(Bloomberg) — South Africa’s biggest labor union federation urged local shareholders, including the powerful Public Investment Corp., to oppose BHP Group Ltd.’s bid to buy Anglo American Plc. The Congress of South African Trade Unions, which includes the National Union of Mineworkers among its members, said a deal wouldn’t be in the national interest. South African shareholders hold about 26% of Anglo, with the PIC owning 8.4%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
BHP’s proposal to acquire Anglo on April 25 raised the ire of some members of South Africa’s government, including Mines Minister Gwede Mantashe. The Australian company responded by deploying a senior team including its chief executive officer to South Africa to win over government officials, regulators and local Anglo shareholders.
BHP’s proposal includes a plan for Anglo to spin off its Johannesburg-listed platinum and iron ore units before an eventual takeover of the remaining assets. Anglo, founded in Johannesburg in 1917, also owns manganese and diamond mines in South Africa. While the miner was the bedrock of the South African economy for decades, it shifted its headquarters to London in the late-1990s.
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