The BHP boss will meet his Anglo American takeover counterpart next week after seeing his £31bn bid for the rival firm rejected.
Mike Henry, chief executive of the mining giant, and his counterpart at Anglo, Duncan Wanblad, will speak at the Bank of American Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference in Florida on Tuesday.
Sources told the Mail that the pair will hold talks offstage at the industry conference in Miami.
The meeting will spark rumors after Anglo rejected a £31bn takeover bid from BHP, calling the offer “too low” and “highly opportunistic”.
BHP is understood to be preparing to submit a higher bid – believed to be around £40bn – as it seeks to transform itself into a major mining company with Anglo’s coveted copper mines in Latin America as the main prize.
Digging deeper: BHP is understood to be preparing to submit a higher bid, believed to be around £40bn.
The Bank of America Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference is the industry’s premier event, where CEOs, bankers, traders and analysts flock to drive business and discuss issues.
A source said: ‘All the major players, executives and shareholders will be at the event. Both men are scheduled to speak Tuesday. “It will be a good indicator for both bosses to see how much appetite there is for a deal.”
BHP is under pressure to increase its offer amid interest from Glencore and Rio Tinto in Anglo.
A major obstacle to a deal has been South Africa, as BHP wants to offload Anglo’s iron ore and platinum businesses while retaining the copper mines.
This has upset the South African government, which is BHP’s second-largest shareholder and is a sensitive issue for the ruling African National Congress in an election year. Two weeks ago, Henry flew to South Africa, where he held crisis talks as the miner seeks to drum up support for the acquisition.
It was reported last week that the trip had gone some way to resolving issues, and that Anglo’s major South African shareholders were now open to a takeover bid from BHP. But many investors have urged BHP to put aside the acquisition checkbook over the past decade after a £16bn spend on shale gas assets in 2011 in the United States failed.
Angus Aitken, of Australian stockbroker Aitken Mount Capital Partners, wrote in a letter to clients last week: ‘This deal really has the potential to be a complete disaster for BHP in the long term.
“This is like BHP trying to buy a six-bedroom house, just to get the garage.”