But within days, Canadian regulators took issue with the side deal, compelling Turquoise Hill to postpone the shareholder vote.
M&A is a sensitive subject at Rio. Disastrous deals more than a decade ago almost sunk the company, cost a former CEO his job and led to regulatory probes. Yet there’s a recognition within the world’s No. 2 mining firm that those issues have cast a shadow for too long.
Rio’s September offer to buy out the 49% stake in Turquoise Hill it doesn’t already own — at improved terms from a bid earlier in the year — makes a lot of sense for a return to major dealmaking.
It would allow the company to consolidate control over the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, which could become one of the world’s biggest. The metal is among Rio’s favored commodities and an essential part of the global green push — and once the underground component of the mine is completed, it would help the producer to close the gap on…
