Anglo 'vulnerable to takeover'

miningmx.com -- Mining group Anglo American Plc may be vulnerable to a potential takeover from rival Xstrata, the Japanese bank Nomura said.

Anglo has ditched its previous conservative strategy, but the fruits of a new high-growth approach will not be seen for around two to three years since it has postponed three flagship projects, a research note said.

"Anglo may be facing an identity crisis that could leave the company vulnerable to takeover," analyst Paul Cliff said.

"While BHP/Rio and Vale/Xstrata have attracted most of the M&A headlines in the sector recently, we would not rule out an Xstrata all-share offer or merger of equals with Anglo over the next 12 months."

Assuming a 30% takeover premium, a deal would be accretive to Xstrata in terms of earnings per share by 10 percent in 2010 and 13 percent in 2011, he added.

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