BHP Plans £31bn Bid for Anglo American but Attracts Ire from South Africa and Shareholders

Anglo American dashed BHP’s hopes after a volley of criticism from some of the company’s biggest shareholders within hours of the initial proposal on Thursday. The plans were criticised by Anglo investors including Legal & General Investment Management, one of its largest shareholders, and Abrdn as being “highly opportunistic” and “unattractive”. South Africa’s mining minister, Gwede Mantashe, also signalled he was against the takeover plan. Anglo American’s largest shareholder is the South African state asset manager, the Public Investment Corporation, which holds about 7% of Anglo’s shares, and a significant number of its mines are in South Africa.THE GUARDIAN