Anglo American rejects £31bn takeover offer from mining rival BHP

All-share proposal had potential to be one of biggest deals in sector for decade but deemed opportunistic'

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The board of Anglo American, the London-listed mining company, has rejected a highly unattractive" 31bn takeover approach from its Australian rival BHP.

BHP's all-share proposed offer for Anglo American had the potential to be one of the biggest deals in the global mining sector for a decade but has attracted criticism from Anglo's shareholders as being too low and highly opportunistic".