The board of Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP) is preparing to abandon a
proposed $116 billion iron ore deal with rival miner BHP Billiton
Ltd. (BHP) in Australia's Pilbara region, the Sydney Morning Herald
reports in Wednesday's edition.
Rio's decision to walk away appears to be due to improving
financial fortunes at the London-based giant, pressure from
shareholders and the conclusion that terms of the deal favored BHP,
the newspaper said. Sources close to Rio's board confirmed that the
company was preparing to tell BHP of its decision Tuesday.
Rio Chairman Jan du Plessis had told fellow directors Monday
night that he didn't think BHP would object to Rio's calling an end
to the deal, according to the report.
The aborted joint venture, which follows BHP's unsuccessful bid
to take over Rio in 2008, has been expected to meet opposition from
regulators in Europe and China concerned about the effect the deal
would have had on world steel prices.
Full story at
http://www.smh.com.au/business/rio-dumps-record-bhp-deal-20101005-1665z.html
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900