(Adds details on deal, background)
Jan 8 (Reuters) - Miner Anglo American Plc said on
Wednesday it was in advanced talks to buy fertiliser maker
Sirius Minerals for about 386 million pounds ($507
million) as it sets its sights on Britain's biggest mining
project.
The proposal of 5.5 pence per Sirius share represents a
premium of about 34% to Sirius' last close.
Sirius is reviewing the North Yorkshire polyhalite project
in northern England after scrapping a plan to raise $500 million
in a bond sale, delaying the project.
Many local people have invested in the plan which would
tunnel under North York Moors National Park to exploit what
Sirius has said is the world's largest deposit of polyhalite, a
multi-nutrient fertiliser.
Anglo American said it believes that the possible offer
could provide certainty to Sirius' shareholders by bringing in
the financial and technical muscle to advance with the project.
"Anglo American identified the project as being of potential
interest some time ago, given the quality of the underlying
asset," the FTSE 100-listed miner said.
($1 = 0.7617 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; editing by
Shailesh Kuber and Jason Neely)
