Written by Melanie Burton
SYDNEY (Reuters) – BHP has moved on to focus on other growth opportunities after Anglo American ( JO: ) shareholders voted against its takeover earlier this year, the company's chairman said on Wednesday.
The world's biggest miner abandoned its $49 billion bid to buy Anglo in May after it was rejected three times. The impending end of BHP's six-month moratorium on making an alternative has prompted speculation that the deal could be renegotiated.
“We spoke to Anglo American earlier this year … we thought there was an opportunity here to create something unique and special, a sort of one-and-one-three opportunity,” MacKenzie said at BHP's annual meeting.
“Unfortunately, Anglo American's shareholders had a different view, and they thought there was more value in the plan their management wanted to make. So they moved forward. And frankly, so did we.”
As evidence, MacKenzie pointed to BHP's C$4.5 billion ($3.25 billion) deal with Canadian-listed Lundin Mining (OTC: ) in July to jointly take over developer Filo Corp in a bid to increase its holdings in South America.
