Control of the capesize chartering market looks set for further consolidation as the world’s largest miner looks to acquire a smaller rival.
Australian mining giant BHP has reportedly approached Anglo American about buying the London-listed company, according to reports by Bloomberg.
Anglo American said late on Wednesday that it received an unsolicited all-share merger proposal from BHP, according to reports. However, it has yet to make an official announcement to the London Stock Exchange.
Anglo American’s board is said to be reviewing the proposal and cautioned that there is no certainty an offer will be made.
The Duncan Wanblad-led company said BHP’s proposal was conditional on the company first splitting off its South African platinum and iron ore units.
Anglo American established a shipping desk in 2012 and has built a diverse portfolio that transports more than 70m tons (64m tonnes) of dry bulk products per year.
Singapore-based Peter Lye is Anglo American’s global head of shipping and marketing and was the miner’s first external hire when it set up an operation in the city-state.
Earlier this year, the company took delivery of the last of a series of 10 chartered-in LNG dual-fuel capesize bulkers built over the last three years.
The ships were all built at China’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and are chartered from several different owners including U-Ming Marine Transport and Greece’s Maran Dry.
The company said the LNG-fuelled Ubuntu fleet is a key component of its ambition to achieve carbon neutrality for its controlled ocean freight by 2040.
The Ubuntu bulkers offer an estimated 35% reduction in emissions, compared to ships fuelled by conventional marine fuel oil, and are the most efficient vessels of their type today.
Anglo American marketing business chief executive Matt Walker has described the company as having “a market leading position as the charterer of the largest LNG dual-fuelled capesize” fleet in the world.
The company is also a member of several industry-wide decarbonisation initiatives including The Global Maritime Forum, the Getting to Zero Coalition and the Sea Cargo Charter Initiative.
BHP is one of the world’s largest dry bulk charterers, moving about 300m tonnes of iron ore, coal and copper over 1,500 voyages per year.
Last week, the Mike Henry-led company said it was plotting its first order for an ammonia-fuelled bulker, with eight companies said to have been shortlisted for the business, including shipyards, operators and fuel suppliers.
