BHP Abandons Anglo American Takeover Talks

BHP has abandoned its pursuit of Anglo American today after the London-listed firm refused to offload its South African iron ore business prior to a deal and declined to extend takeover talks. The news brings a close to a fractious bidding process in which BHP has failed to budge on the original terms of its bid, which required Anglo to carve-off its South Africa-based Kumba business. Any deal would have marked the biggest mining merger in over a decade but the condition has proved a sticking point and irked Anglo’s biggest shareholder, the…