP$29.34) per share.

Anglo American has already rejected two all-share offers from BHP, citing significant undervaluation of the company and the proposals being too complex to execute. This third bid included the same highly complex structure as the two previous proposals, Anglo said.

The previous proposal, made public on May 13, would have given shareholders 0.8132 BHP shares for each Anglo share held, and 16.6 percent of the combined company.

So far, all bids have included the contingent spinoffs of Anglo American Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore, as BHP wanted to avoid owning these South Africa-based units that have been hamstrung by tumbling commodity prices, persistently high costs, and continued logistical strains over the last year — a condition which Anglo deemed too complex.

In a separate release, BHP said this would be its final offer, but reserved the right to improve the proposal if other bidders emerge or if Anglo’s board recommends an offer.

Source: MarketWatch

Anglo American is a leading global mining company and its products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Their portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers. With people at the heart of their business, they use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move, and market products to their customers — safely and sustainably. As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, premium quality iron ore and metallurgical coal for steelmaking, and nickel — with crop nutrients in development — they are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040. More broadly, their Sustainable Mining Plan commits them to a series of stretching goals to ensure they work towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities, and building trust as a corporate leader. They work together with business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock enduring value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which they operate.

BHP is a leading global resources company. They extract and process minerals, oil and gas, with approximately 80,000 employees and contractors, primarily in Australia and the Americas. Their products are sold worldwide, with sales and marketing led through Singapore and Houston, United States. Their global headquarters are in Melbourne, Australia.

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