Get rid of the bad bits, keep the good ones. Anglo American’s defence strategy cannot be called original – especially as half of it is borrowed from the approach of the would-be bidder, BHP. One could also ask why, since Anglo has been simplifying itself for about two decades already, its board required the heat of a £34bn takeover battle to discover more urgency.
But there is a genuine plus in the mix: Anglo’s breakup plan is plainly more radical than anything it has attempted in the recent past. It also achieves the first requirement of a quasi-defence document by putting the onus on the bidder to come up with a real bid or shut up.
