FP says Teck talks would run into the dual-share issue
Teck Resources Ltd (C:TCK)
Shares Issued 566,805,741
Last Close TCK.B 3/30/2015 $19.45
Tuesday March 31 2015 - In the News
The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition investors got excited at the prospect of a merger between Teck and Antofagasta on Monday, but any deal would likely require major compromises by the families in control of each company. The Post's Peter Koven writes Teck is controlled by the Keevil family and Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining through multiple-voting shares. Antofagasta is under the thumb of Chile's Luksic family, which owns 65 per cent of the company. Bloomberg reported they held early-stage negotiations. A merger would create a dominant copper producer with more than one million tonnes of output per year, placing it among the top five producers. No deal will happen unless the families endorse it and loosen their respective grips on the companies. To date, Teck chairman Norm Keevil has shown no willingness to collapse Teck's dual-class share structure. "From Norm Keevil's perspective, he can control his destiny this way. He can do the deal he wants to do and not the deal someone forces on him," said Kerry Smith, an analyst at Haywood Securities. Antofagasta only has one class of shares, most of which are held by the Luksics. The family would likely be diluted heavily downward in a merger.
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