Anglo American has survived an almost £39bn takeover plot by the Australian mining rival BHP after last-ditch talks over restructuring the 107-year-old company collapsed. The five-week pursuit came to an end after Anglo rejected BHP’s 11th-hour appeal to extend the takeover talks for a second time, after three failed takeover proposals from the Melbourne-based miner. The board’s opposition left BHP to choose between presenting a formal offer directly to Anglo’s shareholders by 5pm on Wednesday – or backing down from its pursuit of Anglo for at least six months. In a statement published shortly before the deadline, Mike Henry, BHP’s chief executive, said: “BHP will not be making a firm offer for Anglo American.” The planned deal, which was expected to radically reshape the global mining industry, hit an impasse over BHP’s plans to sell off some of Anglo’s South African business interests as part of the takeover. The proposals were described as “highly complex and unattractive” by Anglo, which is a household name in South Africa and counts the South African government as its largest shareholders. Henry said: “While we believed that our proposal for Anglo American was a compelling opportunity to effectively grow the pie of value for both sets of shareholders, we were unable to reach agreement with Anglo American on our specific views in respect of South African regulatory risk and cost and, despite seeking to engage constructively and numerous requests, we were not able to access from Anglo American key information required to formulate measures to address the excess risk they perceive.” The takeover talks have coincided with the run up to South Africa’s most uncertain general election since the end of apartheid, and ended as South Africans headed to the polls on Wednesday. BHP’s three takeover approaches all had a requirement for Anglo to spin off its operations in South Africa, including Kumba Iron Ore and Anglo American Platinum, a major employer in South Africa. This was opposed by Anglo and came under criticism from the South African government, which is Anglo’s largest shareholder through its Public Investment Corporation (Pic). The latest proposal from BHP included a string of promises to curry favour among South Africa’s investors, politicians and regulators. It pledged to maintain staffing levels at Anglo’s Johannesburg office and continue Anglo’s charitable commitments in the country for at least three years. It also promised to build “a centre of excellence” to support South African mining. However, Anglo said in a statement that BHP had “not addressed the board’s fundamental concerns” relating to the forced demerger of its South African businesses. It added that the “limited number” of socioeconomic measures suggested by BHP were“confined in scope, impact and duration”. Anglo added that, after discussion with shareholders, it had concluded there was no basis to extend the takeover talks deadline for the “highly complex and unattractive structure” of the proposed deal. The company plans to stave off further advances from its larger rivals by putting forward its own corporate shake-up, including a pledge to break up the 107-year-old business and sell its platinum division and its De Beers diamond arm. The plan has the backing of the South African government. Stuart Chambers, the chair of Anglo American, said the company had set out “a clear pathway to accelerate delivery of its strategy”. “We look forward to delivering our plans for the benefit of our shareholders and for stakeholders, both in our host countries and more broadly,” he said. Anglo’s vast reserves of copper are a key driver of the interest in the business because the mineral is an important building block for low-carbon technologies such as solar farms and electric cars. In addition to interest from BHP, which had hoped that the merger would reshape the industry by creating the biggest copper miner in the world, the company has reportedly caught the eye of Australia’s Rio Tinto and the Swiss mining company Glencore. Anglo’s decision to reject BHP’s call for further talks was welcomed by the Church of England Pensions Board (CoEPB), which holds a 1% stake in the company. Adam Matthews, the chief responsible investment officer at CoEPB, said: “We continue to view this proposed takeover as unfavourable to the long-term interests of our pension fund members. We believe a strongly backed Anglo is better for the mining sector in general, the global transition and remaining a strong presence in South Africa as well as listed in London.”