Cynthia Carroll, CEO of Anglo American.

Anglo board partly to blame

| Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:07 In an interview on 702 @ 18.30 on 15 June 2009 [miningmx.com] -- The speculation in the UK press over the weekend over the potential tie up between Anglo American and Xstrata is a culmination of the unhappiness shareholders feel with Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll, market commentator Richard Hasson from Old Mutual Investment Group South Africa (Omigsa) said.

“Carroll spent a lot of cash at the top of the commodity cycle which looks like it wasn’t well spent,” Hasson said on 702 Talk Radio's The World At Six.

Hasson said the Anglo American board is partly to blame as well. “Former CEO Tony Trahar was not very aggressive building Anglo American. When the board looked to replacing him, Carroll had a history of acquisitions to grow a business. This is the mandate they probably gave her,” he said.

Hasson said investors should have been aware of this.

The Times reported on Monday that investors had turned against Carroll for a number of reasons including fears the company may need to pump cash into De Beers, the diamond group in which Anglo has a 45% stake.

Said The Times: “De Beers is in negotiations with bankers over $1.5bn of debt scheduled to be repaid in March. Anglo shareholders are concerned that De Beers may need a cash injection.”

The Times added that shareholders were pushing for a tie-up with Xstrata, another London-listed diversified miner – a development that Carroll said was not on the agenda.

“You never know the future, but Anglo has the longest life resources, and excellent opportunities,” she told Miningmx in an interview.

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