Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad said the company will not redomicile to Canada nor move its primary listing from London after Prime Minister Mark Carney pressed that relocating headquarters is a prerequisite to have the proposed takeover of Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.b) approved.
Ottawa is weighing the acquisition, widely reported at $53 billion, under the Investment Canada Act. According to reports, Carney told Anglo American the HQ move was a condition of Ottawa’s approval and said the same bar would apply to any other Teck bidder.
Wanblad confirmed the HQ-in-Canada plan but drew limits: “There is no way I am going to negotiate this in public,” he told The Globe and Mail, adding that redomiciling and shifting the primary stock listing to Toronto are off the table.
“London is very good for what it is that we’re trying to do here,” he added.
Earlier reports have Anglo committing to a Canada HQ while keeping its primary listing in London for the combined “Anglo Teck”.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has publicly signaled Anglo’s initial promises “don’t go far enough,” meaning Ottawa is pressing for additional, legally binding undertakings. When Glencore acquired Teck’s coal arm in 2024, Canada imposed enforceable conditions: Canadian head office for 10 years, majority-Canadian directors for 10 years, over 66% of Canadian executives for 10 years, and employment-level protections.
Pushback from Canada’s mining establishment remains sharp. Pierre Lassonde of Franco-Nevada called the sale of Teck a “tragedy” for the sector, while Tom Caldwell of Caldwell Securities said losing Teck is “painful” for a “hollowed-out” industry. Wanblad acknowledged these saying, “I completely get the angst that’s caused by the notion of this hollowing out.”
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