A trio of federal cabinet ministers say they are closely watching the outcome of a takeover battle for Vancouver mining giant Teck Resources by Swiss rival Glencore. .Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Industry Minister Francois-Phillips Champagne reportedly penned a letter yesterday to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade offering assurances the government is committed to seeing the company maintain its Canadian presence..“We need companies like Teck here in Canada, companies with a strong commitment to Canada,” Freeland wrote on behalf of all three..It came in response to concerns from GVBT CEO Bridgitte Anderson, who urged the government to “scrutinize the proposed takeover bid closely.".“We are concerned the potential acquisition of Teck Resources by Glencore could lead to the loss of a significant driver of Vancouver and Canada's economy,” she wrote..It comes as the clock ticks down on a vote Wednesday that could ultimately seal the fate of the company in the face of a $22.5 billion hostile takeover bid from Geneva-based Glencore. Teck shareholders will decide whether to split off the company’s coal assets — which are primarily located in British Columbia’s Elk Valley — or proceed with the sale of the company. .Ballots were sealed Monday and the results will be released Wednesday..Glencore is coveting Teck’s critical minerals, which are seen as essential to powering the clean transition for materials used in electrical vehicles, for instance..Nonetheless, Glencore said it will withdraw its offer if shareholders vote in favour of the split, which Teck’s board of directors recommended it do. In its own response, Glencore said it indicated it “would not materially change the day-to-day operations at Teck’s assets in Canada,” adding it would “honour all of Teck’s commitments to local Canadian communities, as well as to indigenous communities to ensure their interests are acknowledged and protected.”.The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) indicated it would vote against the split, but then said on its website it changed its mind and would vote in favour. Institutional investors in Europe and North America, including the Norwegian government pension fund have also voted in favour, but Institutional Shareholder Services group, which is majority owned by Deutsche Börse Group, advised it clients to vote against..Even if the takeover proceeds, it still has to be reviewed by the federal government. Under the Investment Canada Act all takeovers more than $93 million are reviewed under a broad definition of the public interest and national security. .In October of last year it expanded those definitions to include critical minerals, and specifically Chinese state owned entities. Under the legislation, “critical minerals are viewed as those that are: essential to the economy of Canada and its allies; and whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors.” .Although Glencore could hardly be considered a state owned entity, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC owns 10% of Teck’s shares. It hasn’t disclosed how it intends to vote, but it could be the deciding factor..On April 14 Bloomberg reported CIC plans to back Glencore’s takeover, but Teck CEO Jonathan Price said the report was false. .“I spoke with CIC as recently as last night and they confirmed to me they have not met with Glencore and the media reports from last week are false,” Price told reporters..“They are still working through their considerations with respect to the proposals and they have an investment committee meeting coming up at which point they will take a decision.”
