TORONTO — Shares of Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. were down more than 10 per cent after the company's special committee of independent directors said an offer by Rio Tinto International Holdings Ltd. to buy the shares in the company it does not already own is too low.
The special committee says Rio Tinto's offer of $34 per share does not fully and fairly reflect the fundamental and long-term strategic value of the company’s majority ownership of the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia.
Rio Tinto made its offer for the 49 per cent stake in Turquoise Hill it does not already own earlier this year in a proposal that valued the minority stake in company at about $3.4 billion.
Maryse Saint-Laurent, chair of the special committee, says a transaction at the price proposed by Rio Tinto would not fairly compensate minority shareholders for the fundamental, long-term value of the company’s interest in Oyu Tolgoi.
Turquoise Hill owns a 66 per cent stake in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia. Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi LLC, a Mongolian state-owned entity, holds the remaining 34 per cent interest.
Turquoise Hill shares were down $4.11 at $29.43 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2022.
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