Copper

https://financialpost.com/

Conservative leader says ‘hostile foreign takeover’ would threaten jobs and critical resources

Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative party, is calling for the federal government to block Glencore Plc’s bid to buy Canada’s largest diversified miner, Teck Resources Ltd., adding yet another political voice against the potential takeover.

The leader of the opposition in a statement on April 27 said that the Glencore takeover would put thousands of jobs at risk and threaten the local critical minerals supply chain. Poilievre highlighted past fines and charges that Glencore has faced and said that his government would have used the Investment Canada Act to stop the “hostile foreign takeover and take into account Glencore’s previous unethical behaviour.”

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Glencore, the Swiss commodities giant in pursuit of Teck Resources Ltd. has threatened to take any new offer directly to Teck shareholders unless the board of the Canadian company opens negotiations that might lead to the merger of the two companies.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, one day after Teck withdrew a shareholders’ vote to split the company in two, Glencore reiterated its willingness to improve its opening, US$23-billion all-share merger offer.

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https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Canada’s main opposition party called for the government to block Glencore Plc’s proposed takeover of Teck Resources Ltd.

Thousands of jobs would be at risk if the Swiss commodities firm were to succeed in its unsolicited US$23 billion bid for the Vancouver-based miner, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement Thursday. He warned it would also mark the loss of Canada’s last remaining major diversified base-metals miner owned and headquartered in the country.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Norman B. Keevil’s nightmare is becoming a reality. On Wednesday, Teck Resources cancelled a proposal to split the company in half, a transformational move that would have created two Canadian mining champions. One would produce the metals needed for the energy revolution, while the other would dig up the type of coal used to make steel.

Teck presumably withdrew the plan after learning it lacked the shareholder votes to put it into action. It is thought the company was unable to convince its biggest shareholder, China Investment Corp., with 10 per cent of the common class B shares, to reverse its “no” vote and endorse the split proposal.

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https://financialpost.com/

Takeover by foreign company would be ‘devastating’ to region and make it difficult to communicate, mayors say

Set in British Columbia‘s southeastern Kootenay region, the scenic towns of Sparwood and Elkford are where adrenaline junkies often go to hike while skiers and snowmobilers hit the fresh snow on the Canadian Rockies.

The surrounding Elk Valley area, often called Canada’s Serengeti, is filled with wildlife, wildflowers and, of course, the majestic snow-covered mountains. The valley also has a history of coal mining that stretches back for more than a century and is currently home to four steelmaking coal mines run by Teck Resources Ltd.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Teck Resources Ltd.’s controlling shareholder Norman B. Keevil was in the dark about which way China Investment Corp. (CIC) voted in its proposed split vote, with only about 12 hours to go before the start of the shareholder meeting, a source familiar with the matter said.

The Globe and Mail is not identifying the source as the person was not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Keevil declined to comment. Mr. Keevil, along with Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., controls the super voting A shares. CIC is Teck’s biggest B shareholder with a 10.3-per-cent stake.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

If Glencore PLC’s pursuit of Teck Resources Ltd. was a Hollywood romantic comedy, we could all write the ending. After a period of high-spirited sparring, this corporate rom-com would climax this week with two crazy kids realizing what the rest of us recognized from the start: that their copper and coal belong together. Harry marries Sally. Glencore merges with Teck. Cue rave reviews.

But mining isn’t the movies. Teck is not falling gracefully into Glencore’s waiting arms, even if the Vancouver-based company’s shareholders turn down the proposed spin-out of Teck’s massive coal business in Wednesday’s vote.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

As the resources industry becomes less local and more global, crucial investment decisions are often determined in far-flung capitals. Such is the case with Teck Resources, Canada’s largest diversified mining company. Sometime in the next two days, possibly the next few hours, an investment committee in Beijing will make a decision that will greatly influence – perhaps even determine – Teck’s future.

China Investment Corp., one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, owns 10.3 per cent of Teck’s single-vote class B shares, making it the largest shareholder of that class. It is on course to become the key vote Wednesday when Teck’s proposal to hive off its coal business from its base-metals operations goes to a shareholder vote in Vancouver.

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https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Glencore Plc’s attempt to seal mining’s biggest deal in a decade has thrust new Chief Executive Officer Gary Nagle into center stage. Little known outside Glencore before taking the job nearly two years ago, the energetic South African is pursuing one of mining’s most unattainable targets, in a bitter brawl that’s headed for a potential climax this week.

While the bid for Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd. is Nagle’s first major move as CEO, the deal itself was dreamed up under his predecessor Ivan Glasenberg, who privately tried and failed to get it done in 2020. Nagle was involved in those efforts too, according to people familiar with the matter, as head of Glencore’s coal business and already earmarked to replace the man that hired him two decades earlier.

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https://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/

Can Canada lead a global mining boom without any prominent global miners?

Swiss commodities giant Glencore PLC‘s unexpected bid to absorb Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. is forcing Canada’s mining sector and government to confront an existential question: can this country lead a global mining boom without any prominent global miners?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has repeatedly emphasized that it sees Canadian miners as essential players in the energy transition and Canada’s future economy. Last year, it published the country’s first critical minerals strategy and it has expanded tax credits for critical minerals exploration.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Jen Hansen is the co-chair of the mining group at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP.

Recent headlines have brought a Canadian company, Teck Resources, into the spotlight as the recipient of multiple offers from a foreign buyer, Swiss mining giant Glencore, with likely more to come. If you aren’t involved in the Canadian mining space or perhaps don’t consider yourself supportive of mining, you may want to start paying attention.

The acquisition of an iconic Canadian company by a foreign buyer can have a far-reaching impact. I hope that does not happen, and my desire to see Teck remain a Canadian company goes well beyond a sentimental feeling about ownership and history.

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