BHP Billiton is in the mood to acquire. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the largest mining company in Australia, Marius Kloppers said this week that BHP Billiton will be looking to make more acquisitions as the mining industry consolidates.
He was speaking on the program ‘Inside Business’ on ABC when he said that in the long run, he thought the trend was always towards consolidation in industries, particularly the mining industry, where they consumed the resources every day that constituted the lifeblood.
He declined to mention any specific targets for its proposed acquisitions but said that there was absolutely no doubt that the company would be doing some such transactions soon. The comments were made in light of rival company Xstrata and Glencore International following through on a merger of equals proposal.
In the past BHP Billiton has tried to acquire Rio Tinto and failed. It had also tried to acquire Potash Crop last year and failed. However it now has plans to invest $80 billion over the next five years. Possible investments could include the shale business in the US, more iron ore in Australia especially beefing up in the Pilbara region, and developing the potash assets it owns in Canada.