FT Special Report | Corporate Finance

Hostile takeovers make a comeback W ith the stroke of a pen this month, Marius Kloppers, chief executive of BHP Billiton, the Australian mining group, made 2007 the most active year for hostile takeovers. During this boom period for mergers and... More

Hostile takeovers make a comeback W ith the stroke of a pen this month, Marius Kloppers, chief executive of BHP Billiton, the Australian mining group, made 2007 the most active year for hostile takeovers. During this boom period for mergers and acquisitions activity, BHP had been carefully monitoring a wave of consolidation in the metals and mining industry, mostly driven by high commodity costs and increasing competition from producers in emerging markets. Last year, it had watched two attractive Canadian miners – Inco and Falconbridge – as they were taken over respectively by CVRD, the Brazilian group, and Xstrata of Switzerland. This year, the biggest move was made by Alcoa, the US aluminium company, which boldly made an offer for Alcan, its Montreal-based rival. But that potential deal unravelled after UK-listed Rio Tinto jumped in with a higher bid. On November 8, it was BHP’s turn to make its big move. Mr Kloppers’ group went public with news that it had been seeking a merg Less