In the second largest merger and acquisition deal ever made in the mining space, London-listed Anglo American and Canada’s Teck Resources announced a planned merger into a new company to be known as Anglo Teck.
The deal, which will require regulatory approvals, will entitle Anglo American shareholders to 62.4% and Teck shareholders 37.6% ownership.
Anglo Teck, which would be based in Vancouver, B.C., would begin with a combined market capitalization exceeding $53 billion. A Teck Resources press release says the “merger of equals” will offer more than 70% copper exposure at the outset, with “outstanding further growth” optionality embedded.
Both firms had undergone significant restructuring in recent years, and both had somewhat survived takeover bids within the past 24 months.
Teck’s board of directors had rejected a $22.5 billion takeover offer from British-based Glencore in 2023 but sold its steelmaking coal business to Glencore for $6.93 billion to fend off the takeover.
Anglo American had been approached by Melbourne-based BHP Group — the world’s largest by market cap and third largest by revenue — on multiple occasions, after Anglo American had announced an asset review following a 94% plunge in annual profit and write-downs at its diamond and nickel operations.
In April 2024, Anglo American rejected a $39 billion takeover proposal from BHP Group. A month later Anglo American rejected a revised offer of $42.67 billion, then announced a further restructuring to simplify its portfolio and focus on copper and iron ore. BHP was preparing to come back with a still higher offer — $49 billion — but abandoned the idea after its request for a deadline extension was denied.
Given the situation at the time, some believed that Anglo American had made a poor choice. Indeed, a November deal by Anglo American to sell its Australian steelmaking coal assets to Peabody Energy for up to $3.78 billion fell through in August 2025.
After a deadly explosion at Anglo’s Moranbah North mine in Australia, Peabody invoked a “material adverse change” clause in the contract and terminated the agreement.
In April of this year, Anglo American shareholders approved the demerger of the firm’s South African unit, Anglo American Platinum (which had been the world leader) into a new company called Valterra Platinum, in which Anglo American’s interest shrank from 67% to just 19.9%, which it then resold for about $2.5 billion.
Anglo American apparently did this to free up over half a billion dollars in dividends for “strategic financial planning.”
As the transaction is set up with a zero-premium, all-share structure, it also includes a $4.5 billion special dividend to Anglo American’s shareholders to ward off rival bids.
In the wake of the announcement stock values rose for both companies, with Teck’s up 11.3% and Anglo’s up 9.1% in the short run.
The merger would make Anglo Teck the world’s fifth largest copper company, with six major copper assets.
A longer look at this glamorous merger begs answers to several questions. After rejecting BHP’s takeover offer, Anglo American promised its shareholders a “bold transformation” to include a streamlined portfolio (hence the demerger and selloff attempt), faster asset sales, and stronger shareholder returns.
While the Peabody cancellation quickly became a symbol of Anglo’s stalled restructuring (and may have been the final straw that led to the Anglo-Teck merger announcement), Anglo’s other flagship project, the Woodsmith polyhalite mine in the United Kingdom, had been paused until 2024 — and already cost about a thousand jobs.
The Teck Resources press release states that Anglo Teck will “continue to progress the development of the Woodsmith project . . . with its ongoing potential to be a generational asset in crop nutrients.” But for now, affected communities — and investors — wonder if Woodsmith has shifted from promise to problem.
The merger announcement also came in the wake of a $1.9 billion loss by Anglo American in the first half of 2025 — almost triple the $672 million loss posted in the first half of 2024. Dividends had dropped from $0.42 to $0.07 per share, according to company records, and weak market demand for non-core assets may be the reason that no progress had been announced regarding disposal of De Beers and other assets earmarked for sale.
The financial press noted that both UBS and Jeffries had downgraded Anglo in August, citing fading confidence in management’s ability to execute — and shares had dropped 20% since May 2024, further lowering the company’s market value.
These failures — Peabody, Woodsmith, De Beers — and escalating financial losses belie the image of a company restoring profitability and investor confidence.
The Anglo-Teck merger announcement comes at a time when analysts and investors were calling for management to forgo bonuses. Some were even whispering about claw-back provisions.
All of this begs the question, is the Anglo-Teck merger the mining industry equivalent of pulling a rabbit out of a hat — or turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse?
Or does it merely demonstrate that Anglo American’s boast 18 months ago that it could stand alone (by rejecting BHP’s offer) had ended up exposing deep structural weaknesses and leaving the company on the defensive?
Duggan Flanakin is a senior policy analyst at the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow who writes on a wide variety of public policy issues. Read Duggan Flanakin’s reports — More Here.
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