BHP boss Mike Henry makes aggressive pitch to Anglo shareholders as two CEOs fight over same vision

As Anglo American sets out a survival plan Mike Henry says his BHP will do a better job of delivering value for Anglo’s shareholders.

Anglo chief executive Duncan Wanblad and his BHP counterpart Mr Henry took centre stage on Tuesday night in the US, as the personalities behind two of the world’s biggest miners came to the fore.

Mr Henry took a jab at Anglo’s management by suggesting BHP’s track record in delivering projects was better.

“Shareholders must decide which plan creates the greatest value, soonest. Which team has the better track record of execution,” he said at a conference in Miami.

“Our strong balance sheet, and the consistent cash flows provided by our diversified portfolio, means that we’re well-placed to fund and progress the projects when they’re ready ... and when we do, we deliver the plan.”

“Our projects have typically come in on time and on budget, a track record that stacks up very well against our competitors.”

Mr Henry said he had full confidence that a BHP-Anglo tie-up would realise value for shareholders.

“What I can say is that I am fully confident in the merits of our proposal, how it crystallises value through a premium and shared synergies over time, and it builds upon our track record of delivering value and simplification that both sets of shareholders would benefit from.”

Mr Wanblad presented his own radical turnaround plan to investors hours prior to Mr Henry’s comments.

“We don’t need BHP to deliver this strategy, we absolutely do not need them at all,” Wanblad said in an interview on Tuesday.

“We can deliver this.”

BHP wants Anglo to spin off its two listed South African businesses producing iron ore and platinum, before the world’s biggest miner acquires the rest of its assets. Anglo would also separate its Anglo American Platinum unit, while exiting diamond mining and selling its coal business. Both CEOs see copper as the crown jewel.

Mr Henry, who has been at the helm of BHP since 2020, has had time to stamp his image on the company. In a series of sweeping reforms he implemented the biggest shake-up at the company since its creation two decades earlier.

But he also inherited a stronger company that Wanblad. In Australia, BHP has some of the most profitable iron ore operations and it also runs the world’s biggest copper mine. It has no exposure to commodities such as platinum and diamonds, which have caused Anglo problems as prices slumped.

Still, there have also been missteps by Mr Henry, such as betting on nickel before the market collapsed and wading into a South African election campaign when his approach for Anglo became public.

Mr Wanblad by contrast has faced a tougher start. While the company he inherited was riding high, buoyed by soaring commodity prices, some of the Anglo’s key markets quickly soured, exposing flaws in some of the underlying businesses. That ultimately led Mr Wanblad to launch the root and branch review of the business.

Both Mr Henry and Mr Wanblad have been at there respective companies for decades, working their way up to the top job.

Canadian Mr Henry is described by those who work with him as incredibly detail driven, making decisions based on cold logic and hard facts. South African Mr Wanblad, like his counterpart at BHP, is described by employees as deeply analytical but with a reputation for being more personable.

The two disagreed on their respective plans for South Africa, which is turning into a key battleground.

Mr Henry said Anglo’s own plan to spin off its Amplats platinum business is “a pretty clear indicator that it is doable”.

The “key difference” between the two proposals is that BHP’s plan involves securing simultaneous regulatory approval in South Africa for a pair of demergers and the top-level transaction, Anglo’s Mr Wanblad said in an interview.

Such an “unprecedented” undertaking would be “all potentially at the expense of Anglo shareholders”, he said.

Mr Wanblad, who like Mr Henry is meeting investors in Miami this week, will hope those shareholders back his vision.

“I don’t believe at all that BHP has a better management team than Anglo,” he said. “Our plan will make the company much stronger than we are today, especially at the bottom of cycles.”

Bloomberg