Anglo American (LON: AAL) has rejected a $39 billion takeover offer from BHP (ASX: BHP) conditional to the target company divesting its platinum and iron ore businesses in South Africa.
BHP’s unsolicited offer “significantly undervalued” the 107-year-old mining company and would be “highly unattractive” to its shareholders, Anglo said on Friday in a response widely expected by analysts. “The BHP proposal is opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American’s prospects,” Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers said in the statement.