Credit Suisse is among the banks helping Rio Tinto fend off a takeover which would be the second- largest global M&A deal on record, after advising the UK-listed miner on a Canadian acquisition last year.
Rival Australian miner BHP Billiton said it recently wrote to the Rio Tinto board proposing to buy the company at a premium, but the offer was rejected. BHP Billiton said it has written to Rio Tinto again and intends to continue to seek an opportunity to meet and discuss its proposal.
Rio Tinto said it has turned down an offer from BHP Billiton in which each Rio Tinto share would be exchanged for three BHP Billiton shares, valuing the deal at $146bn (€99bn).
The previous largest M&A deal in the mining sector was Rio Tinto's $43bn acquisition of rival Alcan in Canada which completed in July, according to Dealogic, the investment banking research provider.
Credit Suisse, along with Detusche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Société Générale, loaned $40bn to Rio Tinto to finance the takeover of Alcan. At the time, it was the fourth-biggest loan for acquisition financing, according to Dealogic.
Deutsche Bank was the lead debt arranger to Rio Tinto and was lead adviser to the company along with CIBC World Markets. Credit Suisse and Rothschild also advised Rio Tinto.
Deutsche Bank missed out on Rio Tinto's defense against BHP Billiton. The miner hired Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Macquarie, Morgan Stanley and Rothschild, while Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Australian boutique Gresham Partners are working for BHP Billiton.
While fighting the takeover, Rio Tinto said it has decided to explore options for the sale of some or all of Rio Tinto Energy America, the second-largest US coal producer by tonnage.(financialinfo)
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