CA - Turquoise Hill holders plan to lobby proxy firm ISS against Rio Tinto deal - report

Some of Turquoise Hill Resources ( NYSE: TRQ ) largest holders, who are against the miner's planned sale to Rio Tinto ( NYSE: RIO ), are said to plan to lobby the influential proxy firm ISS against the proposed deal.

Pentwater Capital and SailingStone Capital are expected in the coming days to lobby ISS to recommend that shareholders vote against the deal, according to a Dealreporter item on Wednesday. ISS is likely to make its recommendation in mid-to-late October, with shareholders scheduled to vote Nov. 1.

The holders are likely to raise the issue of Turquoise Hill's ( TRQ ) status as a tier 1 asset, arguing that the valuation is too low, according to the report, which cited one source familiar.

Pentwater Capital earlier this month said it doesn't plan to vote in favor of Rio Tinto's ( RIO ) C$43/share bid for the remainder of the miner it doesn't already own. Pentwater, which has a 14% stake, is the second largest holder of Turquoise Hill after Rio Tinto, which already owns more than 50% of TRQ. Turquoise ( TRQ ) holder SailingStone Capital has also said it doesn't support Rio Tinto's offer for TRQ.

Rio Tinto ( RIO ) CEO Jakob Stausholm last Tuesday reiterated to Bloomberg that the company will not make an improved offer to acquire full ownership of TRQ despite criticism from a top investor saying the offer undervalued the Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia.

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