British mining giant Anglo American has rejected a £31.1bn takeover offer by Australian rival BHP.

The FTSE 100 miner said the bid was “opportunistic” and “significantly undervalues Anglo American and its future prospects”.

A string of Anglo’s shareholders and a South African minister had already attacked the approach, which would have created the world’s largest copper miner.

Anglo also controls De Beers, one of the most powerful players in the global diamond market and a South African national champion.

Stuart Chambers, chairman of Anglo American, said: “Anglo American is well positioned to create significant value from its portfolio of high quality assets that are well aligned with the energy transition and other major demand trends.

“With copper representing 30pc of Anglo American’s total production, and with the benefit of well-sequenced and value-accretive growth options in copper and other structurally attractive products, the board believes that Anglo American’s shareholders stand to benefit from what we expect to be significant value appreciation as the full impact of those trends materialises.

“The BHP proposal is opportunistic and fails to value Anglo American’s prospects, while significantly diluting the relative value upside participation of Anglo American’s shareholders relative to BHP’s shareholders. 

“The proposed structure is also highly unattractive, creating substantial uncertainty and execution risk borne almost entirely by Anglo American, its shareholders and its other stakeholders.”

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