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Rio Tinto PLC on Monday reiterated its proposal to acquire full-ownership of Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd for C$34 per share, around $25.48.
The announcement comes after Turquoise Hill said earlier in the day that it was no longer considering Rio Tinto's takeover offer.
The Canadian mining firm said Rio Tinto's offer did not ‘fully and fairly reflect the fundamental and long-term strategic value’ of its majority ownership in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia.
As a result, the company said it was not in the best interest of the company or its shareholders to support Rio Tinto's proposal.
Rio Tinto said it was ‘disappointed’ by the decision and asserted that the terms of its proposal would deliver ‘compelling value’ for Turquoise Hill.
The FTSE 100 miner said the cash offer for the remaining 49% stake represented a 32% premium to the firm's closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange at the time of the offer.
It also said the price represented a 78% premium to its closing price on January 24, the day before an agreement between the government of Mongolia, Turquoise Hill and Rio Tinto that enabled commencement of the underground mine at Oyu Tolgoi.
The Oyu Tolgoi mine is expected to produce around 500,000 tonnes of copper annually on average from 2028 to 2036, and is likely to become the fourth largest copper mine in the world by 2030.
Rio Tinto said it remains ‘committed as ever’ to the long-term success of Oyu Tolgoi.
Shares in Rio Tinto were down 1.6% at 4,764.33 pence on Monday morning in London.
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