Board of Anglo American rejects BHP’s ‘unattractive’ £31bn bid

The board of Anglo American, the London-listed mining company, has rejected a “highly unattractive” £31bn takeover approach from its Australian rival BHP.

BHP’s all-share proposed offer for Anglo American had the potential to be one of the biggest deals in the global mining sector for a decade but has attracted criticism from Anglo’s shareholders as being too low and “highly opportunistic”.

Anglo American said in a statement that its board had unanimously rejected BHP’s approach because it “significantly undervalues” the company and its future prospects.

It also said the structure of BHP’s proposal, which required Anglo American to complete two separate demergers, was “highly unattractive”.

Stuart Chambers, the chair of Anglo American, called the BHP proposal “opportunistic” and said the structure of the plans meant that potential risks of the transaction would be borne mainly by Anglo’s investors.

Anglo American dashed BHP’s hopes following criticism from some of the company’s biggest shareholders within hours of the initial proposal on Thursday. The plans were criticised by Anglo investors including Legal & General Investment Management, one of its largest shareholders, and Abrdn as being “highly opportunistic” and “unattractive”.

Anglo is likely to face further pressure from new shareholder, activist fund Elliott Investment, which has built a roughly $1bn (£800m) stake in the company in recent months. The fund led by Paul Singer is now within Anglo’s top 10 shareholders, according to Bloomberg, which first reported Elliott’s stake. Elliott and Anglo American declined to comment.

South Africa’s mining minister, Gwede Mantashe, also signalled he was against the takeover plan. Anglo American’s largest shareholder is the South African state asset manager, the Public Investment Corporation, which holds 7% of Anglo’s shares.

Under takeover rules, BHP must make a firm offer for Anglo American by 22 May or walk away.