What happened
Assuming the price and terms are favorable, investors are usually thrilled when one of their holdings receives a buyout offer. That clearly isn't the case with Canadian mining company Teck Resources (TECK 1.26%), which turned down an unsolicited proposal on Monday. The market loved that reaction, as it collectively sent Teck's share price almost 20% higher on the day.
So what
The proposal came from Teck's global peer Glencore (GLNCY 1.28%), which offered to acquire the Canadian company and split its operations into two separate businesses. Glencore's all-stock bid is for 7.78 of its shares for each Teck Class B share (a nonvoting class), and 12.73 Glencore shares per Teck common share. These numbers shook out to a 20% premium for both classes of stock.
Teck enumerated several reasons for its rejection of the Glencore proposal. It said that its board is not considering a sale at the moment, and thinks that the bid is "opportunistically timed."
The Canadian miner is also concerned about the high execution risk of the deal, not least because a host of approvals in numerous jurisdictions would be required.
As for the timing of Glencore's offer, it comes mere weeks after Teck announced its own plans to divide into a pair of separate businesses. These plans, divulged in late February, proposed a "creation of two world-class companies" from the present Teck, maagement said.
The first, Teck Metals, would concentrate on base metals, as its name implies. The second, EVR, is being described by Teck as "a high-margin Canadian steelmaking coal producer."
Now what
Glencore is a big presence in the mining industry and hasn't been shy about pursuing acquisitions in the past. Its plans for dividing the company also more or less mirror Teck's. Considering that, we shouldn't be surprised if Glencore ups its bid for the Canadian company. Perhaps this takeover story is only just beginning.
