Anglo delivers slap in the face

Reuters | Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:29
[miningmx.com] -- Shares in Anglo American slid on Tuesday after the mining group rejected a merger proposal from rival Xstrata, which some analysts said was unlikely to mount a hostile bid.

Anglo shares, which gained 4.6 percent on Monday in the wake of Xstrata's "merger of equals" plan, fell 3.7 percent to 1,635 pence shortly after the open.

Shares in Xstrata shed 1.1 percent to 627.9 pence, after falling 6.7 percent on Monday, compared with a 1.3 percent fall in the British mining index.

Anglo snubbed Xstrata's plan for a nil-premium merger just a day after it was unveiled on Sunday.

Analyst Michael Rawlinson at Liberum Capital said in a note it was a "thorough and humiliating slap in the face" from Anglo's board. "The proposed transaction is on ice in our view as Xstrata are rightly unwilling (and unable?) to launch a premium hostile bid."

Xstrata said in a statement late on Monday it was disappointed about the rejection, but did not say if it would pursue a link-up.

"We are also surprised that the Anglo American board has not seen fit to engage with Xstrata to discuss our proposal in view of the substantial value for both companies' shareholders that would arise uniquely from a merger," it said.

Anglo said it rejected the approach because its assets were of much higher quality than Xstrata's and that the terms for a merger of equals was "totally unacceptable".

Top Anglo shareholders said they would only support a merger if they got a big premium to create a giant to compete in a consolidating mining sector.

Xstrata came up against another obstacle to its proposal on Monday when South Africa said it feared job losses at Anglo mines if a merger went ahead.

Xstrata's market value has risen tenfold since floating in 2002 through a string of takeovers.

Bringing the two groups together would have created a group worth $68 billion based on Friday's closing share prices, versus BHP Billiton which was valued at $144 billion and Rio Tinto at $74 billion.

A combination of the two groups would create the world's biggest producer of zinc, platinum, coal for power stations and ferrochrome, as well as the No. 2 in coal for steelmaking and copper.