Introduction by mining researcher Roger Moody
With a double failure to make a stock market killing in as many months, the world’s biggest mining company is nursing its wounds. But – almost alone among senior mining companies – BHP Billiton now “suffers”, not from lack of money to keep itself in premier position, but having too much of the green stuff. It could now pay more to its shareholders (good news for those who hold shares in order to lobby the company at its business meetings!) More likely it will go for yet another acquisition (or acquisitions) but a less “testy” one than those recently attempted with Potash Corp and Rio Tinto.
According to a columnist for Australia’s Business Spectator: “[T]he only obvious sector where BHP Billiton could expand by large-scale acquisition is in oil and gas”. About time, then, that climate change activists in the UK and Australia finally acknowledge BHP Billiton’s major, long-standing role, in exploiting these fossil fuels. But don’t hold your breath…
BHP withdraws PotashCorp bid, reactivates shares buy-back
Saying it can’t satisfy Investment Canada’s demands, BHP has withdrawn its US$39 billion bid for PotashCorp.
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72102?oid=115084&sn=detail&pid=102055
BHP still in the hunt for big acquisitions
The transnational miner says it has yet to give up on large acquisitions and does not regret the $875m spent trying to close such deals over the last two years
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page67?oid=115189&sn=Detail&pid=92730