MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Shares of mining company Grupo Mexico SAB (GMEXICO.MX) soared at the opening Tuesday after a U.S. bankruptcy judge recommended its offer to take U.S. unit Asarco out of bankruptcy over that of a rival bidder.
Grupo Mexico B shares trading on the Mexican stock market were up 18% to 22.75 pesos ($1.69) around 9:40 a.m. EDT.
Late Monday, Judge Richard S. Schmidt of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi, Texas, recommended Grupo Mexico's plan to bring Asarco out of bankruptcy proceedings, rejecting a rival offer from Vedanta Resources Plc (VED.LN).
Schmidt said Grupo Mexico's $2.48 billion plan to bring Asarco out of Chapter 11 was superior to the $2.19 billion offer from Vedanta. Grupo Mexico owns Asarco but lost control after the company entered Chapter 11 in 2005.
Since the case involves large asbestos liabilities, the recommendation has still to be confirmed by a district court in Brownsville, Texas.
-By Anthony Harrup, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5001 5727, anthony.harrup@dowjones.com