MELBOURNE (Reuters) – BHP Group on Wednesday said it needed more time to engage with Anglo American (JO:), a week after the London-listed miner rejected BHP’s 38.6 offer billion pounds ($49.20 billion) ahead of the filing deadline later in the day.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, BHP outlined commitments to reduce regulatory risk in South Africa blocking the deal.
The company said it was confident in quantifying and managing the risks associated with the deal and that it would offer Anglo American a break fee if the deal was blocked for antitrust reasons or failed to receive regulatory approval.
These commitments included job security for employees in South Africa. BHP also said it would absorb the cost of increasing the ownership of South African employees, which is expected to be required in the event of any demerger.
($1 = 0.7845 pounds)