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The chief executive of Anglo American has called on potential suitors for the mining giant to “pay the right number” as he defended his strategy to sell off four major parts of the business in the wake of BHP’s failed takeover attempt.
“To the extent that it ever becomes a takeover target, have at it — but pay the right number,” said boss Duncan Wanblad, speaking at the FT Mining Summit in London on Thursday.
Wanblad defended his plan to slim down the London listed company, which involves offloading its DeBeers diamond arm and will leave a copper and iron ore business at the end of the process.
“I absolutely believe that we will get a re-rating”, once the process is over, he said. “It becomes a very high-quality business.”
Anglo is under pressure to deliver on its ambitious disposal programme, which it aims to complete by the end of 2025 after it spurned Australian rival BHP’s hostile £39bn takeover offer earlier this year.
Anglo’s share price has declined 12 per cent since the takeover offer was made in April although rivals have also fallen because of the slump in commodity prices.
Under London takeover rules, BHP will become eligible to make a renewed offer for Anglo on November 29, six months after it withdrew its earlier offer.
As a global rush for copper assets has driven a series of recent mining deals, Anglo is seen as an attractive potential takeover target after it slims down, according to a rival mining executive.
Wanblad said when asked about any potential takeovers: “That’s not what we’re setting ourselves up for here. We’re setting ourselves up for being the greatest mining business in the industry.”
Wanblad said he expects to wrap up the sale of its coal business this year, despite a fire that hit one of its flagship mines, but warned that offloading De Beers could drag on beyond the planned restructuring timeline.
There was “a very real risk” that the diamond market remained depressed next year and a “low probability outcome” that the unit was still in Anglo’s portfolio in 2026.
He said the sale or spin-off of the business was proving more challenging, given the cyclical downturn in the sector and the pullback in Chinese demand for luxury goods.
He added that Anglo is in talks with potential buyers of the diamonds business, without naming any.
“Our primary objective is to execute the strategy and get it done by the end of next year,” he said.
The mining chief also said the company had seen “strong” demand for its metallurgical coal unit and was now in the second stage of a two-step process with “a handful of selected tenders”.
“There is interest in it, but timing is very important.”
As well as diamonds and coal, the company aims to sell its nickel unit and spin off its platinum business.
