Teck Resources Ltd. shares surged to a record Monday, exceeding Glencore Plc’s per-share takeover offer price for the first time, as other major mining companies show interest in acquiring the Canadian firm’s metals operations.
The stock gained as much at 9.2% in Toronto after Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Vale SA and Anglo American Plc were reported to be evaluating potential bids for Teck’s base metals business if the firm spins out its coal assets. Norman Keevil, the 85-year-old magnate who controls Teck through “supervoting” Class A shares, said in a Sunday statement that he’d support a transaction on the right terms after the separation.
Teck is racing to get enough investor support for the coal spinoff ahead of an April 26 vote while fending off an unsolicited $23 billion takeover offer from Glencore for the whole company. Keevil said that pursuing a deal for the entire company before separating its coal and metals businesses would rob shareholders of significant post-split value.
Teck’s stock rose 5.7% to C$63.90 at 10:36 am in Toronto, exceeding the value of Glencore’s offer of C$63.22 a share for the first time since the Swiss commodities giant proposed the deal three weeks ago.
Teck’s copper and zinc mines have long been admired by the world’s biggest miners, but Keevil’s resistance to sell has kept the company independent so far. Teck’s board has rejected two takeover proposals from Glencore this month, most recently after the company offered to add a cash component to buy Teck shareholders out of exposure to the combined coal businesses.
Glencore grabbed a momentum shift last week as Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis both recommended that investors vote against Teck’s spinoff plan and as Bloomberg News reported that China Investment Corp., which owns 10% of Teck’s Class B shares, favors Glencore’s proposal because it offers a quicker and cleaner exit from coal.
