- FTSE 100 miner said rival’s approach undervalued company
- The proposal sought to build a mining giant responsible for 10% of copper
Anglo American has rejected the proposed £31.1bn takeover of rival BHP Group, which the London-listed miner says significantly undervalues the company and its future prospects.
BHP’s mega bid sought to create a mining giant, responsible for around 10 per cent of global copper production.
But analysts said last night that BHP would have to improve its bid, which faced political opposition in South Africa and investors who described the offer as “opportunistic” due to Anglo’s “depressed” valuation.
Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers described the deal as “opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American’s prospects”.
And FTSE 100-listed Anglo on Friday shared those sentiments, concluding that “the proposal significantly undervalues Anglo American and its future prospects.”
The deal would have forced Anglo to spin off both its platinum business and its Kumba Iron Ore unit, a proposal the group deemed “very unattractive” to its shareholders “given the uncertain… complexity” and “significant execution risks.” ” involved.
Anglo-American stocks they were steady at around 2,559.5p on Friday morning, having been boosted yesterday by BHP’s bid.
bhp shares They were down 1.1 percent at 2,285 pence.
Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers described the deal as “opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American’s prospects, while significantly diluting the relative value of Anglo American shareholders’ upside stake relative to BHP shareholders.” .
He added: ‘Anglo American is well positioned to create significant value from its portfolio of high-quality assets that are well aligned with the energy transition and other important demand trends.
“Given that copper represents 30 percent of Anglo American’s total production, and with the benefit of well-sequenced and value-enhancing growth options for copper and other structurally attractive products, the Board believes that Anglo American shareholders will benefit from what we expect There will be significant value appreciation as the full impact of those trends materializes.
“Anglo American has defined clear strategic priorities (of operational excellence, portfolio and growth) to deliver the full value potential and is fully focused on that delivery.”
