BHP Is Stuck on the Sidelines of Copper M&A Frenzy It Started

BHP Group’s bold bid to buy rival Anglo American Plc in 2024 was supposed to set it up as the clear winner in a copper boom it had long predicted. Two years later, the copper market is indeed booming. And yet the world’s biggest miner is left sitting on the sidelines of an M&A frenzy it began.

People familiar with BHP’s thinking said the news that Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc are closer than ever to a deal that would leapfrog BHP to become the world’s most valuable mining company has caused consternation within the Australian mining giant. However, some of the people played down the likelihood that it would respond with a move for Glencore, and said it’s watching from the sidelines for now.