Billionaire Robert Friedland warned Canada should not take lightly Glencore’s attempted takeover of Teck Resources, saying many investors — including himself —would be interested after the miner spins out its coal business.
The Ivanhoe Mines founder said in a series of tweets Monday it would be short-sighted for Teck to sell to Glencore without exploring options. Friedland’s comments come a day after Teck Chairman Emeritus Norman Keevil said he supports a transaction on the right terms after the company splits its base metals and coal businesses.
“I would caution we should NOT lightly sacrifice such a champion at the altar of short-term gain,” Friedland tweeted. “Losing another quintessential Canadian support mechanism to multinationals could corporatise and hollow out our unique ecosystem that has so successfully explored our vast landmass.”
Teck is racing to get enough investor support for the coal spin-off ahead of an April 26 vote while fending off an unsolicited $23 billion takeover offer from Glencore for the whole company.