BHP's $9.6 billion bid for OZ Minerals will progress to shareholders after two companies signed a scheme implementation deed.
The merger agreement follows BHP completing four weeks of due diligence and OZ Minerals' board rejecting a lower offer. It agreed to BHP's "best and final" offer of $28.25 per share, a 49.3 per cent premium to Oz Minerals' closing price back on August 5, before that initial approach.
"The combination of BHP and OZL's assets, skills and technical expertise provides a unique opportunity not available under separate ownership, with complementary resources including the Oak Dam exploration prospect and existing facilities within close proximity, backed by BHP's strong balance sheet, capital discipline and commitment to sustainable development," BHP chief executive Mike Henry said in a statement on Thursday.
Oak Dam is OZ Minerals' copper prospect 60 kilometres away from BHP's underperforming Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, which is also between OZ Minerals' Prominent Hill and Carrapateena copper mines.
OZ Minerals chief executive and managing director Andrew Cole said the board "believes that BHP's offer appropriately reflects the quality, growth profile and strategic nature of OZ Minerals' long-life copper and nickel assets".
BHP said that this was its best and final offer, in the absence of a competing proposal. It had initially offered $25 a share.
The companies expect that the scheme will be put to OZ Minerals shareholders in late March or early April and, if approved, could be implemented by mid to late April.
At 1.07 pm AEDT, BHP shares were up 0.6 per cent to $46.62 and OZL shares were up 0.2 per cent to $27.835.
