MELBOURNE (Reuters) -BHP Group said on Wednesday it needed more time to deal with Anglo American, a week after the London-listed miner rejected BHP’s 38.6 billion pound ($49.20 billion) bid , ahead of a final bid deadline later in the day.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, BHP outlined commitments to reduce regulatory risk in South Africa blocking the deal.
It said it was confident it had quantified and managed the risks surrounding the deal and that it would offer Anglo American a break fee if the deal was blocked on antitrust grounds or if regulatory approval was not obtained.
These commitments include job security for workers in South Africa. BHP also said it would bear the costs of increased South African employee ownership expected to be needed in any demerger.
($1 = 0.7845 pounds)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Christopher Cushing)
