SMM11, March 2: BHP Billiton, the world's top mining company, said on Thursday that it would buy back shares and pay a special dividend to return $10.4 billion to shareholders and promised to return all proceeds from the sale of its US shale business. The move also sent BHP Billiton's Australian shares up 6.2%. When the deal was announced in July, BHP had promised to return all its net proceeds from the $10.8 billion sale of its US shale business to shareholders. (BP Plc), the British oil giant, bought most of its US business in a deal completed this week. Stephen Butel, an analyst at Platypus Asset Management, which owns BHP Billiton, said, "a 100 per cent return to shareholders is a good thing, but it also shows that BHP may not have a chance to deploy a lot of money internally at the moment. The industry may have learned from its previous boom and is very hesitant to go out and make large acquisitions. After the commodity bubble of 2015-16 burst, mining companies have been sending money back to shareholders, and investors will not waste increasing cash buying assets that may never yield returns. Applications for over-the-counter buybacks will begin on November 19 and end on December 14. Investors can bid for shares at a discount of up to 14% of the market price. Once the over-the-counter buyback is completed, BHP will determine the amount per share of its special dividend.
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