TRQ - Rio Tinto to acquire remainder of Turquoise Hill Resources

• Mining giant Rio Tinto ( NYSE: RIO ) to acquire all of the remaining shares of Turquoise Hill Resources ( NYSE: TRQ ) with that company’s board unanimously recommending the C$43 per share cash offer.
• Rio Tinto said on Tuesday that Turquoise Hill's directors had unanimously recommended that minority shareholders vote in favour of the transaction and have already agreed to sell their own stakes.
• The group stated the transaction would deliver "significant value" to Turquoise Hill's minority shareholders, with the certainty of an all-cash offer of C$43 per share - a premium of 67% to Turquoise Hill's closing price of C$25.68 on 11 March.
• Rio has agreed to provide Turquoise Hill with secured short-term liquidity during the transaction period of up to $1.1-billion, subject to certain pre-conditions, which would need to be repaid from an equity raising from shareholders in the first half of 2023 if the transaction is not approved by shareholders.
• Turquoise Hill estimated that it will require $3.6B in additional funding to complete the project, which it aims to address through a funding plan - including renegotiating debt repayment dates.
• Pursuant to the closure, Rio Tinto will hold a 66% interest in Oyu Tolgoi with the remaining 34% owned by Mongolia.
• A special meeting of shareholders of Turquoise Hill to approve the transaction is expected as early as possible in the fourth quarter of 2022 and, if approved, the transaction is expected to close shortly thereafter.
• Earlier Thursday a Canaccord analyst said that Rio's increased TRQ offer is likely to win shareholder approval.
• A Dealreporter item last week said that a number of large holders of Turquoise Hill Resources ( TRQ ) were prepared to oppose Rio Tinto's ( RIO ) earlier revised offer for the company.

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