BHP Group, the world’s largest miner, has proposed buying rival Anglo American in a deal that could shake up the industry at a time when demand for copper is soaring.
BHP said on Thursday it had approached Anglo with a bid of 31.1 billion pounds ($39 billion) in what would be one of the industry’s most significant deals in years. If successful, the acquisition would create the world’s largest copper miner at a time of growing global demand for the metal, which is critical to the green energy transition.
Anglo American confirmed it had received an “unsolicited, non-binding and strictly conditional merger proposal from BHP Billiton” and that its board was reviewing the offer with its advisers.
Demand for copper and other commodities is growing as the world transitions away from fossil fuels and demand for clean energy technologies such as wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries and solar panels increases. In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act, the climate and energy law signed by President Biden, contains hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits to help companies shift to low-carbon energy.
