Industry Minister Mélanie Joly speaks with reporters on Parliament Hill on Nov. 18. The Globe and Mail has reviewed audio in which Ms. Joly says she will decide on the deal 'in the next months.'Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly isn’t planning to decide next month on whether to approve the proposed $20-billion acquisition of Teck Resources Ltd. TECK-B-T by Anglo American PLC NGLOY.
A media report by The Wall Street Journal last week said she was planning to make a ruling on the deal in December.
The Journal story from Nov. 18 appears to be based on a transcript the federal government provided to reporters detailing Ms. Joly’s comments in a media scrum in Ottawa.
In the scrum, Ms. Joly was asked if she was planning to decide whether to approve or reject the Teck deal within a certain timeframe.
According to the transcript, Ms. Joly replied that the goal is to “make sure that we take the decision next month.”
A subsequent review by The Globe and Mail of the original audio revealed that she said her decision will come “in the next months.”
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The deal can’t proceed unless Ms. Joly deems it to be of net economic benefit to Canada. She must also determine that it doesn’t pose a national-security threat.
Gabrielle Landry, press secretary for Ms. Joly, confirmed that both the original transcript and the Journal report were incorrect, and that the timing of the decision will indeed be in the next months.
Ms. Landry added that transcripts should never be relied upon, and reporters should always check the original audio for certainty.
The Journal on Tuesday corrected its original story to reflect the accurate timing of Ms. Joly’s ruling on Teck.
It would have been a major surprise if Ms. Joly made her decision next month, as past reviews of big acquisitions in the mining sector have typically taken far longer. The Teck transaction was announced only in September.
Ottawa’s review of Glencore PLC’s acquisition of Teck’s coal business in 2024 took about eight months. Back in 2020, the federal government took seven months to decide whether to allow TMAC Resources to be acquired by Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd. In that instance, the Trudeau government rejected the deal owing to national-security concerns.
Anglo has already made several major commitments to try to win deal approval from Ottawa. It has promised to move its global headquarters to Vancouver from London, to rename itself Anglo Teck and to relocate many of its high-ranking personnel to Canada, including chief executive officer Duncan Wanblad and chief financial officer John Heasley.
The Globe reported that Teck held talks with Vale Base Metals Ltd., the critical-minerals arm of Vale, before agreeing to an acquisition by Anglo. Unlike Anglo, Vale Base Metals already has significant mining operations in Canada, and its headquarters is in Toronto.
Teck shareholders meet next month to vote on the transaction. At least two-thirds of votes cast must be in favour for the deal to proceed. Proxy advisory firm Glass, Lewis & Co. last week advised its clients to vote for the transaction. Many institutional shareholders rely on proxy firms for guidance before voting on deals.