BHP Could Turn An Eye To Anadarko, Woodside Following Potash Miss

BHP Billiton BHP freshly scorned by Canada's government in its attempt to acquire Potash Corp. POT may now turn its attention to acquiring Anadarko Petroleum APC or Australia's Woodside Petroleum, according to UBS. Texas-based Anadarko, one of the largest independent U.S. oil and gas producers, was rumored to be a backup plan for BHP earlier this year assuming it could not acquire Potash, but after an Australian newspaper broke that story, there was little more in the way of chatter involving the mining giant and Anadarko. Woodside, Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, is 34 percent-owned by Royal Dutch Shell RDS, which may be willing to team up with BHP to take Woodside private, UBS said, Bloomberg News reported. Both companies make sense as targets for BHP as the company is an active oil and gas producer both in Australia and the Gulf of Mexico. UBS also said Riversdale Mining Ltd., closely held U.S.-based coal company Drummond Co. and another large-scale potash producer could also be on BHP's radar. UBS joined the chorus of brokerage houses saying BHP could also initiate a $10 billion share repurchase program.