Tag: RIO – BHP

It was good timing for Rio Tinto to hold its quarterly investor update yesterday; the bounce on markets on reports of moves to try and fix the eurozone crisis offset an escalation in warnings from the company about the impact of the volatility on customer demand and sales.

Contrasting reports from our two biggest miners.

Against the background of strong demand for iron ore, especially from China and other big Asian buyers, senior BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto executives were sounding very bullish at a big iron and steel conference in Perth yesterday.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto produce results next week that will once again confirm that they are riding the China boom for all they can get.

Rio Tinto continues to hold out on BHP Billiton’s predatory ambitions and wants shareholders at the annual meetings next month of the Plc company in London and the Australian company in Brisbane to approve special resolutions extending a possible share buyback for another year, even though that is one of the conditions in the BHP bid that could see it terminated.

Shares in Rio Tinto fell in early trade this morning after the mining giant announced that it had rejected the final takeover approach from rival BHP Billiton, a decision that had been predicted by analysts.

On the face of it, the raid by Alcoa and its former Chinese associate, Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) on Rio Tinto is a major move: the reality is that it could end up a waste of time and money.

The BHP Billiton board is due to meet this week in what could be the most important discussion so far in the meandering attempt to take over Rio Tinto in a $120 billion-plus deal.

So what's happening with takeover target Rio Tinto?

Today Rio Tinto gave BHP an ultimatum to either ‘put up or shut up' with an application to the UK Takeover Panel which would force BHP to make a formal bid or back down.

In the midst of the BHP and Rio Tinto takeover struggle, the world's largest miner announced today that Andrew Mackenzie from Rio Tinto has been appointed as group executive and CEO of the non-ferrous unit, replacing Marius Kloppers who became CEO of BHP last month.

The cheer squad of nationalists and believers in national champions are willing to suspend critical judgment on the proposed takeover of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, but not so the market or those shareholders with a critical facility or three.