AUSTRALIAN MINES
Glencore set to pitch directly to Rio Tinto board
Sydney — Glencore will pitch its $2.55bn bid for Rio Tinto’s Australian Coal & Allied unit directly to Rio Tinto’s board in Canada on Thursday, according to two informed sources. The meeting, headed by Glencore’s Australian CE Peter Freyberg, comes five days after Glencore outbid Chinese-owned Yancoal for Coal & Allied Industries, which operates thermal coal mines in Australia’s Hunter Valley. Glencore’s proposal is $100m higher and fully funded, but Rio Tinto has to give Yancoal the chance to make a counter offer, opening the way for a bidding war. A formal response from Rio Tinto to Glencore’s offer could come by Friday, the sources said, given Glencore’s acceptance deadline of June 26. If Glencore’s offer is accepted by Rio Tinto, Yancoal will have five days to respond. Yancoal and Glencore declined to comment. Rio Tinto could not be reached for immediate comment. Freyberg will argue before the Rio Tinto directors, who are meeting in Canada, that Glencore’s offer provides greater...
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