BLACKROCK was the most prominent of several Anglo American shareholders that pushed the miner to extend talks with BHP over its proposed £38bn takeover proposal.
Last week Anglo received a third proposal valuing it at £31.11 per share which analysts had said was nearing full value. Anglo rejected the third offer on the basis of its structure but in extending talks it has kept the door open for a deal.
BHP has until 5pm on Wednesday (May 29) to make a formal bid or walk away.
This is according to a report by The Financial Times on May 25 which also said Ninety One and Sanlam Investments were in favour of an extension in talks even though they had concerns about the deal structure that requires Anglo to spin off its stakes in its South African platinum and iron ore units.
“We’ve been advocates of what’s in the best interests of Anglo shareholders and wanted them to at least have a discussion with BHP,” one shareholder told the Financial Times.
Dawid Heyl, portfolio manager at Ninety One, which owns 1.8% of Anglo, said that “we think an agreed deal would be a good outcome, and it looks like it could be heading that way”. He told the Financial Times that £31 is “coming into the range of the sort of premium you’d expect for a change of control at a company”.
Blackrock owns 9.6% of Anglo mostly through passive funds tracking an index but the world’s largest asset manager holds a large sway in the sector through Evy Hambro, its chief investment officer for natural resources and a veteran of the mining industry, the newspaper said. Blackrock also owns 6.9% of BHP.
Anglo has outlined a counter proposal which is to restructure itself over 18 months by unbundling Amplats, and selling or demerging De Beers. But it would keep Kumba Iron Ore and slow the development of its fertiliser mineral project Woodsmith which is currently a major drain on Anglo’s balance sheet.
