Shares in Rio Tinto on Friday regained the steep losses it suffered during the week after the miner confirmed its commitment to the planned $A25.6bn tie-up with Chinese aluminium giant Chinalco. The company also said would continue to seek shareholder feedback on the proposed deal.
The statement was made in response to a query from the Australian Securities Exchange after the shares plunged on mounting speculation that the Anglo-Australian miner would scrap the Chinalco deal in favour of a deeply discounted rights issue to satisfy disgruntled shareholders who claim the terms now favour the Chinese state-owned company.
Rio shares plunged from A$71.60 on May 8 to A$58.95 on Thursday before rising 8 per cent on Friday despite some lingering market scepticism that another option will surface.