£1bn bonus on cards at BHP Billiton

UK SHAREHOLDERS of dual-listed resources giant BHP Billiton can expect around £1bn of bonus stock after the successful spin-off of BHP Steel.

Shares in BHP Steel started trading in Australia at A$2.90, up 10 cents on the issue price and valuing it at about A$2.3bn (£828m).

That delivered a useful premium to Australian shareholders, given one BHP Steel share for every four they held in BHP Billiton. UK investors in BHP Billiton, who hold more than 70% of its stock by value, did not get BHP Steel shares but will be compensated with bonus BHP Billiton shares.

A BHP Billiton spokeswoman in Melbourne said the size of the bonus would be announced next Monday. Based on the deal in Australia, British investors can expect one-thirteenth of their BHP holding. With UK shareholders holding stock worth £16bn, that means they can expect to split £1.2bn of stock.