Companies want commodities critical for clean energy such as copper that could drive deals
Mining bosses have warned against plunging into the mergers and acquisitions market and repeating mistakes of the past as forecasts mount that the industry is on the verge of a dealmaking boom.
Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm was the most outspoken as he hinted at the experience of his predecessor Tom Albanese, who was ousted from the top job in 2013 after an ill-fated acquisition.
Albanese was blamed for Rio’s $38bn deal for Canadian aluminium rival Alcan in 2007 that contributed to $30bn in writedowns following the metal’s tumble on the markets.
“A lot of deals were made between 2005 and 2012 and a lot of these turned out to be really bad,” Stausholm told the Financial Times. “Now it feels like things are opening up a little bit . . . but from the Rio Tinto perspective, that’s not that relevant: I have no fomo, or fear of missing out.”
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