South32 CEO Matthew Daley signaled Wednesday that the diversified mining company is willing to pursue mergers and acquisitions, though he stressed that any potential deal would need to clear a high bar before moving forward.
The comments came after South32 reached an agreement to sell the majority of its aluminum portfolio to Alcoa for a price tag of up to $5.6 billion.
Speaking to investors on a call, Daley outlined the conditions any future deal would need to meet. “We will definitely look at opportunities that we see are value accretive, that are strategically aligned and maintain our financial strength, but they’re going to have to compete for capital with the organic pipeline,” he said.
The remarks suggest South32 is not ruling out growth through acquisitions, but that management intends to weigh any external opportunities carefully against the company’s existing internal projects.
