Rio Tinto raises its offer in bid to take over Mongolian copper mine after previous bid was rebuffed
Rio Tinto has stepped up its efforts to take control of a huge Mongolian copper mine after a previous bid was rejected.
The miner has offered £2.6billion to buy the 49 per cent share it does not already own in Turquoise Hill Resources, the firm with a controlling stake in the Oyu Tolgoi project in the Gobi desert.
In March Rio offered £2.3billion but that was slapped down by a committee of directors representing other Turquoise investors.
Fresh offer: Rio Tinto has offered £2.6bn to buy the 49% share it does not already own in Turquoise Hill Resources, which holds a controlling stake in the Oyu Tolgoi project (pictured)
‘Rio Tinto believes this offer not only provides full and fair value for Turquoise Hill shareholders, but is in the best interests of all stakeholders,’ said chief executive Jakob Stausholm.
Rio operates the mine but does not have direct ownership of it
Instead, it holds a 51 per cent stake in Turquoise Hill, which itself owns 66 per cent of the mine while the remainder is controlled by the Mongolian government.
Oyu Tolgoi is vital for Rio as it looks to mine more metals used in low-carbon technology and shift away from iron ore, a key steelmaking ingredient which generates most of its revenue.