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BHP's share price rose on Friday as investors expressed concerns that the world's biggest miner would have to pay even more money to approve its proposed £31bn takeover of rival Anglo American. , BHP's share price fell nearly 5% on Friday.
australian miner All stock offer That's because its smaller, UK-listed rival aims to strengthen its position as one of the world's biggest suppliers of copper and coal. BHP said it wanted a pre-separation of Anglo's independently listed South African iron ore and platinum divisions and would review Anglo's other assets once the deal was completed.
BHPThe company's shares fell 4.5% in Australia on Friday. Local investors said they were concerned about the complexity of the plan and whether the company would need to significantly increase its offer to close the deal. News of the proposed acquisition emerged on Thursday, when Australian markets were closed for a public holiday.
some big anglo american Shareholders said BHP's offer undervalued the target company. “Anglo shareholders will not be disappointed as BHP is paying more than the initial approach,” said an anonymous investor.
Mining sector bankers say uncertainty surrounding BHP and Anglo American shares will persist for some time given the complexity of the proposed deal, as well as significant political and antitrust risks. He said he was deaf. „There's (still) a lot of water under the bridge,“ he said.
BHP is Australia's largest company by market capitalization, and the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.4% as a result of the decline in its share price.
Khan Pekar, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said the initial offer appeared opportunistic given Anglo American's weak share price. „A sweeter agreement may be needed,“ he said.
Anglo's move represents the latest attempt by Melbourne-based BHP, known colloquially as „Big Australian“ in its home market, to reshape the global mining industry.
Under Mike Henry, a Canadian corporate veteran who was appointed chief executive four years ago, BHP is divesting its oil and gas exploration businesses while also selling so-called „copper, potash and iron ore“ businesses. We refocused our business on minerals with an eye on the future. assets.
Willingness to increase Copper exposure It triggered last year's $6.4 billion takeover of South Australia's Oz Minerals.
Anglo represents a far greater risk for BHP, and the prospective deal has been compared to its 2001 merger with London-listed South African miner Billiton.
The deal added other metals to BHP's portfolio, including aluminum and manganese. In 2015, BHP spun off most of Billiton's assets into a new company called South32, effectively dissolving the company.
Another attempt by BHP to transform the industry was its offer to buy rival Rio Tinto in 2007. BHP would have created a dominant player in the global iron ore, coal, aluminum and copper markets, but this proposal was rejected.
Transactions have since tapered off, with BHP more focused on improving the productivity of its business and selling off assets that don't fit its product outlook.
Mr Peker said BHP would need to justify any deal with operational, strategic and synergistic benefits. He cited the value destruction caused by past deals in the sector and said that „buying peers on control premiums alone is no longer so desirable.“