Elliott steps up call for BHP to ditch petroleum

Sydney

ACTIVIST investor Elliott Management upped the pressure for strategic changes at BHP on Tuesday, calling for an independent review of the mining giant's petroleum business.

Elliott, which has built up a 4.1 per cent stake in BHP's UK-listed arm and is urging changes to boost shareholder value, said there were clear signs that the market was receptive to a new strategy for BHP.

"There is extremely broad and deep-rooted support for pro-active steps to be taken by management to achieve an op…