Iron Ore M&A: evaluating the opportunities

We have identified seven iron ore assets supplying the seaborne market that could potentially be up for sale in 2016 - Vale's Midwestern System, Anglo American's Minas Rio and Kumba operations, Atlas Iron, Ferrous Resources, Arrium and Karara - and compared their cash margins, production and reserves. By looking at these attributes, we have concluded that the Midwestern System, Kumba, and  Minas Rio are the standouts. We expect these assets will be cash positive in 2016, have positive NPV and upside to production. The remaining assets will likely only appeal to buyers with a bullish long term view of iron ore prices, a strategic interest in acquiring the assets, or a belief they can fundamentally lower costs.