Australian resources giant BHP said Monday it had dropped a bid to take over British rival Anglo American that would have created the world's largest miner of copper.

Bloomberg News reported on Sunday that BHP, the world's largest mining company, had approached Anglo with a bid in an attempt to disrupt a merger with Canadian peer Teck Resources.

But Anglo knocked back the offer.

"BHP Group confirms that it is no longer considering a combination of the two companies," the firm said in a statement on the Australian Securities Exchange website.

BHP "continues to believe that a combination with Anglo American would have had strong strategic merits and created significant value for all stakeholders," the firm said.

"BHP is confident in the highly compelling potential of its own organic gro

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