Anglo American eyes bid for North Yorkshire potash mine firm Sirius Minerals

Anglo American is in advanced discussions with Sirius to acquire the business at 5.5p per share. The proposal would value the entire issued share capital of Sirius at approximately £386m.

The bid represents a premium of 34.1 per cent to the closing price of 4.1p per Sirius share on January 7, 2020, prior to the announcement of the takeover bid.

The board of Sirius has indicated to Anglo American that it expects to be able to recommend a firm offer for Sirius if it’s made by Anglo American at the price set out.

Sirius announced that it was undertaking a strategic review in order to assess the development plan for its North Yorkshire polyhalite project in September after struggling to raise finances.

It also announced that the strategic review would include a broader process to seek a major strategic partner in the project.

Anglo American had identified the project as being of potential interest some time ago. The mining giant cited the quality of the underlying asset in terms of scale, resource life, operating cost profile and the nature and quality of its product.