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Aluminum Corporation of China (“Chinalco”) confirms this morning the announcement made by
the Rio Tinto Group (“Rio Tinto”) concerning the withdrawal of the Rio Tinto boards’
recommendation for the transaction announced jointly by Chinalco and Rio Tinto on February
12 and the termination of the Co‐operation and Implementation Agreement signed on that
date.
Mr Xiong, President of Chinalco commented:
“It is with great regret that we are confirming the announcement made by Rio Tinto this
morning concerning the withdrawal of the Rio Tinto boards’ recommendation of the transaction
announced on February 12. In recent weeks Chinalco has worked hard to respond constructively
and engage with Rio Tinto to make appropriate amendments to the transaction terms
announced in February to better reflect the changed market background and feedback from
shareholders and regulators. As a result, we are very disappointed with this outcome. We
continue to believe our proposal presented an outstanding value‐creating opportunity for all Rio
Tinto shareholders and would have provided a strong platform for a long term strategic
partnership between the two companies.”
“Chinalco will continue to explore opportunities to advance its strategic objectives and in the
meantime will monitor developments at Rio Tinto as the company’s current largest single
shareholder.”
“We note the announcement of the joint venture in the Pilbara between Rio Tinto and BHP
Billiton and will continue to monitor developments in relation to this project.” |