Glencore makes offer for the steelmaking coal business of Teck Resources

This April 14, 2011 file picture shows the Glencore headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Keystone/Urs Flueeler, file

VANCOUVER — Swiss company Glencore it has made an offer to buy the steelmaking coal business of Teck Resources Ltd.

The company said in a statement Monday it would pay cash for the assets, but did not say how much publicly.

Glencore said it remains willing to pursue its offer for all of Teck, but that it has made an alternative offer for the coal operations that it would combine with its own thermal coal assets.

The company said it is "fully committed" to ensuring an acquisition of the coal business would benefit Canada and that it is open to working with Teck "to identify a comprehensive suite of commitments for the benefit of all relevant stakeholders."

Teck, which rejected Glencore's earlier offer for the entire company, said it's reviewing the latest proposal along with a number of other potential transactions involving its steelmaking coal business.

"The high degree of interest expressed by a wide range of parties underscores the value of Teck's high-margin, long-life steelmaking coal assets," the company said in a statement.

"Teck intends to continue to engage with all parties that have indicated interest to identify a path that realizes value for shareholders while ensuring continued responsible operations in the Elk Valley to support a sustainable future for the benefit of employees, local communities and Indigenous Peoples."

The Vancouver-based mining company is working to split its coal assets from its base metal operations.

Teck called off a shareholder vote in April on its plan to spin off its steelmaking coal operations into a separate company after it became apparent it did not have the required support for the proposal and instead said it would pursue an alternative, more simplified split.

Teck is controlled by the Keevil family, which owns the company's class A shares together with Japanese company Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd.

Teck chairman emeritus Norman Keevil has said Glencore's proposal for the entire company is the wrong one, at the wrong time, but that he is open to talking about other possible deals once the company completes its own plan to split its business.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2023