BHP Group on Thursday offered to buy Australian copper producer Oz Minerals for $9.6 billion (US$6.5 billion) as the world’s biggest mining company by market cap seeks to boost its exposure to raw materials used in electric vehicles and clean energy production.
The mining giant is offering to buy each Oz Minerals share at A$28.25. The deal—which could be BHP’s largest in more than a decade—will strengthen its position as one of the largest producers of copper, demand for which is expected to soar as the world moves away from fossil fuels and transitions into clean energy.
“The combination of BHP and OZ Minerals’ assets, skills and technical expertise provides a unique opportunity not available under separate ownership,” Mike Henry, CEO of BHP, said in a statement.
OZ Minerals and BHP have complementary assets including the Oak Dam exploration prospect in South Australia, Henry said. Apart from copper, the acquisition will also give BHP nickel deposits from OZ Mineral’s West Musgrave greenfield project in Western Australia.
The acquisition, which was unanimously supported by the OZ Minerals board and first announced in November, will be tabled for a shareholder vote in late March or early April. BHP’s offer—an improvement from its previous offer of A$25 per share—comes on the heels of rival Rio Tinto’s acquisition of Canada’s Turquoise Hill Resources, which will give Rio Tinto ownership of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.
The world mining giants are racing to get a lock on new copper supplies the are essential to support the global megatrends of decabornization and electrification efforts in the coming decades amid the proliferation of solar farms and electric vehicles. The size of the copper market will climb more than 50% to $446.7 billion by 2030 from $291 billion last year, according to estimates by India-based Acumen Research and Consulting.
This article was first published on forbes.com