If you're wanting to bag the upcoming BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) dividend, then you'll need to act fast.
Today is the final day to buy shares to be eligible for the mining giant's special dividend.
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What is the next BHP dividend?
Last week BHP revealed that Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) shareholders have voted in favour of merging with the Big Australian's petroleum assets.
This transformative deal will see Woodside become a top 10 global energy producer with over 2 billion barrels of proven and probable reserves and annual EBITDA approaching US$5 billion.
As part of the merger, Woodside is issuing BHP with 914,768,948 new shares, which have a value of approximately $26.5 billion today.
However, BHP isn't keeping these shares, it will be distributing them to eligible shareholders via an in-specie dividend. An in-specie dividend is a dividend that is paid in assets rather than cash.
What's next?
The latest BHP dividend will see shareholders receive one new Woodside share for every 5.534 BHP shares they hold on the ex-dividend date (Wednesday). From that date onwards, the dividends will remain with the seller if you were to buy shares. This means today is the final day to act.
It is also worth noting that any entitlement to a fraction of a Woodside share will be rounded down to the nearest whole share.
This means that if you own 200 BHP shares, you will receive 36 new Woodside shares and not 36.14 shares when they are distributed to shareholders on Wednesday 1 June. This is when the merger is expected to complete.
Those new shares will then commence normal trading on the ASX boards a day later on Thursday 2 June.
After which, BHP shareholders can look forward to the mining giant's final dividend in September. And judging by the amount of free cash flow it is generating, this looks set to be another bumper payout for them.
