Glencore PLC has successfully acquired a significant stake in Teck Resources Ltd.'s coal operations, purchasing 77% for about $6.9 billion in 2024. This acquisition comes after a series of attempts by Glencore to take over the Canadian miner. Initially, Glencore made a $23 billion offer in March, which Teck rejected, stating it was a 20% premium at the time. Teck described Glencore's initial bid as a "departure from reality" and highlighted the significant risks associated with combining with the Swiss commodities giant.
Glencore subsequently modified its offer in April, proposing an all-share takeover bid for Teck, which included up to $8.2 billion in cash for shareholders who did not wish to retain exposure to thermal coal. Despite this, Teck's board still considered the offer "largely unchanged." Analysts suggested Glencore would need to increase its bid further to secure a deal. The interest in Teck from Glencore was part of a larger trend of increased buyout offers for mining companies producing copper and other green energy transition minerals.
As an alternative strategy, Glencore also proposed buying just Teck's coal business for cash, combining it with its own coal assets, and then creating a separate company. This alternative was considered while Glencore's larger takeover bid for all of Teck remained on the table. Following the coal asset acquisition, then-Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne stated that he would only approve future acquisitions of large-scale Canadian critical minerals companies under the most exceptional circumstances.
