BHP Billiton, the mining group formed by one of the industry’s biggest mergers, is considering the sale of almost all of the businesses that Billiton brought to that deal – refocusing the Anglo-Australian company on BHP’s core operations from before the 2001 tie-up.
Since BHP and Billiton combined 13 years ago, the contribution of many of the former Billiton assets to group earnings has fallen: from almost 30 per cent at the time of the merger to about 10 per cent today.
This decline comes after an era of strong demand for commodities that transformed the fortunes of many mining companies, driven by China’s emergence as the sector’s most important customer. But as returns have weakened in the past two years, BHP Billiton – like other miners – has had to become choosier about the assets in which it invests.