Investors may be holding their breath waiting for a fresh...

Investors may be holding their breath waiting for a fresh capital return initiative from BHP Billiton when the mining giant releases its annual results in August. However, there is talk that BHP boss Marius Kloppers may have something else up his sleeve. Kloppers has had high profile M&A failures, thanks to overzealous regulators, and The Australian Financial Review reports that he may have found another quarry to scratch the takeover itch. No surprises that the latest target is in the oil sector, with the paper saying that London-listed, Africa-focused Tullow Oil could be a target for BHP. With a market value of ?11.8 billion, a move on Tullow will be on the same scale as BHP's failed tilt for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, and the miner's bid presumably won't go unopposed. Tullow's big lure is the exposure it provides to Africa but there is also a chance that BHP may choose to make a smaller entry into Africa ? and the AFR reports that Ghana-focused Kosmos Oil, worth around $US6.7 billion, could be a good fit. Either way, Kloppers has more than enough money to play with.