AFP, May 23 (Editor Xia Junxiong) BHP Billiton shareholders said they believe BHP Billiton has taken another step towards successfully acquiring Anglo-American Resources Group. Previously, Anglo-American Resources rejected BHP Billiton's acquisition offer for the third time in a row, but agreed to negotiate and provided an additional week for BHP Billiton to make a new offer.

BHP Billiton made a third takeover offer for Anglo-American Resources on Wednesday. The price was £29.34 per share, with a total value of £38.6 billion (US$49.18 billion), but it was still rejected by Anglo-American Resources. The previous two quotes were £25.08 per share (total value of £31.1 billion, or US$39.1 billion) and £27.53 per share (total value of £34 billion, or US$42.7 billion), respectively.

According to the UK Takeover Act, Wednesday (May 22) was originally the final deadline for the current round of BHP Billiton acquisitions, but Anglo-American Resources agreed to extend this period by one week.

Prasad Patkar, head of qualitative investment at asset management company Platypus, said that the extended acquisition period of Anglo-American Resources showed signs of relaxation, and he believes the deal will eventually be reached. Platypus holds shares in Anglo-American Resources.

According to people familiar with the matter, differences between BHP Billiton and Anglo-American Resources on valuation issues have been reduced. However, investors pointed out that the complexity of BHP Billiton's acquisition plan may still hinder the conclusion of the deal.

In its latest offer, BHP Billiton still insisted on the preconditions previously proposed, requiring British and American resources to divest its platinum and iron ore assets in South Africa.

Ben Cleary, portfolio manager at hedge fund Tribeca, said: “I think the deal is more likely after extending the one-week period because the board of directors of Anglo-American Resources has finally begun negotiations.”

Tim Elliott of hedge fund Regal Funds Management believes that in the end, Anglo-American Resources will accept BHP Billiton's greatly improved offer. Regal also holds shares in BHP Billiton and Anglo-American Resources.

Elliott said, “Today, not only are Anglo-American resource shareholders receiving a generous premium, but they are also receiving severely undervalued BHP Billiton shares, enabling them to continue to invest in many of the world's best quality mines and derive huge synergies from the merged group.”