Spring clean

10 April 2017 By Andy Critchlow

Hedge fund Elliott wants the mining giant to clean up its Anglo-Australian structure, buy back shares and split off its oil business, saying shareholders could be roughly 50 pct better off. Even if a full breakup looks a stretch, this may nudge BHP into helpful spring cleaning.

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Hedge fund Elliott Advisors called on April 10 for BHP Billiton to restructure its current dual-corporate structure and spin off its petroleum business.

The activist investor said in an open letter to the Anglo-Australian miner that the company should unify into a single Australian-headquartered and tax-resident business.

Separately, Elliott called for the demerging of BHP’s oil business, which it argued could be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

BHP consists of an Australian-listed company and a UK-listed company. They are separate legal entities with different investor bases, but are managed as if they were one.

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