Activist fund Elliott adds potash to list of BHP grievances
BHP wants to spend billions of dollars of shareholder money to diversify into potash, but Elliot says ‘thinking big’ has been disastrous for BHP shareholders
Sydney — Activist shareholder Elliott Management said it has deep concerns over a proposal by BHP to enter the currently over-supplied fertiliser market, reiterating its call for change at the mining giant. BHP has signaled it may push ahead with its long-dormant Jansen potash mine in Canada in a counter-cyclical play to capture part of what it sees as a $50bn a year market by the mid 2040s. Jansen is already under construction but requires BHP’s board to approve another $4.7bn to bring the mine into production. New York-based Elliott, which has urged BHP to split off its oil business, scrap its dual listing and return more cash to shareholders, said it shared concerns raised by shareholders and analysts that expanding into potash could be a strategic misstep. "BHP is now arguing that it should spend billions of dollars of shareholder money to diversify into potash," an Elliott spokesman said in an e-mail to Reuters. "This sounds alarmingly familiar and comes as the company proclaim...
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