By Paul Vieira and Robb M. Stewart
OTTAWA--Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly is aiming to deliver a decision next month on whether Anglo American can proceed with its takeover of Teck Resources, but warned that the British miner's pledges to date aren't enough.
Under a revised Canadian industrial strategy, the government wants to maintain homegrown global companies with big Canadian headquarters, Joly said.
"What I've said is that what Anglo Teck was offering was not enough. And I think that Canadians should get more out of this merger of equals, and the process is continuing," she said.
A spokeswoman for Joly didn't immediately respond to a question about what the minister would like Anglo and Teck to propose to secure government approval.
A spokesman for Anglo declined to comment and said the company wouldn't offer running commentary on discussions with the government regarding the deal. A representative for Teck wasn't immediate reachable for comment.
As industry minister, Joly is responsible for enforcing Canada's foreign-investment laws, which require government approval for foreign-led mergers and acquisitions to ensure they are in the national interest.
Anglo and Teck in September reached a deal to create one of the world's largest copper producers with a combined market value of more than $53 billion. Anglo has estimated the transaction values Teck at more than $17 billion, and projected it would close within 18 months.
The deal, one of the biggest ever in the mining industry, proposes the creation of company named Anglo Teck that would be based in Vancouver, British Columbia, with Anglo Chief Executive Duncan Wanblad leading the merged company and Teck CEO Jonathan Price becoming deputy chief executive. Anglo shareholders are set to own about 62% of the combined business, with Teck shareholders owning just under 38%.
The tie-up would create a copper producer with annual output of some 1.2 million metric tons and key assets in Chile, Peru and Canada. It comes as demand for the metal is rising amid a shift to greener sources of energy and with a growing need for a key component of electric cars and AI data centers.
Canada last year approved the sale of Teck's coal assets to Glencore, although at the same time cautioned that pending approval of foreign-led deals involving critical minerals, including copper, would only be granted in the most exceptional of circumstances.
Joly said the vision for Canada's industries is to create national champions, to have more homegrown companies in Canada.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com and Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 18, 2025 12:24 ET (17:24 GMT)
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