Glencore has sweetened its bid to take over Teck.
The Swiss-based company is now offering to buy Teck shareholders out of their coal assets for $8.2 billion US ($11 billion Cdn). They would also receive 24 per cent of a new metals company.
“We remain enthusiastic about the merits and prospects of [the offer] and expect a significant proportion of Teck shareholders to share our view,” Glencore wrote in a letter to the Teck board.
They added that they are prepared to offer a combination of cash and shares to Teck shareholders. The previous offer involved only shares. The overall proposal is still worth about $23 billion.
Earlier this month the Teck board unanimously rejected Glencore’s offer and said they would stick to their original plan to spin their Elk Valley coal operation into a separate company from their metals division.
On Monday Teck “reaffirmed” its rationale for the split as “the optimal pathway to maximize shareholder value with the greatest certainty.”
