Anglo CEO faces off with Gwede Mantashe amid BHP bid battle

Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad’s meeting with South African mines minister Gwede Mantashe, following the rejection of BHP Group’s $39 billion takeover bid, signals a high-stakes chess game in the global mining arena. With BHP exploring its next move and Glencore eyeing a potential bid, the spotlight is on Anglo’s strategic decisions. The proposed sale of shares in key subsidiaries like Anglo Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore adds complexity, raising investor concerns and regulatory considerations. As tensions rise and negotiations unfold, the fate of this 107-year-old mining giant hangs in the balance, promising a riveting saga of corporate manoeuvres and market dynamics.

Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.

SOURCE: REUTERS

By Felix Njini

May 3 (Reuters) – Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad is meeting on Friday South African mines minister Gwede Mantashe for the first time since the miner rejected BHP Group’s $39 billion takeover bid, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

BHP, the world’s biggest-listed mining group, is privately talking to investors as it weighs up its next move after Anglo’s rejection of its initial proposal.

Commodities giant Glencore is also studying an approach for Anglo, sources told Reuters, a development that could spark a bidding war for the 107-year old mining company.

Anglo declined to comment on the meeting with Mantashe.

The source did not give details of the meeting.

BHP has proposed that Anglo sell its shares in units Anglo Platinum (Amplats) and Kumba Iron Ore as an option to exit the South African assets it does not want included in the deal.

Anglo unanimously rejected the proposal as opportunistic and significantly undervaluing the company and its future prospects.

Its investors are concerned that they stand to lose heavily by holding shares in the South African subsidiaries, if they are un-bundled.

There is a risk that South African regulatory authorities, particularly its central bank, could be concerned about capital outflows from foreign investors not willing to hold the shares, the source said.

BHP CEO Mike Henry, who is in South Africa to canvass views from investors on the company’s proposed offer to Anglo, was in “listening only mode” during a meeting with a Cape Town-based fund manager on Friday, another source told Reuters.

BHP executives also held a call with South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation earlier in the week, a separate source said.

Anglo has said it will meet its top investors to hear their views on BHP’s approach.