据知情人士透露，英国-澳大利亚矿业巨头力拓(Rio Tinto)已经放弃了与中国铝业公司195亿美元的交易，这给中国通过收购获取关键原材料的雄心带来了重大打击。根据拟议的交易条款，中国国有的中铝公司将持有力拓18%的股份。力拓是全球第三大矿业公司，在澳大利亚和其他国家拥有丰富的铁矿石和铜矿资产。这桩交易原本还会延续中国公司的海外收购热潮，它们已斥资数十亿美元在全球收购矿业和能源资产。Bloomberg News时任中铝公司首席执行长的肖亚庆（左）今年2月在伦敦与力拓董事长斯金纳(Paul Skinner)举行了会谈。不过，在经济状况政治风向以及股东反对等诸多因素的综合影响下，这笔交易的失败命运已经注定；这一定程度上折射出外界，尤其是澳大利亚，对让中国拥有如此巨大自然资源储量后果的担忧情绪。若交易没有破产，预计澳大利亚监管部门会在几天后宣布对批准这桩交易的苛刻条件。据知情人士透露，自双方2月份达成协议以来，力拓股价大幅走高，导致交易条款对力拓来说变得越来越不划算。现在力拓必须找到新的现金来源，以偿付将于今年晚些时候和2010年到期的190亿美元债务。力拓希望向其现有股东以及原来的竞购者必和必拓(BHP Billiton)求助以获得资金偿还债务。知情人士称，力拓计划以配股方式向股东发行大约100亿美元新股。预计力拓还会宣布正与必和必拓进行深入谈判，可能出售力拓在澳大利亚的部分铁矿石资产。这两笔交易的筹资总额可能和放弃的中铝公司交易规模大体相当。中铝公司的投资失败给中国的海外扩展计划蒙上了一丝阴影。中国正计划动用巨额现金储备，扩大中国国有公司在全球的影响力，尤其是在自然资源领域。交易破产也为力拓动荡的两年划上了句号，必和必拓本有意收购力拓，但后来拟议交易宣告失败。力拓发表声明称，公司正在寻求一系列方案，以实现股东价值最大化，改善集团的资本结构，一些方案正处于深入推进阶段。力拓没有对此详细表述。必和必拓发言人拒绝对此置评。AFP/Getty Images一名工人在Marandoo地区检查铁矿石库存力拓此前之所以与中铝公司达成协议，是因为该公司需要现金支付10月份到期的89亿美元债务，这是力拓总计400亿美元债务负担中的一部分。按照拟议中的协议条款，中铝公司将投资收购力拓72亿美元的可转换债券，斥资123亿美元入股力拓的一些矿业资产，还将获得力拓董事会的两个席位。但这笔交易从一开始就面临着力拓股东们的反对，他们不满自己没有机会参与，担心力拓在市场底部低价抛售高价资产。随着力拓股价的回升，交易中的可转债条款对中铝公司变得越来越有利，力拓方面对交易的反对声音也在不断壮大。力拓董事长杜立石(Jan du Plessis)最近几周一直在全球奔波，和公司股东讨论中铝公司交易的问题。交易必须获得股东的同意。杜立石此前表示，他不会向股东提交一份他们不太可能批准的协议。中国对资源和能源资产需求的不断增长遭遇了巨大的政治阻力。一些批评人士指出，中国大举进入澳大利亚经济的关键领域威胁到了该国的国家安全。批评人士还表示，中铝会利用它在力拓的地位压低铁矿石价格，以推动中国的经济增长。中铝坚持说，收购力拓的股份纯粹是出于商业利益，因为它希望能摆脱对低迷的铝精炼市场的依赖，通过进入不同的金属和矿产领域实现业务的多元化。与力拓交易的流产将令中国痛苦地回忆起另一次进入自然资源领域的失败经历：四年前中海油(Cnooc Ltd.)曾试图收购美国加州联合石油公司(Unocal Corp.)。由于美国国会对中国政府与中海油的关系提出了质疑，这笔交易未能达成。那次失败仍会在中国国内有关海外收购的讨论中产生影响。在中海油失利后，中国转向了国内的发展，随后又将重点放在了中亚非洲和拉美国家，它在这些地区可以更容易赢得合同。最近，中国开始利用贷款作为获得资源的手段，同俄罗斯委内瑞拉哈萨克斯坦和巴西等国都签署了数十亿美元的石油协议。不过，中铝的情况与中海油有着根本不同。力拓是主动一方，至少在它处于困境时是如此。按中国企业的标准来说，中铝一直在非常努力地提高在海外的形象，在交易宣布后接受海外媒体的采访。这笔交易的夭折会在中国产生何种影响目前还不清楚，但对澳大利亚和其它主要发达国家不接受中国投资的感觉可能会带来另外的一个后果：促使中国在委内瑞拉或伊朗等与美国及其盟国存在敌对关系的国家不断扩张。与此同时，交易的失败使澳大利亚政府也躲过了一劫。澳大利亚外国投资审查委员会(Foreign Investment Review Board)原定于6月14日决定是否批准这项交易。该委员会已批准了几项与中国企业间的规模较小的交易，但中铝的交易因其规模而最具政治敏感性。如果批准这项交易，由讲一口流利汉语的陆克文(Kevin Rudd)领导的政府受到对中国过于软弱的指责。否决交易则可能得罪中国，而眼下澳大利亚经济同中国增长越来越紧密联系在一起。尽管力拓交易的失败是中国向全球扩张雄心的一次挫折，但其向海外扩张的步伐可能不会放缓，中国企业都在利用资产价格低迷和可以获得充足国内融资的时机收购全球的矿业和能源资产。Dealogic的数据显示，中国去年共宣布了520亿美元的海外收购，其中310亿美元是在自然资源领域。这比此前五年里中国宣布的所有资源交易总和还要多。中铝不会在这笔交易中空手而归。力拓将向中铝支付1.95亿美元的违约费，另外，中铝目前所持的力拓股票近期也出现了上涨。Dana Cimilluca / Shai Oster / Peter Stein相关阅读力拓正在推进一系列备选方案 2009-06-04中国钢协重申应更大幅度下调铁矿石价格 2009-06-02中国钢协：不会跟进铁矿石33%的价格降幅 2009-06-01中铝公司准备修改与力拓的交易条款 2009-05-21力拓告知中铝可能要对交易计划进行修改 2009-05-20 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', '601600.SH'));中国铝业股份有限公司（简称：中国铝业）英文名称：Aluminum Co. of China Ltd.总部地点：中国大陆上市地点：上海证交所股票代码：601600document.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', '2600.HK'));中国铝业股份有限公司英文名称：Aluminum Co. of China Ltd.总部地点：中国大陆上市地点：香港交易所股票代码：2600document.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', 'RTP'));力拓股份有限公司英文名称：Rio Tinto PLC (ADS)总部地点：英国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：RTPdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', 'ACH'));中国铝业股份有限公司英文名称：Aluminum Co. of China Ltd. (ADS)总部地点：中国大陆上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：ACHdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', 'BBL'));Bhp Billiton Plc (ads)总部地点：英国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：BBLdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', 'BHP'));BHP Billiton Ltd. (ADS)总部地点：澳大利亚(Australia)上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：BHPdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', 'RIO.AU'));Rio Tinto Ltd.总部地点：澳大利亚(Australia)上市地点：澳大利亚证券交易所股票代码：RIOdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', 'BHP.AU'));Bhp Billiton Ltd.总部地点：澳大利亚(Australia)上市地点：澳大利亚证券交易所股票代码：BHPdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', 'RIO.LN'));力拓股份有限公司英文名称：Rio Tinto Plc总部地点：英国上市地点：伦敦股票代码：RIOdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年06月05日08:58', 'BLT.LN'));BHP Billiton PLC总部地点：英国上市地点：伦敦股票代码：BLT
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto PLC has walked away from a $19.5 billion deal with Aluminium Corp. of China, people familiar with the matter said, dealing a high-profile setback to China's ambitions to buy access to crucial raw materials.The proposed deal would have given state-owned Aluminium Corp., known as Chinalco, an 18% stake in Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest miner and owner of rich iron-ore and copper mines in Australia and elsewhere. It also would have extended a spending spree in which Chinese companies have laid out billions of dollars to acquire mining and energy assets around the world.The transaction, however, was doomed by a cocktail of economics, politics and shareholder opposition, partly reflecting fears, especially in Australia, about the consequences of giving China direct access to such a huge trove of natural resources. The deal's collapse came just days before Australian regulators were expected to set tough conditions for their approval of it.A sharp rise in Rio's Tinto's share price since the deal was struck in February made it increasingly uneconomical for the London-based company, people familiar with the matter said.Now Rio Tinto must find another source of cash to pay off $19 billion in debt coming due later this year and in 2010. The company hopes to pay off the debt by turning to both its own shareholders and an old suitor, BHP Billiton Ltd.People familiar with the matter said Rio Tinto plans to issue roughly $10 billion in new stock to its shareholders in a transaction known as a rights issue. And the company is expected to announce it is in advanced talks with BHP over a sale of some of Rio Tinto's Australian iron-ore assets. Together, the two deals are expected to fetch roughly the same sum as the scuttled Chinalco deal.The collapse of Chinalco's investment casts a shadow over China's plan to use its vast reserves of cash to increase the global reach of its state-owned firms, particularly in the natural-resources sector. It also caps turbulent two years for Rio Tinton, which was pursued by BHP before that proposed marriage fell apart.Rio Tinto said in a statement that it is 'pursuing a range of options, some of which are at an advanced stage, for maximizing shareholder value and improving the group's capital structure.' It wasn't more specific.A BHP spokesman declined to comment.Rio Tinto struck the deal because it needed cash to pay back $8.9 billion of debt coming due in October, part of a debt load totaling almost $40 billion. The deal called for Chinalco to invest $7.2 billion in the company in the form of convertible bonds and take $12.3 billion of stakes in a group of its mining assets. It would have given Chinalco two board seats.But the deal faced opposition from the beginning from Rio Tinto shareholders who were upset they were given no chance to participate and worried the company was selling prized assets at the bottom of the market. The opposition grew as Rio Tinton shares recovered, making the convertible-bond portion of the deal increasingly attractive for Chinalco.Rio Tinto Chairman Jan du Plessis criss-crossed the globe in recent weeks discussing the Chinalco deal with shareholders, who would have needed to sign off on it. Mr. du Plessis had said he wouldn't submit a deal to them that they weren't likely to approve.China's growing appetite for resource and energy assets has triggered a sizable political backlash. Some critics have argued that a major Chinese presence in such a key sector of Australia's economy posed a threat to the nation's national security.Critics also charged that Chinalco would seek to leverage its position in Rio Tinto to get lower iron ore prices as a means to prop up China's economic growth. Chinalco insisted its bid was motivated purely by commercial interests, as it seeks to diversify away from its dependence on the weak aluminum-refining market into different metals and mining operations.The collapse of the Rio deal will bring up painful memories for China of another failed natural resources foray: offshore oil champion Cnooc Ltd.'s attempt to takeover Unocal Corp. of the U.S. four years ago. That deal fell apart after U.S. lawmakers raised concerns about the ties between China's government and its businesses.That failure still hangs over any discussion in China about overseas acquisitions. After the Cnooc fiasco, China turned inward and then focused on Central Asian, African and Latin American countries, where it could more easily win contracts. Lately, it has begun to use loans as a way to secure the resources it seeks, doing multibillion-dollar oil deals with Russia, Venezuela, Kazakhstan and Brazil, for example.Still, Chinalco's experience differs fundamentally from Cnooc. Rio Tinto was a willing suitor, at least when it was in a weakened state. Chinalco worked unusually hard, by Chinese company standards, to raise its overseas profile and grant foreign media access after the deal was announced.It's unclear yet how the deal's collapse will play in China, but a perception that Australia and other major developed countries have become unreceptive to the Chinese investments could have the unintended consequence of pushing China's expansion into countries such as Venezuela or Iran that have antagonistic relationships with the U.S. and its allies.Meanwhile, the failure of the deal has allowed Australia's government to dodge a bullet of sorts. The country's Foreign Investment Review Board was due to decide on the whether to approve the deal by June 14. While the board has already approved several smaller Chinese transactions, the Chinalco deal was the most politically sensitive of all, given its size.Approval would likely have raised accusations that the government, led by Kevin Rudd, a fluent Chinese speaker, was going soft on China. A veto would have risked damaging Australian ties with China at a time when the country's fortunes are increasingly linked to Chinese growth.Though clearly a setback to its global ambitions, the collapse of the Rio Tinto deal is unlikely to slow China's overseas push, as companies there seek to take advantage of depressed asset prices and their access to ample domestic financing to snap up mining and energy assets around the world.China announced foreign acquisitions totaling $52 billion last year, $31 billion of which were in natural resources, according to Dealogic. That's more than all China resource deals announced in the five previous years.Chinalco won't walk away from the deal empty-handed. Rio Tinto nwill owe it a $195 million break-up fee, on top of recent gains on its existing Rio stake.Dana Cimilluca / Shai Oster / Peter Stein
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto PLC has walked away from a $19.5 billion deal with Aluminium Corp. of China, people familiar with the matter said, dealing a high-profile setback to China's ambitions to buy access to crucial raw materials.The proposed deal would have given state-owned Aluminium Corp., known as Chinalco, an 18% stake in Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest miner and owner of rich iron-ore and copper mines in Australia and elsewhere. It also would have extended a spending spree in which Chinese companies have laid out billions of dollars to acquire mining and energy assets around the world.The transaction, however, was doomed by a cocktail of economics, politics and shareholder opposition, partly reflecting fears, especially in Australia, about the consequences of giving China direct access to such a huge trove of natural resources. The deal's collapse came just days before Australian regulators were expected to set tough conditions for their approval of it.A sharp rise in Rio's Tinto's share price since the deal was struck in February made it increasingly uneconomical for the London-based company, people familiar with the matter said.Now Rio Tinto must find another source of cash to pay off $19 billion in debt coming due later this year and in 2010. The company hopes to pay off the debt by turning to both its own shareholders and an old suitor, BHP Billiton Ltd.People familiar with the matter said Rio Tinto plans to issue roughly $10 billion in new stock to its shareholders in a transaction known as a rights issue. And the company is expected to announce it is in advanced talks with BHP over a sale of some of Rio Tinto's Australian iron-ore assets. Together, the two deals are expected to fetch roughly the same sum as the scuttled Chinalco deal.The collapse of Chinalco's investment casts a shadow over China's plan to use its vast reserves of cash to increase the global reach of its state-owned firms, particularly in the natural-resources sector. It also caps turbulent two years for Rio Tinton, which was pursued by BHP before that proposed marriage fell apart.Rio Tinto said in a statement that it is 'pursuing a range of options, some of which are at an advanced stage, for maximizing shareholder value and improving the group's capital structure.' It wasn't more specific.A BHP spokesman declined to comment.Rio Tinto struck the deal because it needed cash to pay back $8.9 billion of debt coming due in October, part of a debt load totaling almost $40 billion. The deal called for Chinalco to invest $7.2 billion in the company in the form of convertible bonds and take $12.3 billion of stakes in a group of its mining assets. It would have given Chinalco two board seats.But the deal faced opposition from the beginning from Rio Tinto shareholders who were upset they were given no chance to participate and worried the company was selling prized assets at the bottom of the market. The opposition grew as Rio Tinton shares recovered, making the convertible-bond portion of the deal increasingly attractive for Chinalco.Rio Tinto Chairman Jan du Plessis criss-crossed the globe in recent weeks discussing the Chinalco deal with shareholders, who would have needed to sign off on it. Mr. du Plessis had said he wouldn't submit a deal to them that they weren't likely to approve.China's growing appetite for resource and energy assets has triggered a sizable political backlash. Some critics have argued that a major Chinese presence in such a key sector of Australia's economy posed a threat to the nation's national security.Critics also charged that Chinalco would seek to leverage its position in Rio Tinto to get lower iron ore prices as a means to prop up China's economic growth. Chinalco insisted its bid was motivated purely by commercial interests, as it seeks to diversify away from its dependence on the weak aluminum-refining market into different metals and mining operations.The collapse of the Rio deal will bring up painful memories for China of another failed natural resources foray: offshore oil champion Cnooc Ltd.'s attempt to takeover Unocal Corp. of the U.S. four years ago. That deal fell apart after U.S. lawmakers raised concerns about the ties between China's government and its businesses.That failure still hangs over any discussion in China about overseas acquisitions. After the Cnooc fiasco, China turned inward and then focused on Central Asian, African and Latin American countries, where it could more easily win contracts. Lately, it has begun to use loans as a way to secure the resources it seeks, doing multibillion-dollar oil deals with Russia, Venezuela, Kazakhstan and Brazil, for example.Still, Chinalco's experience differs fundamentally from Cnooc. Rio Tinto was a willing suitor, at least when it was in a weakened state. Chinalco worked unusually hard, by Chinese company standards, to raise its overseas profile and grant foreign media access after the deal was announced.It's unclear yet how the deal's collapse will play in China, but a perception that Australia and other major developed countries have become unreceptive to the Chinese investments could have the unintended consequence of pushing China's expansion into countries such as Venezuela or Iran that have antagonistic relationships with the U.S. and its allies.Meanwhile, the failure of the deal has allowed Australia's government to dodge a bullet of sorts. The country's Foreign Investment Review Board was due to decide on the whether to approve the deal by June 14. While the board has already approved several smaller Chinese transactions, the Chinalco deal was the most politically sensitive of all, given its size.Approval would likely have raised accusations that the government, led by Kevin Rudd, a fluent Chinese speaker, was going soft on China. A veto would have risked damaging Australian ties with China at a time when the country's fortunes are increasingly linked to Chinese growth.Though clearly a setback to its global ambitions, the collapse of the Rio Tinto deal is unlikely to slow China's overseas push, as companies there seek to take advantage of depressed asset prices and their access to ample domestic financing to snap up mining and energy assets around the world.China announced foreign acquisitions totaling $52 billion last year, $31 billion of which were in natural resources, according to Dealogic. That's more than all China resource deals announced in the five previous years.Chinalco won't walk away from the deal empty-handed. Rio Tinto nwill owe it a $195 million break-up fee, on top of recent gains on its existing Rio stake.Dana Cimilluca / Shai Oster / Peter Stein
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