It also brings the six-month takeover battle to an end, boosting Rio Tinto’s exposure to copper, which is expected to benefit from the world’s shift to renewables and electric vehicles – for which the metal is key.
Rio has agreed to pay C$43 per share in cash for the rest of Turquoise Hill, a more than 19% premium to the stock’s last close, higher than a sweetened offer of C$40 per share proposed last month and a 67% premium from the day before the initial offer was made.
Turquoise Hill, a single-asset company holding 66% of Oyu Tolgoi, had appointed an independent committee to evaluate the offer. After rejecting the $2.7 billion original bid, or C$34 per share as too low, the team indicated the fair market value for the company was “in the range of C$42 to C$58 per common share.”
The deal, subject to shareholder approval, would give Rio Tinto a majority stake in Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest known copper…
