Anglo American not a sitting duck after breakup, CEO says

Anglo American Plc will not be an “inevitable” takeover target after its unbundles its diamond, platinum, nickel and coal assets, CEO Duncan Wanblad said on Thursday.

The mining giant is restructuring its business to mainly focus on energy transition metal copper after fending off a $49 billion takeover offer from bigger rival BHP Group in May.

Some analysts have said Anglo’s simplified portfolio could make it an even more compelling acquisition target for suitors drawn to its copper assets.

Wanblad addressed questions about another potential bid in a virtual address to a mining conference in Johannesburg.

“I don’t believe it’s inevitable at all. We will be a viable, stand-alone company in the market,” Wanblad said.

“I cannot say what other people are going to do from a corporate action point of view. I don’t really care about that, what I care about is delivering on the strategy to create value not only for shareholders but more importantly for all stakeholders.”

Copper will make up 60% of Anglo’s business, Wanblad said, after the miner divests from diamond giant De Beers, Australian steelmaking coal assets, nickel mines in Brazil, as well as Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) in South Africa.

Apart from its copper assets in Chile, Anglo will also retain iron ore mines in South Africa and Brazil, as well as the Woodsmith fertilizer project in the United Kingdom.

Wanblad said Anglo could potentially offer one more parcel of shares in Amplats after it sold 5.3% of the company’s shares last month to institutional investors as it seeks to carefully manage its divestment, scheduled for completion by the first half of 2025.

“There might only be one more opportunity to do it and if we did it, it would be completely dependent on markets at the time of that opportunity,” Wanblad said.

(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Toby Chopra)