Has mining giant BHP really given up on acquiring rival Anglo American?
Reports last week from BHP’s AGM suggested the group had moved on from its various tilts at Anglo earlier this year. This would surprise most market watchers, who reckon BHP might wait for Anglo to restructure its current commodity portfolio before making another pass.
It seems unlikely the media misconstrued BHP chair Ken MacKenzie hinting that the bid for Anglo would not be revisited after a six-month “lay-off” period expires at the end of this month.
The reliable Reuters quoted McKenzie as saying: “We thought there was an opportunity here to create something unique and special … Unfortunately, Anglo American shareholders had a different view, and they thought there was more value in the plan that their management wanted to execute. And so they moved on. And, quite frankly, so have we.”
But shortly after the AGM, BHP issued a statement to clarify that comments did not completely rule out another bid for Anglo. Whether that statement was merely regulatory in nature or strategic remains to be seen.
Anglo, in the meantime, has taken only small steps in its much-mooted re-shaping plans — selling a couple of royalties, an accelerated bookbuild at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and the sale of a 33.3% stake in Australian coal mining venture Jellinbah.
The ultimate fate of subsidiaries Kumba Iron Ore and diamond group De Beers as well as Amplats has still not been officially decided. Plans for De Beers — already flagged as a tough sell — might be further complicated with a change of government in Botswana, a major equity partner in that country’s Debswana joint venture.
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