Teck’s board of directors says it has rejected a takeover bid by Glencore, a Swiss multinational mining and trading company.
In a release today, board chair Sheila Murray said they will continue with their plan to split their business into two separate companies, Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources.
“We believe that our planned separation creates a greater spectrum of opportunities to maximize value for Teck shareholders,” she said. “[We] remain confident that the proposed separation … is in the best interests of Teck and all its stakeholders, is a much more compelling transaction and does not limit our optionality.”
Teck CEO Jonathan Price said the Glencore proposal would “expose Teck shareholders to a large thermal coal business, an oil trading business, and significant jurisdictional risk, all of which would negatively impact the value potential of Teck’s business.”
Teck says Glencore offered 7.78 Glencore shares for each Teck class B subordinate voting share and 12.73 Glencore shares for each Teck class A share. The offer reportedly would have been worth about $23 billion.
Teck called Glencore’s bid an “opportunistically timed attempt to transfer value to Glencore shareholders at the expense of Teck shareholders.”