Miners looking for takeovers
The Canadian Press
May 13, 2008 at 11:40 AM EDT

TORONTO — Nearly half of the large mining companies interviewed for a recent study by Ernst and Young said they need to make acquisitions to meet their aggressive growth targets and 90 per cent said they expected to make an acquisition in the next two years.

The study, published Tuesday, predicts that 2008 will be a critical year in defining which of the mining companies are the hunters and which are the hunted.

“The global mining sector is flush with cash right now, and there's a strong appetite for more transactions,” says Tom Whelan, Ernst and Young's Canadian mining leader.

“Companies in Canada and the U.S. are attractive targets because most companies in North America have a single metal focus. This makes them neat strategic acquisitions.”

The study found 40 per cent of respondents — which were selected from among the top 40 mining companies in the world — said they were only able to meet their aggressive growth targets through acquisition.