Anglo-Teck merger, nickel sale are test cases for navigating geopolitical complexities, CEO says
Niquelândia processes both nickel and manganese from Codemin and Barro Alto sites. (Image courtesy of Anglo American.)Anglo American’s (LON: AAL) proposed $54 billion merger with Canada’s Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.B) and the sale of its Brazilian nickel business have become test cases for navigating geopolitical complexities as they await antitrust approval, CEO Duncan Wanblad said on Wednesday.
The Anglo-Teck merger, announced in 2025, has received approval from all countries where the companies operate except China. Both expect the deal to close by March 2027.
Critical minerals have become a flashpoint in global competition, with major economies seeking to secure supply chains for electric vehicles, renewable energy and defence.
China’s antitrust regulator has asked Anglo American to commit to supplying the country with a steady flow of copper concentrate as a condition for approving the merger, three people aware of the development said.
Geopolitical shifts, supply chain disruptions and critical mineral nationalism have created a complex environment for such deals, Wanblad told a mining conference in Johannesburg via video link.
Anglo American’s (LON: AAL) proposed $54 billion merger with Canada’s Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.B) and the sale of its Brazilian nickel business have become test cases for navigating geopolitical complexities as they await antitrust approval, CEO Duncan Wanblad said on Wednesday.
The Anglo-Teck merger, announced in 2025, has received approval from all countries where the companies operate except China. Both expect the deal to close by March 2027.
Critical minerals have become a flashpoint in global competition, with major economies seeking to secure supply chains for electric vehicles, renewable energy and defence.
China’s antitrust regulator has asked Anglo American to commit to supplying the country with a steady flow of copper concentrate as a condition for approving the merger, three people aware of the development said.
Geopolitical shifts, supply chain disruptions and critical mineral nationalism have created a complex environment for such deals, Wanblad told a mining conference in Johannesburg via video link.
‘In new waters’
“We are in new waters. We are pioneering in a way. I genuinely don’t think from an antitrust perspective there should be any issues with any of these deals,” Wanblad said.
He cited Anglo’s proposed sale of its Brazilian nickel business to MMG (HKG: 1208), which drew a warning from the European Union over concerns the Hong Kong-listed miner could divert supply away from Europe, hurting stainless steel producers there. The sale is awaiting EU approval.
Anglo American also agreed to sell its steelmaking coal mines in Australia to UK-based miner Dhilmar for up to $3.88 billion.
“We are kind of the guinea pigs for the market in terms of working this out,” Wanblad said.
Wanblad also said he was hopeful the sale of diamond company De Beers would be completed by the end of this year.
The sale of the assets is part of Anglo’s restructuring aimed at focusing on copper and iron ore.
The Teck merger would expand Anglo’s copper portfolio, positioning it as the fifth-largest producer of the metal critical to the energy transition.
(Reporting by Nelson Banya and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, editing by Rod Nickel)
“We are in new waters. We are pioneering in a way. I genuinely don’t think from an antitrust perspective there should be any issues with any of these deals,” Wanblad said.
He cited Anglo’s proposed sale of its Brazilian nickel business to MMG (HKG: 1208), which drew a warning from the European Union over concerns the Hong Kong-listed miner could divert supply away from Europe, hurting stainless steel producers there. The sale is awaiting EU approval.
Anglo American also agreed to sell its steelmaking coal mines in Australia to UK-based miner Dhilmar for up to $3.88 billion.
“We are kind of the guinea pigs for the market in terms of working this out,” Wanblad said.
Wanblad also said he was hopeful the sale of diamond company De Beers would be completed by the end of this year.
The sale of the assets is part of Anglo’s restructuring aimed at focusing on copper and iron ore.
The Teck merger would expand Anglo’s copper portfolio, positioning it as the fifth-largest producer of the metal critical to the energy transition.
(Reporting by Nelson Banya and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, editing by Rod Nickel)
MMG accuses EU antitrust regulators of ignoring evidence backing Anglo American deal
Barro Alto is a nickel-producing mine and processing plant. (Image courtesy of Anglo American.)Hong Kong-listed mining and metals company MMG (HKEX:1208) accused EU antitrust regulators on Thursday of ignoring evidence that its bid for Anglo American’s (LON: AAL) Brazilian nickel business would not divert supplies from Europe to China.
The comments came after a day-long hearing at which MMG and Anglo American defended the $500 million deal before EU antitrust regulators, including the European Commission’s top merger official, Guillaume Loriot.
“The Commission’s decision to open an in-depth inquiry and the allegations of a plan to divert supply of ferronickel from Europe are fundamentally unsupported,” MMG’s executive general manager for corporate relations Troy Hey told reporters.
“The Commission has selectively used two partial and misleading quotations from over 200,000 documents supplied by MMG and its major shareholder — while ignoring all the other evidence, economic and market analysis to the contrary,” he said.
The Commission, the EU’s competition watchdog, warned last month that MMG could redirect ferronickel supplies away from Europe, potentially harming the bloc’s stainless steel producers. The case comes amid broader EU concerns about dependence on China for critical minerals.
Hey also accused the Commission of ignoring market developments since opening a full-scale investigation in November and the independent market analysis it had commissioned.
He said commodities traders Glencore and Trafigura had written to the Commission saying they were confident MMG would continue supplying them.
Hey said MMG was willing to address all of the Commission’s concerns, suggesting it may be prepared to offer remedies in the coming weeks.
Anglo American Brazil Chief Operating Officer Ruben Fernandes and Chief Financial Officer Cristina Morgan were expected to tell regulators at the hearing that blocking the deal would likely force the mine to close, according to prepared remarks seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Mark Potter)
Hong Kong-listed mining and metals company MMG (HKEX:1208) accused EU antitrust regulators on Thursday of ignoring evidence that its bid for Anglo American’s (LON: AAL) Brazilian nickel business would not divert supplies from Europe to China.
The comments came after a day-long hearing at which MMG and Anglo American defended the $500 million deal before EU antitrust regulators, including the European Commission’s top merger official, Guillaume Loriot.
“The Commission’s decision to open an in-depth inquiry and the allegations of a plan to divert supply of ferronickel from Europe are fundamentally unsupported,” MMG’s executive general manager for corporate relations Troy Hey told reporters.
“The Commission has selectively used two partial and misleading quotations from over 200,000 documents supplied by MMG and its major shareholder — while ignoring all the other evidence, economic and market analysis to the contrary,” he said.
The Commission, the EU’s competition watchdog, warned last month that MMG could redirect ferronickel supplies away from Europe, potentially harming the bloc’s stainless steel producers. The case comes amid broader EU concerns about dependence on China for critical minerals.
Hey also accused the Commission of ignoring market developments since opening a full-scale investigation in November and the independent market analysis it had commissioned.
He said commodities traders Glencore and Trafigura had written to the Commission saying they were confident MMG would continue supplying them.
Hey said MMG was willing to address all of the Commission’s concerns, suggesting it may be prepared to offer remedies in the coming weeks.
Anglo American Brazil Chief Operating Officer Ruben Fernandes and Chief Financial Officer Cristina Morgan were expected to tell regulators at the hearing that blocking the deal would likely force the mine to close, according to prepared remarks seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Mark Potter)
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