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BIL 201411240004A
BHP Billiton 2014 Demerger Update
BHP Billiton Plc
Registration number 3196209
Registered in England and Wales
Share code: BIL
ISIN: GB0000566504
NEWS RELEASE
Release Time IMMEDIATE
Date 24 November 2014
Number 21/14
DEMERGER UPDATE
BHP Billiton today announced a number of appointments to the management team of the
new company it plans to create from its proposed demerger and provided an update on
progress towards completion.
Speaking at an investor and analyst briefing in Sydney, Andrew Mackenzie, BHP Billiton
Chief Executive Officer said: “The demerger is an important step for BHP Billiton. It will allow
us to improve the productivity of our largest businesses more quickly and create a new
company of global significance that is well positioned to maximise the value of its
high-quality assets. We are making good progress and remain on track to complete the
demerger in the first half of 2015.”
Ricus Grimbeek has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer Elect Australia
and will be based in Perth. Mike Fraser has been appointed President and Chief Operating
Officer Elect Africa and will be based in the new company’s regional Johannesburg office.
Ricus will join the new company from Worsley, where he has been Asset President since
November 2011. Ricus has deep operational experience having also served as Asset
President of the Ekati Diamond mine and Executive Vice President (Mining and
Concentrating) for Lonmin Platinum. Before joining Worsley he led BHP Billiton’s Health,
Safety, Environment and Community function.
Mike is currently a member of the BHP Billiton Group Management Committee and
President, Human Resources. He has extensive experience in southern Africa, having
worked at the Group’s coal, aluminium and manganese assets before being appointed Asset
President of the Mozal aluminium smelter.
Graham Kerr, Chief Executive Officer Elect of the new company said: “I am delighted to
appoint such high calibre people to these key leadership roles. Ricus and Mike bring not only
deep operational expertise, but the best of BHP Billiton’s values and skills, including their
relentless commitment to health, safety and our communities. Through this depth of
experience they are well placed to further improve the performance of our operations.”
“We are building a new company from the ground up and the process of establishing our
regional operating model and leadership team is progressing to plan. With our 12 selected
assets already well positioned in their respective industries, and the opportunity to further
reduce overheads and increase productivity, we are well placed to benefit from the strong
demand forecast for our products,” he said.
Dividend policy
BHP Billiton Plc and BHP Billiton Limited shareholders will be entitled to 100 per cent of the
shares in the new company through a pro-rata in-specie distribution. Shareholders will retain
their shares in BHP Billiton and the Group will not re-base its dividend as a result of the
demerger, implying a higher payout ratio. BHP Billiton remains committed to steadily
increasing or at least maintaining its dividend per share in US dollar terms at each half yearly
payment following the demerger. In addition, the new company will have the flexibility to
consider a dividend policy that reflects its cash generating capacity.
Company brand and further proposed Board appointments
As previously announced David Crawford will chair the new company and will be joined on
its Board by current BHP Billiton director Keith Rumble and executives Graham Kerr and
Xolani Mkhwanazi. “We have made considerable progress towards developing the brand of
the new company and in identifying additional prospective directors. We will announce the
name and proposed directors before shareholders are asked to vote on the proposal,” Mr
Crawford said.
Regulatory approvals and timetable
Good progress has been made in securing the government, taxation, regulatory and other
third party approvals required to proceed with the demerger, with approval received from the
Australian Foreign Investment Review Board and the Australian Taxation Office, amongst
other third parties.
A final Board decision on the proposed demerger will be made once all necessary third party
approvals are secured on satisfactory terms. On this basis, we expect to release all
shareholder documentation with full details of the proposed demerger in March 2015, with a
shareholder vote taking place in May.
Further information on the proposed demerger can be found at: www.bhpbilliton.com.
Sponsor: Merrill Lynch South Africa Proprietary Limited
Media Relations Investor Relations
Australia Australia
Emily Perry Tara Dines
Tel: +61 3 9609 2800 Mobile: +61 477 325 803 Tel: +61 3 9609 2222 Mobile: +61 499 249 005
email: Emily.Perry@bhpbilliton.com email: Tara.Dines@bhpbilliton.com
Paul Hitchins Andrew Gunn
Tel: + 61 3 9609 2592 Mobile: + 61 419 315 001 Tel: +61 3 9609 3575 Mobile: +61 402 087 354
email: Paul.Hitchins@bhpbilliton.com email: Andrew.Gunn@bhpbilliton.com
Eleanor Nichols United Kingdom and South Africa
Tel: +61 3 9609 2360 Mobile: +61 407 064 748
email: Eleanor.Nichols@bhpbilliton.com Jonathan Price
Tel: +44 20 7802 4131 Mobile: +44 7990 527 726
United Kingdom and Americas email: Jonathan.H.Price@bhpbilliton.com
Ruban Yogarajah Dean Simon
Tel: +44 20 7802 4033 Mobile: +44 7827 082 022 Tel: +44 20 7802 7461 Mobile: +44 7717 511 193
email: Ruban.Yogarajah@bhpbilliton.com email: Dean.Simon@bhpbilliton.com
Jennifer White Americas
Tel: +44 20 7802 7462 Mobile: +44 7827 253 764
email: Jennifer.White@bhpbilliton.com James Agar
Tel: +1 212 310 1421 Mobile: +1 347 882 3011
South Africa email: James.Agar@bhpbilliton.com
Lulu Letlape Joseph Suarez
Tel:+27 113 762 375 Mobile: +27 828 206 832 Tel: +1 212 310 1422 Mobile: +1 646 400 3803
email: Lulu.Letlape@bhpbilliton.com email: Joseph.Suarez@bhpbilliton.com
BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077 BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209
Registered in Australia Registered in England and Wales
Registered Office: Level 16, 171 Collins Street Registered Office: Neathouse Place
Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia London SW1V 1LH United Kingdom
Tel +61 1300 55 4757 Fax +61 3 9609 3015 Tel +44 20 7802 4000 Fax +44 20 7802 4111
Members of the BHP Billiton Group which is headquartered in Australia
Date: 24/11/2014 07:05:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
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