South32 CEO-elect Graham Kerr
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major BHP Billiton on Monday revealed that its demerged company would be named South32 to reflect its southern hemisphere roots.
BHP is spinning off some of its aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel and silver assets, worth an estimated $16-billion, into a newly listed company.
The majority of South32’s selected assets are located in the southern hemisphere, with its two regional centres of Australia and South Africa linked by the thirty-second parallel south line of latitude. CEO-elect Graham Kerr said the company’s name represented this footprint and regional approach to managing its operations.
“The naming of South32 is a major step in the setup of our company. Our heritage and the places in which we operate are an important part of our identity. While South32 is grounded in the southern hemisphere, we will retain our global reach and ambition as we seek to exceed the expectation of a global shareholder base.”
Kerr said that the diversity of the company’s employees, commodities, customers and communities would also give the new company great strength, which would be represented by its logo.
“Many of our assets are among the most attractive in their respective commodities and all have benefited from BHP’s structured approach to improving safety and performance. As we move to a regional model and develop a fit-for-purpose strategy, we have the potential to further improve performance. This will enable South32’s assets to reach their full potential and benefit our shareholders, employees and communities,” he added.
A final board decision on the demerger would be made only once the necessary government, regulatory and third-party approvals had been secured.
Kerr reported that the demerger remained on track to be completed by the first half of 2015.
The company’s head office would be based in Perth, while a regional head office and a global shared service centre would be located in Johannesburg. The demerged entity would be listed on the ASX, with secondary listings on the JSE and the LSE.