On a conference call, CEO Jonathan Price declined to say whether a deal is imminent, but said Teck's board and an independent special committee are engaged with"multiple counterparties" and are progressing talks as quickly as possible.
"But we're not sitting on our hands here. We're taking a very active and diligent approach to moving this forward as quickly as we can." But a wrinkle was thrown into that plan this spring when Swiss commodities giant Glencore launched its $25-billion hostile takeover bid for Teck. Glencore has since presented a new offer to Teck's board, proposing to acquire the steelmaking portion of the company's business for an undisclosed amount of cash.Price said the various parties that have expressed interest in Teck's coal business have brought a forward a"range of proposals," and added the board will only sign off on a deal that maximizes the value of the business."We have deliberately sought to keep a very open mind here.