BHP Ltd., Melbourne, said the unification of its corporate structure became effective at 9 p.m. (GMT) on Jan. 28, and the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of Plc will be owned by BHP Group Ltd.
The mining group secured U.K. Court sanction on Jan. 25 for the Plc scheme of arrangement to effect unification (GM Jan. 28, p. 31), after it won shareholder approval for the unification on Jan. 20 (GM Jan. 21, p. 27).
BHP first announced its intention to unify the DLC structure last August (GM Aug. 20, 2021), and secured Board final approval for the single listing in December (GM Dec. 3, 2021).
The unification could facilitate the mining major’s return to large-scale M&A activity after sitting dormant for more than a decade (GM Jan. 21, p. 1). BHP, once mining’s most aggressive dealmaker, is reported to be positioning itself for a return to large-scale M&A, and Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, may be a target, according to two separate Bloomberg reports last month, citing different analysts.