Get used to saying “Anglo Teck.”
Teck Resources has announced a merger with Anglo American, a British multinational mining company headquartered in London.
In a news release, Teck said Anglo Teck will have its global headquarters in Vancouver and corporate offices in London and Johannesburg.
Duncan Wanblad, the CEO of Anglo American, will be the CEO of the new company and Teck CEO Jonathan Price will be deputy CEO.
Teck chair Sheila Murray will be the chair of the merged company while Anglo American chief financial officer John Heasley will look after the finances.
The deal will require approval from two-thirds of each of Teck’s class A and Class B shareholders, as well as Anglo American shareholders.
Anglo American shareholders would then own 62.4 per cent of the combined company and Teck shareholders would own 37.6 per cent.
The deal will also need the federal government’s blessing and other approvals internationally. The two companies expect the merger to be completed within 12 to 18 months.
The move comes a few years after Teck staved off a hostile takeover bid by Glencore, and after it split its business into two companies, Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources. Teck subsequently sold Elk Valley Resources to Glencore for $9 billion.
Teck has about 1,500 employees at the smelter in Trail, making it one of the largest employers in the West Kootenay.
In making the announcement, Teck said the deal is an opportunity to “significantly increase germanium and other specialty critical minerals production” in Trail.
It said that it would make investments of up to $750 million in the Trail operation and explore opportunities to add copper processing at the local smelter.
Chris Walker, the president of United Steelworkers Local 480, said the announcement surprised him.
“Usually when big mergers like this happen, you hear some information leading up to it,” he said. “We got the same information as everyone else.”
Walker noted that with Glencore, discussions took place over many months before the transaction was finalized, whereas “with this merger, we literally did not hear a word about it until yesterday.”
Walker said he has already met with the company. “They’ve committed to everything status quo and investment in Trail, so all signs point to good, but we’ll have to see how things play out.”
The current contract for his members runs through June 2027. Walker said it was too early to say what the merger might mean for the next round of negotiations.
Trail mayor Colleen Jones said she is feeling better after talking this morning with local general manager Matt Parrilla. “I felt a little more comfortable about the news after speaking with him,” she said.
She is encouraged by the potential of further investment in the Trail operation, and that a head office in BC will be maintained. Jones also feels the merger with Anglo American is a better outcome than Glencore’s takeover would have been.
“I hope it’s a positive move for our community,” she said. “My concern is about the future of the Teck operations in Trail, and when you hear there’s going to be investment, I think that confirms we will be here for a while.”
In a social media post, Premier David Eby praised the deal, which he said would make Anglo Teck the largest company with global headquarters in BC and the world’s largest critical metals company.
“What a remarkable vote of confidence in the people and resources of BC, and our province’s role as the engine of the new Canadian economy,” he wrote.
Anglo American traces its roots to 1917 in Johannesburg. It merged in 1999 with Miorco. It has operations on every continent except Antarctica.
Ownership of Trail’s smelter through the ages
This week’s announcement is part of a long line of name changes and corporate mergers involving the Trail smelter.
1896: British Columbia Smelting and Refining Company Ltd. incorporated in New Jersey.
1898: Smelter acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway and renamed the Canadian Smelting Works.
1906: Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. created by the CPR with the merger of the smelter, the St. Eugene Consolidated Mining Co. Ltd. of Moyie, the Centre Star Mining Company Ltd. at Rossland, and the Rossland Power Company Ltd.
1966: Consolidated Mining and Smelting officially becomes Cominco Ltd., the name by which it had been informally known for decades.
1986: Teck acquires a stake in Cominco.
2001: Teck and Cominco merge to become Teck-Cominco.
2009: Teck-Cominco becomes Teck Resources.
2025: Teck announces plans to merge with Anglo American to become Anglo Teck.
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