MMG's $500m purchase of Anglo American's Brazilian nickel business stalls at EU review

Anglo American announced on 18 February 2025 that it would sell its nickel business in Brazil to MMG Singapore Resources, part of Hong Kong-listed MMG, which is controlled by state-owned China Minmetals. The package includes two ferronickel operations, Barro Alto and Codemin, and two greenfield projects.

Terms

The price is up to $500m: $350m in cash on completion, a price-linked earn-out of up to $100m, and a further $50m tied to MMG advancing the development projects. At the time, Anglo said the nickel sale and its coal disposals could bring in up to $5.3bn in gross proceeds.

Regulatory hold-up

The transaction has turned into a test of how Western regulators treat Chinese control of critical minerals. Brazil's competition authority opened an investigation after a complaint by a local competitor, CoreX Holding. The European Commission moved the case into an in-depth second-phase review, and in August 2026 MMG extended the deal's deadline. In early September 2026 Reuters reported, and MINING.COM carried the report, that the Commission was preparing a statement of objections focused on ferronickel supply to European steelmakers. MMG has urged Brussels to approve the purchase.

Why it matters

For Johannesburg- and London-listed Anglo, the delay leaves another piece of its 2024 restructuring unfinished just as the group waits for Chinese approval of its merger with Teck. Miningmx has noted the uncomfortable symmetry: Europe is scrutinising a Chinese buyer of Anglo assets while Beijing's regulator holds the last key to Anglo Teck. As of September 2026 the nickel sale remains pending.

Sources

• Miningmx: Anglo to sell nickel business to MMG for $500m, 18 Feb 2025
• MINING.COM: MMG faces EU antitrust warning over Anglo nickel deal, 08 Sept 2026
• MINING.COM: EU scrutiny of Anglo-MMG nickel deal tests China stance, 11 Sept 2026

Photo: The town of Barro Alto in Goiás, Brazil, home to Anglo American's Barro Alto ferronickel operation. jose donizetti dias, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.