The scheme now needs the approval of the Federal Court of Australia,which is expected to make a ruling on April 17. If it is approved by the court,the scheme is expected to become effective on April 18 and be implemented on May 2.
“This is a strong endorsement from OZ Minerals shareholders on the value they will receive under the scheme and the hard work of the OZ Minerals team over many years to create a successful business,” BHP chief executive Mike Henry said.
BHP,the largest Australian mining company,has been looking to acquire Oz Minerals as part of its accelerating efforts to boost its supplies of copper and nickel,two minerals the world will need much more of in coming years as raw materials in electric vehicles and clean energy infrastructure. Electric cars require up to four times as much copper as internal combustion-engine vehicles,says BHP,while nickel is a critical ingredient in lithium-ion batteries.
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If the deal succeeds,it will mark the Melbourne-based mining heavyweight’s biggest acquisition since it paid $US12 billion ($18 billion) for US shale gas producer Petrohawk in 2011.
Oz Minerals has two copper and gold mines in South Australia – Carrapateena and Prominent Hill – located on either side of BHP’s vast Olympic Dam mining hub.
BHP believes it can unlock significant potential cost savings by combining those assets.