Xstrata walks away from Anglo bid

15th Oct 2009 07:15

Miner Xstrata said today that it has no intention of making an offer for rival Anglo American. The announcement came after a put-up or shut-up ruling following an appeal by Anglo to the Takeover Panel over the disruption to its business caused by the interest from Xstrata. Earlier this month, Xstrata had been given a deadline of 5.00pm on 20 October 2009 to make a formal bid or otherwise to walk away. In June, Anglo American's board turned down Xstrata's proposal of a nil premium as not being in the best interests of its shareholders. Xstrata's chief executive Mick Davis said he remains very confident in Xstrata's standalone prospects. 'Our decision not to proceed with an offer before the deadline imposed by the UK Takeover Panel reflects our disciplined approach to growth and our focus on the value proposition for Xstrata's shareholders in a merger,' Davis said.'We continue to assess a range of alternative growth options, in full recognition that transactions of this nature often take time and patience to mature.'