(Anglo American/Provided)
Anglo American's board has unanimously rejected an “opportunistic” all-share takeover bid for the company proposed by global mining giant BHP for around R740 billion.
In a statement on Friday morning, the board said the proposal, which was conditional on Anglo first spinning off its South African platinum and iron ore assets, Anglo American Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore, “was are underestimating.”
Anglo American chairman Stuart Chambers said in a statement: “Anglo American is well positioned to create significant value from a portfolio of high-quality assets that are well aligned with the energy transition and other key demand trends.” Ta.
BHP's move appears to be primarily aimed at Anglo copper assets. Mr Chambers said in his statement that copper accounts for 30% of Anglo's total production.
“The Board believes that by benefiting from orderly and accretive growth options in copper and other structurally attractive products, Anglo American shareholders will be able to benefit from significant growth as the full impact of these trends materializes. We believe it stands to benefit from the expected increase in value.”
Mr Chambers said the proposed structure was “very unattractive” and would create uncertainty and risk to be borne by Anglo, shareholders and other stakeholders.
“BHP's proposal is opportunistic and fails to assess Anglo American's prospects, while significantly diluting Anglo American shareholders' participation in relative value growth compared to BHP shareholders.” said Chambers.
Some analysts speculated that this proposal was just the first, with others to follow.
Read | “Warning bell: BHP's proposed Anglo-megadeal will push SA into a tailspin''
“At Anglo American, we have defined clear strategic priorities for operational excellence, portfolio and growth to realize our full potential, and we are fully focused on delivering on them,” added Anglo. Ta.
The mining company's shares soared by almost a fifth on Thursday, but were down just about 0.7% on Friday morning. Kumba shares rose about 2.6%, while Anglo American Platinum rose about 3.9%.
Update: This article has been updated with stock price information.
