Yahoo Finance Glencore launches $22bn copper raid as battle for battery resources explodes
Glencore has launched a $22bn (£17bn) bid for a rival copper miner amid a growing battle for control of the world’s battery metals resources.
The FTSE 100 metals giant’s unsolicited approach to Canada’s Teck Resources would create the world’s third largest copper producer, as demand for the metal jumps along with the shift towards electric cars.
The bid was rejected on Monday by Teck, which is controlled by Canada’s Keevil family and is in the process of separating its coal and copper divisions.
However, Gary Nagle, Glencore’s chief executive, indicated he was not going away, saying: “We put a very compelling deal forward for the Teck board to consider.
“We are proposing to merge two great companies ... It’s certainly not a takeover.”
Asked if he would launch a hostile takeover if the board was not persuaded, he replied: “We haven’t gone hostile, and why would we?
“This is a compelling transaction to a company that is held in highest regard. We want to put our two great companies together and make two even better companies.”
The move would mark Glencore’s biggest deal since its acrimonious $30bn takeover of Xtstrata in 2013.
Glencore is one of the world’s largest mining and metals companies, producing and trading oil, gas, coal, lithium, copper, cobalt and other metals around the world.
It made revenue of $255bn during 2022, and has a market cap of almost £57bn.
Teck Resources is far smaller, with revenues of $17.3bnCAD (£10.4bn) in 2022 and a market cap of about $29bnCAD.
However, it has a prized portfolio of copper, zinc and steelmaking coal mines in areas including Chile and Canada.
Glencore is already a shareholder in some of them.
Under Glencore’s proposal, Glencore and Teck would merge and then split into two businesses: one focused on battery metals needed for the shift towards greener energy and the other on coal.
Glencore’s shareholders would own 76pc of the new entities, and Teck’s shareholders would own the other 24pc.
Glencore is offering 7.78 Glencore shares for each Teck share, which it said amounted to a 22pc premium.
Mr Nagle said the new metals company would be a “world class transition metals business” with a “leading position in all the metals required for decarbonisation”, while the coal company would be “highly cash generative”.
However, rejecting the offer, Sheila Murray, chair of Teck’s board, said it was “not contemplating a sale of the company at this time”, and that the company’s own restructuring proposal “is a much more compelling transaction and does not limit our optionality going forward”.
Glencore’s shares closed on Monday up 1.15pc at 469.95p. Teck’s shares in Canada climbed 14.43pc by lunchtime to $56.47CAD.
