S. Africa regards BHP bid typical market activity

South Africa regards BHP Group’s proposed bid for Anglo American as typical market activity, according to Reuters citing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson.

BHP, the renowned Australian miner,  is contemplating an enhanced offer for Anglo American after its initial $39 billion bid was turned down by the London-listed miner, a source informed Reuters last week.

Vincent Magwenya, the spokesperson, stated during a media briefing, “It is still early days in terms of the proposal that BHP has submitted to Anglo. We will follow, like everybody else, the process as it unfolds. We don’t, as a country, go out of our way to block market activity.”

BHP has until May 22 to present a binding bid. If successful, the deal would result in the world’s largest miner of copper, a metal crucial to the transition to clean energy.

A condition of BHP’s proposal is that Anglo first distributes its stakes in Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and Kumba Iron Ore, both of which operate in South Africa, to shareholders.

Any departure by Anglo, established in South Africa in 1917, would be an economic setback for the country, where miners have been reducing jobs and investments due to declining metals prices and various local challenges exacerbated by issues with the state port and freight rail company.

BHP’s bid emerges just weeks before a general election, during which voter discontent over a stagnant economy and high unemployment could jeopardize the long-standing majority of the African National Congress.