Australian mining giant BHP Group has been given the cold shoulder by copper miner OZ Minerals Markets don’t think that is the end of the story: The world’s most valuable miner may well return with a higher offer. If it does, it will mark the giant’s return to megadeal making—and perhaps signal a turning point for deal activity in mining more broadly.
OZ is playing hard to get, and possibly for good reason. On Monday the company rejected a $5.8 billion takeover offer by BHP, saying it was too low and opportunistic. Prices of copper on the London Metal Exchange are trading around $7,834 per metric ton, down about 20% since the end of last year. Before BHP’s offer, that had punished OZ’s stock too.