LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Anglo American and Canada's Teck Resources on Tuesday said they had agreed a merger "of equals" expected to create a group worth $53m with large copper operations.


In a joint statement, the two miners said the deal was expected to produce annual synergy savings of $800m at the end of the fourth year after completion, with around $60m expected to come from the board and head office to remove "de-duplication - usually corporate code for job cuts.

The new company will be headquartered in Vancouver - putting hundreds of staff who work in Anglo's London office at risk of redundancy.

London-listed Anglo will own about 62.4% of the new entity - to be called Anglo Teck - and Teck investors 37.6%, they added. Anglo's chief executive, Duncan Wanblad, will remain CEO, while Teck's Jonathan Price will serve as his deputy.

The two companies operate adjacent copper mines in Chile - Quebrada Blanca and Collahuasi - which are expected to deliver a $1.4bn boost in annual average underlying core earnings from synergies between 2030-20493, which is expected to result in an increase of 175,000 tonnes of potential additional annual copper production.

Anglo American will pay its shareholders a $4.5bn special dividend, or $4.19 a share, before the deal completes.

Both companies had been takeover targets themselves. Anglo rejected a £39bn takeover proposal from BHP last year, while Teck spurned a $16.6bn buyout offer from Glencore in 2023.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: "Anglo American has turned from prey to predator. The deal to buy Teck Resources, if it completes, means Anglo has not only pulled itself out of a hole, but also sends a message to mining peers that it is not a pushover."

"One minute Anglo was fighting off bid interest from BHP, leading to a radical restructuring to show investors it was fit for the future; the next it is swooping on a business that arch-rival Glencore tried and failed to buy."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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