Vancouver
Teck’s change of tack: Canadian miner Teck Resources has abandoned its bid to split itself for want of shareholder support, say Karen Kwok and George Hay on Breakingviews. That could give its suitor, Swiss commodities giant Glencore, the chance for a “surgical strike” after its initial $23bn bid was rejected by Teck’s board. Glencore’s offer would have handed Teck’s owners 24% of a combined company that would have then demerged into an energy-transition metals business and another focused on coal. The problem for Glencore is how to improve its offer, with its 22% premium to the share price already worth $4.7bn, without eating into the $5.2bn-worth of cost savings Glencore has scoped out for the taking. “A sweetener of, say, 10% would… give away too much of the benefits [from a merger].”
It’s possible Glencore boss Gary Nagle has identified further savings, or he believes a combined company would command a higher valuation multiple, which would cover the cost of a richer premium. Glencore has the cash. But a smarter move would be to
