Anglo treks to Canada as it merges with copper miner

Along with gold, copper is the darling of investors at the moment, which explains Anglo's merging with Canadian mining company Teck Resources to position itself to meet the surging demand

- By Ed Stoddard

Anglo is dropping “American” from its name as it forges an all-share “merger of equals” with Canadian miner Teck Resources to create one of the world’s largest copper producers, valued at about R870-billion.

"Both Anglo American and Teck believe the merger will be highly attractive for both companies' shareholders and stakeholders, enhancing portfolio quality, resilience and strategic positioning," the companies said in a joint statement on 9 September.

Subject to regulatory approval, the merged entity will be called Anglo Teck. Headquartered in Vancouver, Anglo’s primary listing will remain in London with listings in Toronto, New York and Johannesburg.

The number-crunchers have found $800-million in pretax synergies annually by combining both companies, which means that costs can be slashed by removing “redundancies”, including staffing levels.

For Anglo shareholders, it means they are going to get a dividend of about $4.20 per share and will then own a stake in copper-focused Anglo Teck.