(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Robert Friedland warned Canada should not take lightly Glencore Plc’s attempted takeover of Teck Resources Ltd., saying many investors — including himself —would be interested after the miner spins out its coal business.

The Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. founder said in a series of tweets Monday it would be short-sighted for Teck to sell to Glencore without exploring options. Friedland’s comments come a day after Teck Chairman Emeritus Norman Keevil said he supports a transaction on the right terms after the company splits its base metals and coal businesses. 

“I would caution we should NOT lightly sacrifice such a champion at the altar of short-term gain,” Friedland tweeted. “Losing another quintessential Canadian support mechanism to multinationals could corporatize and hollow out our unique ecosystem that has so successfully explored our vast landmass.”

Read More: Freeport, Vale, Anglo Are Said to Eye Teck Metals Operations

Teck is racing to get enough investor support for the coal spin-off ahead of an April 26 vote while fending off an unsolicited $23 billion takeover offer from Glencore for the whole company.

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