Anglo American shareholders push for faster turnaround plan after BHP takeover swoop

Anglo American was the subect of a $31bn takeover bid by BHP in April.

Anglo American’s largest shareholders are pushing the company to speed up the publication of its turnaround plan as they brace for another takeover swoop from Aussie rival BHP.

FTSE 100-listed Anglo has been conducting a strategic review of its business since mid-2023, examining its operations on a mine-by-mine basis in to assess how it can recover the ground lost on its competitors in recent years.

However, the review was waylaid by the mega-bid from mining giant BHP in April, which valued Anglo at £31bn – a 13 per cent premium to Anglo’s share price at the time the bid was announced.

Anglo rejected the bid, but BHP is widely expected to table a second bid before of 22 May, the deadline set under the UK’s rules around mergers and acquisitions.

Now, five of Anglo’s largest shareholders are privately urging the company to speed up the review’s publication, according to Bloomberg.

Elliott Management, a large US activist investor that has been building up a £800m stake in Anglo in recent months, could also make its views on the bid and turnaround strategy public soon.

Anglo could reveal the review’s findings as soon as this coming week at Bank of America’s annual mining conference in Miami, which will be attended by mining world luminaries.

But with BHP widely expected to come back with a second bid, the timing of when Anglo unveils its plans could have huge ramifications for the firm’s future.

Anglo’s plans will significantly differ from those outlined by BHP as part of its first, unsuccessful bid. The Aussie firm proposed spinning off Anglo’s two South African businesses, an idea dismissed as unworkable by Anglo American.

Anglo American declined to comment.