Canadian mining industry executive Pierre Lassonde is reportedly assembling a consortium to bid for Teck Resources’ metallurgical coal business, reported Financial Times (FT).
Lassonde, the founder of mining royalty and investment company Franco-Nevada, has been openly supporting Teck’s plans to keep Elk Valley, amid takeover interest from Glencore.
According to the Globe and Mail report, Lassonde had discussions with Teck and proposed a plan to acquire the Teck’s Elk Valley business, through a new consortium.
Last month, Lassonde said his consortium would take up to 20% stake in Teck’s coal business, and he is now bidding for the entire coal unit, reported FT.
Lassonde told Reuters: “We have put forward one model for this, they (Teck) said they like what they see but we don’t know what others have offered.”
Lassonde in his email said: “What we have proposed is proprietary and not to be discussed by either side. Teck has great advisers and a board that can make decisions.”
The current move, which would block Glencore’s earlier offer to purchase the entire company for $23bn, is the latest development in a series of events related to Teck’s spin-off.
In February this year, Teck announced its plans to separate its metals and coal operations into Teck Metals, and Elk Valley Resources (EVR), as part of its business restructuring process.
Last month, the Canadian mining company rejected Swiss commodity trading and mining company Glencore’s $22.5bn unsolicited takeover bid for its entire operations.
Teck announced that its earlier proposal to spin-off its business into two separate entities will be the only optimal option to maximise its shareholder value.
The company raised a concern that Glencore’s proposal would expose its shareholders to significant jurisdictional, ESG and execution risk, and called the proposal a ‘non-starter’.
Glencore immediately revised its $22.5bn proposal, by adding an $8.2bn cash element to its offer, to buy-out Teck shareholders from their stake in a coal-focused spin-off.
Furthermore, European activist investment firm Bluebell Capital Partners has opposed Glencore’s revised proposal for the Canadian mining company, citing questionable synergies.
