Rio Denies Making Final Decision To Abandon BHP Joint Venture
October 05 2010 - 1:51PM
Dow Jones News
Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.LN) Tuesday denied a news report that it had
decided to terminate a proposed $116 billion iron ore joint venture
with BHP Billiton PLC (BLT.LN), saying it has not made any final
decisions.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported in its Wednesday edition that
Rio is preparing to abandon the deal, quoting unnamed sources.
Rio said in a statement late Tuesday in Europe that the miner
has not made any final decisions "about possible outcomes or next
steps" for the joint venture.
However, Rio said the company's board acknowledged in a meeting
Monday that regulatory agencies in Japan, Korea, the European Union
and Australia have indicated there may be obstacles to getting
regulatory approval for the Rio-BHP iron ore production joint
venture.
"[The] board acknowledged recent communications from regulators
that indicate potential obstacles to achieving clearance for the
joint venture."
A BHP spokesman declined to comment, while Rio officials were
unavailable for a comment.
The Sydney Morning Herald cited sources saying Rio planned to
inform BHP of its decision on Tuesday. It also said Rio's chairman
Jan du Plessis told other board directors that he didn't think BHP
would object to Rio's calling an end to the deal.
The proposed 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.
-By Matthew Walls, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9412;
matthew.walls@dowjones.com
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