Two media reports over the weekend suggest that Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and BHP (ASX:BHP) are still on the takeover trail.
Sky News in the UK claimed that Rio Tinto was looking to make a $US32 billion bid for major copper and zinc miner Teck Resources of Canada. Canadian media reported that BHP was considering joining a local group, Lundin Mining, in a $US3.2 billion joint offer for a copper miner.
According to the Sky News report, Rio has prepared “detailed proposals” for a potential Teck bid and has approached banks to finance the deal, which could be valued at more than $32 billion. However, it is unknown if Rio will make a formal proposal.
Last week, Teck completed the sale of its steel-making coal business to Glencore for around $US6.9 billion, making it an attractive target for foreign rivals like Rio.
BHP previously attempted to bid for Anglo American, a major copper miner producing over 700,000 tonnes annually, alongside coal, iron ore, diamonds, and fertilizer.
Teck, with annual copper production of approximately 300,000 tonnes last year and expected to surpass 495,000 tonnes this year, remains one of the best global prospects for copper mining. Additionally, Teck is a significant zinc producer in Canada and Chile, alongside BHP and Glencore.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that BHP and Canada’s Lundin Mining Corp could jointly bid for Filo Corp, a local copper miner. The Lundin family holds a 32% stake in Filo Corp, while BHP holds a 6% stake. Filo Corp is currently focused on developing the Filo del Sol project on the Chile-Argentina border.
According to Reuters, discussions about a joint bid are taking place amid ongoing efforts to merge Lundin Mining’s Josemaria project with Filo del Sol.
As of Friday’s trading close, Filo had a market capitalization of $C3.44 billion. Earlier on Friday, Bloomberg reported that Lundin had proposed a joint bid for Filo to BHP.