Anglo American confirms asset sale to OneSteel
ANGLO American confirmed today it has agreed to sell its Moly-Cop and AltaSteel operations to OneSteel for $US932 million ($943m).
In October last year, Anglo American announced plans to focus on platinum, copper, nickel, coal and iron ore. The announcement to hone in on its key commodities followed attempts by rival Xstrata to merge the two companies and market speculation that the miner remained vulnerable to further takeover attempts.
"Following the $US1.3 billion divestment of our Zinc portfolio in May 2010, the sale of Moly-Cop and AltaSteel represents further strategic progress as we continue to focus on our core commodity businesses and on the delivery of our major near-term growth projects," said Anglo American chief executive Cynthia Carroll.
Anglo American said it continued to progress with its divestment program "in a manner and to a timetable that maximises value to its shareholders," including the sale of the Scaw Metals Group based in South Africa.
Moly-Cop and AltaSteel were part of the larger Scaw Metals Group.
The miner sold its zinc portfolio in May to Vedanta Resources.
OneSteel said the acquisition is important for the company's future growth in mining consumables.
Moly-Cop is based in Chile and its facilities include the ability to convert steel bars into grinding balls for use in mine milling circuits. AltaSteel is based in Edmonton, Canada and is a vertically-integrated steel mini-mill.
In the first half of 2010, the businesses recorded $US319m in revenue and for the whole of 2009 they made $US642m in revenue.
Anglo American is geographically focused around platinum in South Africa, copper in Chile, nickel in Brazil, metallurgical coal in Australia, thermal coal in South Africa, subsidiary Kumba Iron Ore in South Africa and other iron ore in Brazil.
Completion of the Moly-Cop and AltaSteel transaction is conditional on antitrust clearance in Canada and it will undergo regulatory review in Australia and Brazil, Anglo American said