Teck Resources Ltd , which is fighting a $22.5 billion takeover offer from Glencore Plc , should remain headquartered in Canada, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Monday as major shareholders faced a deadline to vote on a separate plan that could thwart the deal. Freeland's comments were the clearest indication to date that Ottawa is closely watching the takeover battle between Vancouver-based Teck and Switzerland's Glencore because of Teck's interests in copper and other metals critical to a green energy transition.
"We need companies like Teck here in Canada, companies
with a strong commitment to Canada," Freeland wrote in a letter
seen by Reuters to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, which
has concerns about Teck's future in Canada.
After Freeland's comment, Glencore pointed out to its
April 3 letter where it has said its deal "would not materially
change the day-to-day operations at Teck’s assets in Canada. It
will honour all of Teck’s commitments to local Canadian
communities as well as to Indigenous communities to ensure their
interests are acknowledged and protected".
Teck did not respond to an email request for comment.
Separately, Teck's institutional shareholders were due to vote by 3 p.m. ET on Monday on a Teck proposal to split its coal and metals businesses, with results released on Wednesday.
Glencore has said that there is no deal if shareholders
vote in favor of Teck's split. Canada's largest pension fund
CPPI voted against the split over the weekend then changed its
vote to favor the move, according to its website.
China Investment Corporation (CIC), the largest holder
of Teck's common stock, has not disclosed how it voted.
Large investors such as the Norwegian government pension
fund, asset managers Janus Henderson and Letko Brosseau and Teck
mining partner Sumitomo Metals have said they will vote in favor
of the split.
Proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and ISS have
recommended shareholders oppose dividing Teck, and Toronto-based
Waratah Capital Advisors has said it voted against the move.
(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal and Steve Scherer; Editing by
Ernest Scheyder, Marguerita Choy and Cynthia Osterman)
