OZ Minerals shareholders voted in favour of BHP’s takeover bid on Thursday, paving the way for the takeover’s completion and OZ’s final day of trading.
An OZ Minerals scheme meeting saw 98.33 per cent of total votes from its shareholders approve the takeover, which will see BHP pay $28.25 per share for the copper miner.
BHP’s initial offer of $25 per share was swiftly rejected by OZ back in August 2022.
OZ chief executive officer Andrew Cole said it was a significant day for the company.
“Today’s strong endorsement from our shareholders enables the next chapter for OZ Minerals as, pending endorsement of the court, we will become part of a major global mining company which values our strategy of creating value for stakeholders, enabled by our agile culture of inclusion, innovation and collaboration, as well as our portfolio of modern minerals operating assets and our pipeline of growth opportunities,” he said.
OZ will seek approval for the scheme from the Federal Court of Australia on Monday April 17, which, if passed, would see OZ suspend trading on the ASX at close on Tuesday April 18.
Coinciding with the shareholder approval, OZ has announced a special dividend of $1.75 per share to be paid on the scheme’s implementation date of Tuesday May 2 if the scheme becomes effective.
BHP boss Mike Henry said the scheme validated OZ’s rise in recent years.
“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,” he said.
“We look forward to bringing together our talent and resources to create an even stronger organisation.”
The next chapter of OZ Minerals will see the company’s Tier 1 copper assets enter the BHP fold, including Prominent Hill and Carrapateena in South Australia, while the promising West Musgrave nickel-copper project will also have a new owner.
How BHP looks to strategise these assets remains to be seen, and investors will be closely observing the major’s next steps to see what a new-look BHP looks like.
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