Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly said she wuld be meeting the CEOs of Anglo American and Teck Resources next week to discuss their proposed merger.
“There have been conversations with the companies, and clearly we wanted to make sure that there would be a net benefit to Canada,” she told reporters ahead of a regular cabinet meeting. The deal needs approval from Ottawa.
Anglo-Teck announced earlier this month a $53-billion merger, one of the biggest in recent years. Though most of the combined assets of the companies are outside of Canada, the combined entity will have its headquarters in Vancouver. The deal will have to pass the muster of the Investment Canada Act, which will determine how the deal will have a net benefit and impact the national and economic security concerns of the country.
“I think right now that it’s not about short-term, and also we need to think about the longer term, and how can we make sure that ultimately we create jobs, and we have a strong headquarters, not only now, but also for the next decade,” Joly said.
On Monday, Canada’s antitrust regulator said that it will be reviewing the merger.