China's largest steelmaker Sinosteel said it now owns the majority stake in Australian iron ore group Midwest after it offered AUD6.38 per share in cash.
Sinosteel paid a total of AUD1.36 bn for a controlling stake of 50.97
per cent in Midwest, the company said in a statement. This second offer
was backed by the board of the Australian company after a first offer
was turned down.
Australia's Murchison also made a bid to up its 10 per cent
stakeholding. Australian media reports that it is likely that neither
Murchison nor the third-largest stakeholder, Harbinger Capital
Partners, will accept the Chinese offer for their stakes, which would block Sinosteel's plan to acquire 100 per cent of Midwest.
Sinosteel is apparently also seeking Australian government approval to
acquire a large stake in Murchison to accelerate the building of mines and a port to export resources to China, Australia's The Age writes.
The takeover is "China's first successful hostile acquisition" Chinese
media claims, pointing out that earlier attempts by Chinese corporations
to acquire large overseas resources companies failed. In 2005, China
National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) withdrew its bid for Unocal under pressure from the U.S. House of Representatives.
News & Interviews 
(0 vote)
