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Melbourne - Mosaic, the world’s largest producer of phosphate fertilizer, and a group led by Vale SA are among suitors picked to make final bids for Anglo American’s [JSE:AGL] niobium and phosphate business in Brazil, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Brazil’s Vale is bidding with buyout firm Apollo Global Management, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private. Eurochem Group was also shortlisted to make a final offer for the assets, which could fetch as much as $1.5bn, the people said.
Anglo chief executive officer Mark Cutifani said in February there were 16 bidders for the assets and they could be sold by May.
The London-based miner, which now focuses on diamonds, copper and platinum, put the Brazilian business up for sale last year as part of a wider plan to cut costs and debt amid a global rout in commodity prices.
After reporting a $5.6bn loss last year, Anglo is accelerating asset sales in iron ore and coal production to raise as much as $4bn this year. It expects to make ten asset sales by the end of the second quarter, Cutifani said in February.
X2 Resources, the private-equity firm founded by former Xstrata chief Mick Davis, and South32 were also considering bidding for the niobium and phosphate business, people with knowledge of the process said in February.
A spokesperson for Anglo said that the sales process is progressing as planned, while declining to comment further.
Spokespeople for Eurochem and Mosaic declined to comment, while representatives for Apollo and Vale didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Anglo is selling metallurgical coal mines in Australia, a nickel business in Brazil and stakes in its manganese assets in South Africa and Australia, the company said in February. Last year it sold two copper mines in Chile to a group of investors led by Audley Capital Advisors for $300m in cash up front.
