San Francisco — Elliott Management Corporation is meeting BHP Billiton shareholders in Australia as the activist investor urges BHP to overhaul its businesses, a person familiar with the matter said. Members of Elliott’s BHP investment team, including James Smith who is heading the campaign and oversees Elliott’s Hong Kong office, are going over details of their plan for Melbourne-based BHP with other shareholders, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the meetings are private. New York-based Elliott, which owns a 4.1% stake in BHP, outlined proposals including a spin-off of BHP’s US oil assets in a letter made public on April 10. The activist fund also wants the company to combine its two legal entities listed in Sydney and London into one group headquartered in Australia. BHP responded by saying it was been in talks with Elliott for about eight months, and the costs and risks associated with the proposals outweighed the benefits. BHP spokesperson James Agar decli...
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