In a deal that could worth about $2.4 billion, Rio Tinto Ltd.
may sell its non-U.S. packaging assets to Australian packaging group Amcor Ltd., according to Reuters, which cited several sources including one with direct knowledge of Amcor's talks with Rio.
Last week, an equities director at Aberdeen Asset Management said that Rio's relatively high exposure to aluminum was a drag and that it's now about getting
the most out of their assets. He was right.
Earlier in the week, Rio shrank some of the $38 billion of debt it mostly took on from a 2007 purchase of of Canada's Alcan Inc. by
selling Alcan Packaging Food Americas to Bemis Co. of Neenah, Wis., for $1.2 billion.
Reuters notes that Amcor, which is expected to fund the purchase through a mix of equity and debt, first confirmed it was in talks to buy some Rio assets in February. There are likely more divestitures to come as the Australian mining giant tries to recover from the economic downturn, which tanked commodity prices.
Minus these deals, after a
50-50 joint venture with BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP) and a $15.2 billion rights issue, Rio's debt would stand at about $23.2 billion.
And off the beaten path, a Wall Street Journal report shows Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said that Stern Hu (an Australian national), general manger in China of Rio's iron ore division, has been
accused of stealing state secrets and could be charged along with three other Rio employees (who are Chinese citizens) that have been detained by Chinese authorities since Sunday.
Rio's relationship with China has been considered strained since the mining giant scrapped a $19.5 billion deal with Aluminum Corp. of China in favor of the BHP JV and the rights issue. -
Baz HiralalGo to the story
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