Teck had on-off talks with rival partner to Anglo for two years
Before it agreed to merge with Anglo American Plc, Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd. had been in parallel talks with a rival suitor for two years.
From May 2023 to May 2025, Teck held discussions with a “strategic counterparty” referred to as Party X in documents sent to shareholders ahead of the Dec. 9 vote on its sale to London-based Anglo American. They considered a no-premium, all-share transaction, but were stalled by disagreements over valuation and “governance considerations,” according to the documents published Monday.
The discussions came at the same time Teck management was meeting with Anglo to consider a combination of the two miners. Those conversations, which began in 2023, culminated in a deal announced in September that would see the firms combine a suite of copper, zinc and iron ore mines into one metals-producing giant.
Teck’s portfolio of copper assets has long been coveted by major mining firms, with its flagship asset — the giant Quebrada Blanca copper mine — operating in Chile. It neighbors Collahuasi, one of the world’s top copper mines, which is owned by Anglo and Glencore.
The sector has kicked into deal mode over the past two years, with BHP Group Ltd. launching an unsuccessful bid for Anglo in 2024 and Rio Tinto Plc holding talks to buy Glencore Plc. Teck’s discussions with Party X in May 2023 started one month after the firm rebuffed Glencore’s $23 billion acquisition proposal.
Teck began discussions with the unnamed mining firm in May 2023, but put those talks on hold while the Canadian miner worked to sell off its steelmaking coal assets. Around the same time, members of Teck’s board and executive team, including Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Price, met with Anglo representatives including CEO Duncan Wanblad to discuss a possible merger, according to the documents.
As discussions with Anglo heated up in early 2025, Teck re-engaged with the unnamed third party. But by May the firms reached another stalemate, and discussions were permanently terminated.
Talks with Anglo also stalled repeatedly over the two years, according to the documents. Negotiations were suspended as recently as Aug. 30 — less than two weeks before the companies announced the merger — over differences regarding the deal’s “exchange ratio and other economic terms.”
Attempts to acquire Teck have been made complicated by its dual-class share structure, which gives Canada’s Keevil family control of the company through its “supervoting” Class A shares. Bloomberg previously reported that Teck’s chairman emeritus, Norman Keevil, agreed to a deal with Anglo on the condition the combined company is headquartered in Canada.
(By Thomas Seal)
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