Insiders said that BHP Billiton had considered splitting its iron ore and coal businesses to transform into key minerals such as potash and copper, similar to its divesting of South32 in 2015, and was most likely to go public in Australia. South32 is a mining company. It was spun off from BHP Billiton on May 18, 2015 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. If this plan is implemented, it will fundamentally reshape BHP Billiton. BHP Billiton was incorporated in Australia in 1885, and the iron ore business currently accounts for approximately 60% of its profits. It is learned that BHP Billiton believes that divesting its iron ore and coal businesses will generate a large amount of cash flow and dividend credits, benefiting Australian taxpayers. Therefore, any potential listing is likely to arouse widespread interest in the Australian market.
Furthermore, the independently operated copper and potash fertilizer businesses will have greater room to explore new cooperation opportunities, such as the potential integration with Teck Resources of Canada. However, this plan has become more complicated as BHP Billiton failed to successfully acquire Anglo American. In the first half of last year, BHP Billiton attempted to acquire Anglo American, with the highest offer reaching over 49 billion US dollars, but the acquisition failed. The main purpose of BHP Billiton's bid for Anglo American is to obtain the latter's copper mine assets in South America. If the acquisition is successful, it will make the company the world's largest copper producer, with a market share of approximately 10%. Furthermore, this transaction will also help BHP Billiton improve its cash flow. As global enterprises have retreated from their commitment to environmental protection goals, BHP Billiton's motivation to accelerate its green transformation has also weakened. This means that if the plan to split the iron ore and coal businesses is to be advanced, it may take even longer. "The premise of the entire strategy is that the copper and potash fertilizer businesses can be self-sufficient, but at least in the next five years, these two businesses still require a large amount of capital investment," said a person familiar with the matter.
