Report: Mark Carney urged Anglo American to move HQ to Canada to secure £40bn Teck merger backing

A Canadian newspaper has reported that former Bank of England governor Mark Carney told Anglo American to shift its headquarters to Canada as a condition for support of the miner’s proposed £40 billion tie-up with Teck Resources.

The Globe and Mail, cited in a Daily Mail account, reported that Carney made clear any prospective buyer of Teck would need to agree to move its headquarters to Canada. The two companies last week announced a deal to combine into a new entity called Anglo Teck, which they said would be based in Vancouver while maintaining a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Anglo American, a FTSE 100 group, declined to comment on the Globe and Mail report. Teck Resources did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The proposed combination, described by the companies as creating one of the world’s largest copper producers, remains subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearances in multiple jurisdictions. The companies have said the combined group would be headquartered in Vancouver and would keep its main share listing in London, a structure that they argued would preserve ties to UK capital markets while reflecting Teck’s Canadian roots.

Canada has mechanisms to review foreign takeovers of domestic companies, and resource-sector transactions often draw scrutiny because of their economic and strategic importance. The Globe and Mail report said the relocation demand formed part of informal requirements being conveyed to potential bidders for Teck. The report did not cite a Canadian government statement or provide documentary evidence of a formal condition attached to approval of the deal.

Dealmakers and advisers typically negotiate multiple elements—such as headquarters, board composition and listing status—during large cross-border mergers to address regulatory, tax and investor considerations in each jurisdiction. Anglo and Teck have previously said they expect to seek the necessary approvals and to work with stakeholders as they pursue the combination.

The companies’ announcement last week outlined anticipated operational and financial synergies and the strategic rationale for combining their copper assets, amid rising demand for copper driven by electrification and clean-energy transitions. Any relocation of a corporate headquarters would involve legal, tax and governance steps and would be scrutinized by shareholders, regulators and governments before being finalised.

The Globe and Mail item, as reported by the Daily Mail, is the latest development in discussions around the proposed transaction; further filings and formal statements from the companies and from Canadian authorities would be expected as the review process proceeds.