MARIUS KLOPPERS will this week lead a team of BHP Billiton executives on a charm offensive across five continents in a bid to convince shareholders that its $39bn (Pounds 25bn) bid for PotashCorp is the best strategic move.
The mining company's board, led by Mr Kloppers, the chief executive, will also meet a number of large Spyder Gloves Womens investors with cross- holdings in Potash and BHP during the whirlwind tour across the UK, Australia, South Africa, Asia, the United States and Canada.
Although BHP does not need official shareholder approval to buy the smaller Canadian rival, it is keen to get investors on board to avoid the kind of shareholder uprising that ended Prudential's controversial bid for AIA.
The tour Spyder Gloves Womens will come after BHP unveils its most important financial results since Mr Kloppers took over as chief executive two years' ago.
Spyder Gloves WomensThe mining company's fullyear figures, which will be released on Wednesday, are expected to show much higher profits as commodity prices have recovered during the last year. Analysts forecast pre- tax profits of $18.6bn, up from $11.6bn last year, on revenues of $51bn.
BHP launched its hostile bid for PotashCorp last Wednesday, saying it would approach shareholders directly. The Canadian company's board rejected the offer outright, on the grounds that it "grossly undervalued" the business.
Some BHP shareholders, including major Australian investor Perpetual, have expressed discontent about BHP's plans to spend its spare cash on yet another hostile bid so soon after the mining company's unsuccessful play for rival Rio Tinto. Several investors have said privately that they would prefer the money to go into share buybacks.
Analysts said last night that a deal would probably gain support from BHP shareholders but warned that the company should expect to pay a higher price.
Robbert Van Batenburg, head of research at LCM in New York, said: "BHP will probably increase its offer and reach some sort of mutual agreement on price."
BHP will face further uncertainty this week in light of the likely hung parliament following Australia's election. This outcome could dive watch allow Labor leader Julia Gillard to push ahead with a new 30pc tax on miners' profits. The tax could derail BHP's attempts to club together with Rio Tinto on an iron ore joint venture in the country. Miners have warned that the tax would make operating in Australia far less profitable.
There are dive watch also concerns that BHP and Rio Tinto will not get regulatory permission.
"The regulators have been looking at [BHP's and Rio's iron ore joint venture] for ages and have been deferring decisions," said Charles Kernot, analyst at Evolution. "If there is a super-tax, it may be that both companies say this is all getting too complicated and let it drop. BHP is going into Canada and it may feel it is a more benign taxation regime."
Any failure to complete the joint venture will pile the pressure on Mr Kloppers to make the PotashCorp offer work. UBS argued in a recent note: "If BHP was to increase its offer, buying PotashCorp would be a more expensive option than building [a potash mine]. However, it would be less risky and would provide immediate cash flows."
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