Key shareholder to vote in favour of Teck (TSX:TECK.A) business split

• Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining, a key Teck (TECK.A) shareholder, will vote in favour of the company’s planned split of its metal and steelmaking coal operations into two companies
• Sumitomo is a key Teck shareholder with 18.9 per cent of Teck’s Class A shares and 49 per cent ownership of Temagami Mining, which owns 55 per cent of Teckʼs Class A shares
• The support from the Japanese shareholder is in tension with Glencore’s proposed takeover of Teck, which is contingent on the split being rejected
• Glencore may raise its $23 billion takeover bid if Teck shareholders reject the split proposal on April 26
• Teck is a global leader in mining and development focused on copper, zinc and steelmaking coal
• Teck Resources (TECK.A) is up by 2.14 per cent trading at $103.92 per share

Sumitomo Mining will vote in favour of Teck’s (TECK.A) planned split of its metal and coal operations into two companies.

Teck and Sumitomo’s decades-long partnership in highlighted by the joint development and construction of the Pogo gold mine in Alaska, as well as the Quebrada Blanca copper mine in Chile.

Sumitomo holds 18.9 per cent of Teck’s Class A shares and 0.1 per cent of its Class B shares. It also holds 49 per cent of Temagami Mining, which owns 55 per cent of Teckʼs Class A shares.

Teck operates under a dual-class structure, where Class A shares are worth 100 votes each, while Class B shares are worth one vote each. Teck is controlled by the Keevil family, which owns the Class A shares together with Sumitomo.

The support from the Japanese shareholder is in tension with Swiss miner and commodities trader Glencore’s proposed takeover of Teck, which offers shareholders an interest in a combined metals company, in addition to cash or shares in a company that would hold the parties’ merged coal assets.

Glencore’s offer is contingent on Teck shareholders rejecting the company’s plan to split its operations into Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources.

Teck is gathering support for its potential restructuring in anticipation of a shareholder vote on April 26. POSCO, a customer and Teck’s JV partner on the Elkview and Greenhills operations, as well as China Steel Corporation, have backed the Vancouver-based coal, copper and zinc miner over the past 24 hours.

Glencore has stated that it may raise its $23 billion takeover bid if Teck shareholders reject the split proposal next week.

The news follows a series of dramatic calls and responses between the major players in the mining space, including:

• A letter from Teck management referring to Glencore’s recently increased bid as an “attempt to frustrate value creation for Teck shareholders”
• A report stating that Teck’s biggest shareholder, China Investment Corp., is backing Glencore’s takeover offer
• Glencore’s aforementioned sweetening of its initial bid
• Teck’s initial rejection of Glencore’s unsolicited takeover bid

Teck is a global leader in mining and development focused on copper, zinc and steelmaking coal.

Teck Resources (TECK.A) is up by 2.14 per cent trading at $103.92 per share as of 11:11 am EST.

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