BHP will be in the room at some point !, page-13

Morgan Stanley say.....

In BHP’s case, the analysts reckon the company could raise US$17 billion ($23.8 billion) in net debt while still staying investment-grade credit and US$24 billion ($33.6 billion) in equity, without needing shareholder approval (assuming a 0 per cent discount to January 25’s close).“The combined potential, in our opinion, open a significant opportunity set for BHP to potentially undertake transformational M&A as and when the right opportunities arise (we note management has not explicitly commented on this),” Anand and others said in the January 27 note.Based on a simple market capitalisation filter in future facing commodities, the hypothetical extra capital would put IGO Limited, Nickel Mines Limited, Oz Minerals and Chalice Mining within BHP’s M&A budget.