BHP Retreats From Comments About Moving On From Anglo Bid

(Bloomberg) — BHP Group has been forced to walk back from comments about having “moved on” from its failed Anglo American Plc bid to prevent its hands being tied by the UK takeover panel from launching another buyout attempt.

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Chairman Ken MacKenzie made the comments Wednesday at a shareholder meeting of the world’s biggest miner in Australia. Anglo shares fell as much as 4.5%, underperforming the wider sector.

BHP later issued a statement to clarify that MacKenzie’s comments weren’t intended as an official statement under UK takeover rules, and said the panel has agreed not to treat them as a statement of intention not to make an offer. As a result, the world’s biggest miner is still allowed to make a fresh approach for Anglo after its current standstill ends late next month.

BHP abandoned a $49 billion takeover proposal for Anglo in May after repeatedly being rejected, with the two sides unable to agree on the complicated deal structure. Under the UK Takeover Panel rules, once a company that has made a “no intention to offer statement,” it must walk away for the next six months.

The bid by BHP, which was focused on getting access to Anglo’s copper mines, has forced the smaller company to accelerate an overhaul of its business that is now underway, including plans to offload its platinum business and to exit coal, diamonds and nickel. Meanwhile, BHP in July swooped to buy Filo Corp., teaming up with Lundin Mining Corp. in a $3 billion deal to gain South American copper assets.

“We thought there was an opportunity here to create something unique and special — sort of a one-plus-one-equals-three opportunity, with a lot of synergies,” MacKenzie said at the meeting in Brisbane regarding its Anglo bid, before the company issued its clarification statement.

Anglo’s shareholders thought “there was more value in the plan that their management wanted to execute, and so they moved on,” he said. “And, quite frankly, so have we.” “It was never a transaction that we had to do. It was a nice-to-have, not a must-do. So we’ve moved on as well,” he added.

(Updates with more details of MacKenzie’s comments.)

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