Call it blast mining M&A: lob in the dynamite and see what rocks fall out. BHP must know its £31.1 billion all-share tilt at Anglo-American is one of those sighting-shot bids designed to get rejected: low-ball price, brass-necked structure and with more moving parts than a bucket wheel excavator. But look what it has done — formally put the smaller miner into play.
If that was the initial aim of BHP chairman Ken MacKenzie and chief executive Mike Henry, they can chalk off their move as a success. But they’re a long way from digging for victory. The Anglo chairman, Stuart Chambers, may forever be remembered as the man who foolishly sold Arm to SoftBank. But even he can spot a ludicrous try-on when he
