BHP Group, the world’s largest mining company, has proposed a takeover of its rival Anglo American, in a deal that has the potential to shake up the industry at a time when demand for copper is soaring.
BHP said on Thursday that it had approached Anglo with a bid valued at 31.1 billion pounds, or $39 billion, in what would be one of the most significant deals in the industry in years. If successful, the acquisition would create the world’s largest miner of copper at a time of growing global demand for the metal, which is essential to the green-energy transition.
Anglo confirmed that it had received an “unsolicited, nonbinding and highly conditional combination proposal from BHP” and that its board was reviewing the offer with its advisers. BHP, which has headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, offered Anglo’s shareholders just over £25 per share, more than 10 percent above Wednesday’s closing stock price.
Anglo, which is based in London, owns large copper operations in Chile and Peru, as well as 85 percent of De Beers Group, the world’s leading diamond company. It has been viewed as a potential takeover target for the world’s largest miners, especially following a 94 percent plunge in annual profit and a series of write-downs in February.
But its structures are complicated, a fact reflected in the complexity of BHP’s bid, which would require Anglo first splitting off its platinum and iron ore units in South Africa.
Analysts pointed out that BHP’s offer could spur competing bids for Anglo, in part because the proposed deal would probably attract antitrust scrutiny. They recommended that Anglo spin off its diamond business, which has suffered from a drop in demand for luxury items in China and the United States…
