BHP call off its bid to buy Rio Tinto

After a long ordeal, BHP Billiton has taken the stance to drop its takeover bid for Rio Tinto, following the economic slowdown and falling commodity prices. The company said that as the market is in a fragile state with no definite solution to the time it will take to rectify, the company has chosen to call off its bid.

The effort of bidding for Rio Tinto has been in process of a year. BHP had offered to buy one share of Rio Tinto for 3.4 of its shares, which valued Rio Tinto at about $147.7 billion at the then market prices, but in today’s terms it is around $66 billion.

Rio Tinto had been opposing all offers made by BHP, stating that it was being undervalued. The BHP bid was given the nod from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, but not from the European Commission (EC). The company opined that it could sustain efforts in creating remedies that could have accommodated these requirements of EC regulators, but in normal economic situations. Also, with the permissions in place, the company would have to hold meetings with the Rio Tinto shareholders to gain their support, which would not help in reducing debt in the current scenario.

As of 24 November 2008, BHP shares increased by 5.4 percent to 1,034 pence on the London Stock Exchange, while Rio Tinto saw its shares dip by 36.73 percent to 1,555 pence.