BHP Billiton Ltd
(ASX:BHP) will continue to pursue assets despite notching up a bill of around $US875 million in failed merger and acquisition bids over the past three years.
Speaking at his first annual general meeting since being appointed as chairman in March, Jac Nasser defended the global miner’s inability to secure its bid for Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) and the more recent proposal to tie-up both BHP and Rio’s iron ore operations in Western Australia.
Just this Monday BHP withdrew its $40 billion bid for the world’s largest fertilizer company, Canada’s Potash Corporation after regulators around the world refused to endorse the deal.
However it seems the global miner has not been put off by the rejections. Yesterday Mr Nasser threw his support behind chief executive Marius Kloppers and said in the case of pursuing mergers and acquisitions it is often a case of no pain no gain with a lot of these transactions.
BHP Billiton moved from a net profit of $7.8 billion last year to $15.26 billion in fiscal 2010.
