Mining giant Rio Tinto, which owns a majority stake in Turquoise Hill, reached an agreement in principle on Thursday to buy a 49% stake in Turquoise Hill for C$43 per share.
California-based SailingStone Capital Partners, which has a 2.16% stake in Turquoise Hill, said the cash offer for the stake does not “adequately compensate” minority shareholders for their economic interest in Oyu Tolgoi.
The Oyu Tolgoi project, located south of Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, is the largest known copper and gold deposit in the world.
The agreement to purchase the remaining stake in Turquoise Hill would give Rio Tinto a 66% stake in the Oyu Tolgoi project, with the remaining 34% held by the Mongolian government.
“Rio Tinto holds its stake in Turquoise Hill on Rio’s balance sheet at $41 per share, the equivalent of C$56 per share at current exchange rates and at a premium of more than 30% over the revised offer,” it said. SailingStone. (https://prn.to/3wPZTNQ)
“As large, long-term owners of Turquoise Hill, we are not interested in selling our stake at a massive discount to intrinsic value.”
Private investment firm Pentwater Capital Management, a shareholder of Turquoise Hill with a 10% stake, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Rio Tinto’s latest bid.
Pentwater had previously
Viously rejected Rio’s initial offer of C$34 per share proposed in mid-March. https://reut. rs/3wPdN2A