There are reports that mining giant BHP Biliton is considering spinning off $19 billion of its assets into a separate company.
The company over-extended itself buying assets at the height of the mining boom and is now looking to get some of the unprofitable operations off its books.
There are UK, Australian and other hands in the BHP pot and a breakup might mean commodity and FX hedges are unwound and billions of accounts settled. There is no telling which way the money will flow but it’s bound to cause some moves that will leave commodity (and probably FX) traders scratching their heads.
