Miner BHP Billiton hit by weak debut of newly listed South32
AUSTRALIAN mining group BHP Billiton was down by 4.57 per cent yesterday, after spin-off South32, made a disappointing debut.
Despite analysts citing strong investor interest over the weekend, South32 launched on the Australian stock exchange at $9bn (£5.8bn), which was below the market consensus range of $10.1bn-12.1bn.
The newly demerged company, which is made up of several of BHP Billiton’s non-core assets, closed at 108p on the London Stock Exchange, after reaching a high of 110p.
South32 chief executive Graham Kerr said yesterday that the company was starting out with “a strong balance sheet, along with high quality, well-maintained, cash-generative assets and highly talented people”.