
The clean energy race could trigger the biggest mining deal in decades
CNN
Mining giant BHP has made a near-$40 billion bid to take over its UK rival Anglo American in what would be the largest mining deal on record.
Mining giant BHP has made a near-$40 billion bid to take over its UK rival Anglo American in what would be the largest mining deal on record. BHP said in a statement Thursday that it valued Anglo American shares at £25.08 ($31.40) apiece, or £31.1 billion ($38.9 billion) in total. If completed, the acquisition would increase BHP’s access to copper reserves, it added. The potential deal would have a higher value than the $38.3 billion acquisition of Switzerland’s Xstrata by commodities company Glencore in 2012, according to Dealogic data. It would also be the biggest merger or acquisition in the mining industry by value since Dealogic began collecting the data in 2004. Anglo American’s board is “currently reviewing this proposal,” the company said in a statement, adding that there was “no certainty” a formal offer would be made by BHP, or the terms of that potential offer. BHP has until May 22 to make a formal offer. Shares in Anglo American soared as much as 13.8% on the news. By 5.47 a.m. ET, they were trading at £24.55 ($30.72). Shares in BHP closed 0.6% down in Australia.

Trump’s major gamble on China continues to pay off, with Chinese negotiators willing to make some concessions. Trump has maintained very high tariffs on America’s second-biggest trading partner without tipping the economy into recession. But Xi holds trump cards – including a long-sought meeting and rare earths – that exercise plenty of leverage over Trump, too.

The next batch of inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was already shaping up to be a high-profile affair due to the expected impact of President Donald Trump’s hefty tariffs. But after Trump fired the agency’s top statistician, Tuesday’s report now comes with some other, unexpected baggage.

The United States and China agreed to pause tariff hikes on each other’s goods for an additional 90 days, according to multiple reports citing White House officials. Without the agreement, tariffs were set to immediately surge, risking a return to ultra-high levels that had formed an effective blockade on trade between the world’s two largest economies.