LONDON, May 23 — Anglo American on Wednesday said it had rejected an improved takeover offer from rival mining group BHP worth £38.6 billion (US$49 billion), adding however that it was open to further bid talks.

“The board of Anglo American has unanimously rejected the latest proposal,” it said in a statement regarding the third offer for the UK-based group.

However it added that it is “willing to continue to engage with BHP and its advisers” over the coming week, leaving the door open for a fresh offer.

Although Australian group BHP said the new bid was final, it added that it could come back with a higher bid should Anglo receive a rival proposal.

BHP, which claims to be the largest mining company in the world with a market value of around US$148 billion, had until 1600 GMT on Wednesday to up its offer, walk away, or launch a hostile takeover.

BHP chief executive officer Mike Henry said his company “has put forward a final offer” which represented “a significant increase from” the first bid.

The second offer had been worth £34 billion, up from an initial bid of £31.1 billion in April.

‘Yet to meet expectations’

Anglo American chairman Stuart Chambers said his company’s board considered “BHP’s latest proposal carefully, concluded it does not meet expectations of value delivered to Anglo American’s shareholders, and has unanimously rejected it”.

He added that “the board is confident in Anglo American’s standalone future prospects”.

Following the update, shares in Anglo were down 0.8 per cent at £26.66 in late London trading. The new offer was pitched at £31.11 per share.

BHP shed 3.8 per cent to £23.38.

Following rejection of the second bid earlier this month, Anglo announced it would offload its steelmaking coal, diamond and platinum businesses to focus on critical minerals.

BHP has hoped to create a copper titan by purchasing Anglo.

Copper is essential to the world’s transition to renewable energy because it is a vital component for greener technology like energy storage, electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

The price of copper has soared over the past year, reaching a record-high of US$11,104.50 per tonne on Monday.

Anglo American was founded in South Africa in 1917 by the German-born industrialist Ernest Oppenheimer, 15 years after his arrival in the country.

It is now one of the largest mining companies in the world and is listed on stock exchanges both in London, where it is based, and Johannesburg.

BHP’s approach, which proposed Anglo American hiving off its platinum and iron ore production activities in South Africa, caused a stir in the country just before the tightest general election in decades.

Some analysts and opposition politicians viewed such a proposal as an indictment of the decline of South Africa’s mining sector. — AFP