BHP(F): Mergers and Acquisitions

Abstract

One of the biggest days in the 130-year history of BHP was 29 June 2001, when the merger was formalised with Billiton Plc. The DLC structure meant that the combined entity was to be operated, even though it involved distinct organisations, to create the best overall outcomes for the aggregate of those entities, which would share the returns, through equal dividends. Although not formally a single entity, the business of the two entities were to be operated as if they were one. The group restructured assets from both previously separate businesses into seven business units called Customer Sector Groups, each with clear financial and operating goals and responsibilities. The group’s global footprint had expanded and diversified, including to Pakistan, Gulf of Mexico, South Africa, Chile and many other regions.