BHP Abandons Renewed Bid for Anglo American

BHP Group, the world's largest mining company, has abandoned a renewed takeover attempt for rival Anglo American, confirming on Monday that preliminary discussions ended without progress. The move clears a path for Anglo's planned merger with Canada's Teck Resources, whose shareholders are set to vote on the deal in the coming weeks.

The Australian-based BHP disclosed in a regulatory statement to the Australian stock exchange that it had engaged in initial talks with London-listed Anglo but decided against pursuing a combination. "Whilst BHP continues to believe that a combination with Anglo American would have had strong strategic merits and created significant value for all stakeholders, BHP is confident in the highly compelling potential of its own organic growth," the company said. Anglo, which reviewed the proposal, rejected it as inferior to its agreement with Teck, according to people familiar with the private discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.

This latest overture came just days after reports emerged of BHP's interest, less than three weeks before the Anglo-Teck shareholder vote scheduled for December. The proposed Anglo-Teck merger would form a new entity...