Sources say BHP will not bid on Rio-Glencore, but wait for the talks to conclude.
BHP will wait for Rio Tinto to complete its talks with Glencore to create the world's biggest mining company. The deal would?create?the largest mining firm in the world. BHP does not plan to make a bid at this time, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
Glencore's shares rose by around 10% after Rio renewed its interest in the company on Thursday evening, sparking speculation about rival bids.
Analysts, bankers and investors?last weekend told that BHP with a market cap of $158 billion was most likely to'spoiler' Rio’s bid for Glencore which could create an mining behemoth of almost $207 billion.
Two people who were privy to BHP's internal deliberations said that after the news of the mega-merger was announced, it indicated it would not be pursuing a bid, because it did not consider Glencore as?being complementary to its business.
Leading miners vie for?copper to feed AI and energy transition
The sources, who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorised to speak on the subject, said that BHP was not interested in Glencore’s coal and trading assets, and also viewed Anglo American’s copper unit as superior.
One source added that BHP would wait for more clarity before taking its next step.
BHP refused to comment on the source's description of its interest in Glencore.
BHP had been pursuing a 'takeover' of Anglo over a period of a year-and-a-half before the efforts failed in November. This was a setback to its effort to maintain leadership in copper. Anglo has now entered into a partnership with Canada's Teck Resources.
Glencore, Anglo and BHP each own a 44% share in the giant copper mine in Chile called Collahuasi. Glencore is also a partner in the Antamina joint venture with BHP in Peru.
The recent flurry of deals reflects the race between the world's largest mining companies to secure the future supply of copper. Copper is a critical metal for data centres, which are required to mass adopt AI and to make the global transition to clean energy.
(source: Reuters)