Teck Resources Ltd. shareholders are hours away from a vote that will decide the future of the storied Canadian miner as it seeks to fight off a takeover attempt by Glencore Plc.
(Bloomberg) — Teck Resources Ltd. shareholders are hours away from a vote that will decide the future of the storied Canadian miner as it seeks to fight off a takeover attempt by Glencore Plc.
The two companies have spent the past three weeks furiously lobbying investors. What was supposed to be a simple vote on Teck’s plan to split its business in two — one mining metals, the other producing coal — has evolved into a dramatic showdown in the wake of Glencore’s bid.
The outcome will be complicated by Teck’s dual-class structure, which usually places the fate of the company in the hands of “supervoting” A shareholders, dominated by the founding Keevil family. However, Wednesday’s vote requires two-thirds approval from both A and B classes voting separately. That means investors with just a small percentage of the total voting rights could have the power to scupper Teck’s plan and throw its strategy into question.
Teck and family patriarch Norman Keevil have repeatedly rejected Glencore’s $23 billion proposal to buy the company and then spin off the combined coal businesses, creating one of the world’s biggest metals miners in the process. However, Glencore has dangled the prospect of a higher bid if the Teck split fails, and is hoping investors will vote down the plan and pressure the Canadian miner to enter talks.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., the other large Class A holder, confirmed last week it will back Teck and Keevil in voting for the spinoff. With the A vote sewn up, that means the outcome — and Teck’s immediate future — will come down to the decisions of its regular B class shareholders.
China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp., is the biggest holder, with about 10%, which means its decision could have a significant impact on the outcome. Bloomberg reported on April 14 that CIC favored Glencore’s proposal to buy shareholders out of their coal exposure, but had not yet made a decision on the vote.
BlackRock Inc. and Dodge & Cox are the next largest, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and have also not publicly disclosed their intentions. Influential proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass Lewis recommended voting against Teck’s proposal, although a number of smaller shareholders have indicated they would back the board anyway.
Both Teck and Glencore’s proposals show how the world’s biggest miners are increasingly focused on metals like copper that are needed for the green energy transition, while grappling with the future of coal.
If its bid succeeds, Glencore would overnight go from being the world’s biggest coal shipper to a company with no exposure to the dirtiest fuel at all. It would also become one of the biggest metal miners, poised to benefit from surging demand as the global economy decarbonizes.
For its part, Teck said earlier this month that it spent four years mulling options for its steelmaking coal business before deciding to separate it from its base metals operations.
One of Teck’s key attractions is its flagship Quebrada Blanca 2 copper project in Chile, which is coming into production this year and neighbors a copper mine owned by Glencore and Anglo American Plc.
The company has said it will be willing to entertain offers for its metals business after the split and Bloomberg reported previously that Freeport McMoRan Inc., Vale SA and Anglo American had expressed interest in speaking with Teck about its base metals business if the spinoff is approved and moves ahead.
The meeting is scheduled to start at noon Vancouver time.
–With assistance from Joe Deaux.
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