Anglo-Americans won’t disappear without a fight, says ALEX BRUMMER

Mike Henry is in danger of being considered public enemy number one by the financiers of the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The BHP boss was instrumental in moving the group’s main share listing from City to Sydney in 2022.

He is now laying siege to one of London’s largest heritage companies, Anglo American.

BHP has been working for more than a year on the best way to structure a deal aimed at gaining control of copper assets, seen as the future in the age of green energy.

Britain used to be considered the home of natural resource companies.

The expected £29.5 billion bid for Anglo would deal another blow to efforts to rebuild London’s reputation as a stock exchange venue.

Eliminating a top component of the FTSE 100 would raise concerns that the London discount – the undervaluation of UK shares relative to US counterparts – could expose other companies such as Reckitt Benckiser and Burberry to takeover risk.

One of the strengths of the UK stock markets is the natural resources sector.

Britain’s close relationship with Australia, South Africa and Canada, where extractive industries are crucial, lent cachet to the London market.

It attracted raw material companies from Latin America and Russia, among others. In 2011, the LSE even came close to buying Toronto’s mining-rich stock exchange, but was blocked by Canadian authorities.

BHP will not necessarily prevail in the pursuit of Anglo-Americans. But it will almost certainly entice other buyers.

The people mentioned are the Indian Vedanta, which previously made an unsuccessful bid, or perhaps a Chinese miner.

Glencore, which was frustrated last year in a bid for all of Teck Resources with its valuable copper interests, will be watching. The Anglo-American government faces a difficult defense.

Its share price has been static for the past two decades while rivals such as BHP have thrived.

The luster that came with ownership of De Beers, the world’s dominant diamond producer, is gone.

Anglo itself is no longer an enthusiastic owner amid competition from manufactured bricks. BHP would almost certainly try to sell De Beers.

It is not just the London Stock Exchange that would suffer a setback if the Anglo-Americans were absorbed and split up.

A BHP deal would likely lead to a political backlash in South Africa. The Oppenheimer dynasty (which was no longer involved) left a lasting mark on South Africa as a liberal force during apartheid.

It is no coincidence that the South African Public Investment Corporation, which manages the pensions of government employees, is among the largest shareholders, with 10% Anglo.

The complex BHP deal is also conditional on the separate distribution to existing shareholders of interests in two listed South African entities Anglo American Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore.

In Britain, a deal would again throw into question the fate of the Woodsmith fertilizer project, near Whitby, North Yorkshire, which employs around 1,300 people.

Henry’s ultimate goal is to become a dominant force in copper, adding ownership of mines in Chile and Peru to its current operations.

A deal would give BHP about 10 percent of the global market, at a time when demand is growing exponentially.

Buying companies in the London market has been made easy as British funds have been replaced by a group of American investors interested in quick profits rather than the public interest.

This is not a transaction that will be rushed. It will be assessed by competition authorities around the world and could take up to 18 months. The fear must be that if Anglo-American is lost, other miners will be shaken from the tree.

Glencore is under pressure from activist Tribeca to move its listing to Sydney. Shell, the largest company in the FTSE 100, has hinted at a move to New York amid fears climate change enthusiasts are making Britain hostile to big oil.

The Anglo-Americans will not disappear without a fight. The political consequences for the city and in the group’s South African hinterland could prove more important than the offer on the table.