Nov 26 (Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended on Wednesday that Anglo American AAL.L shareholders vote in favor of the merger deal with Teck Resources TECKb.TO.
"The transaction has a compelling strategic rationale, the anticipated cost synergies are substantial, and the market reaction on both sides of the transaction has been positive," ISS said in a statement.
This comes after proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis last week recommended that Teck's shareholders vote in favor of the deal.
ISS also urged shareholders to vote for the proposed name change of the combined company to Anglo Teck.
The planned merger, announced in September, would be the second-largest M&A deal in the copper mining sector, with the combined market capitalization exceeding $53 billion.
Earlier this week, BHP BHP.AX abandoned a last-ditch effort to buy Anglo American in a bid to bolster its dominance in copper. BHP added it would no longer pursue a potential combination with Anglo after preliminary discussions with the board.
The shareholder vote is expected to take place on December 9.
(Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Vijay Kishore)
((Pranav.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))