Turquoise Hill owner rejects Rio offer

SailingStone Capital Partners, the fifth-biggest investor in Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ), has declared that it will vote against a takeover bid from Rio Tinto.

In Australia, Turquoise Hill Resources has stakes in mines containing gold, uranium, copper and the world’s highest grade molybdenum and rhenium.

The special committee of independent directors at Turquoise Hill recently recommended that minority shareholders accept Rio’s proposal to acquire the 49 per cent of Turquoise Hill it does not already own for a price of $C43 ($48.15) per share.

The offer will be voted on at a special meeting of shareholders currently scheduled for November 1.

SailingStone said it believes that the bid significantly undervalues TRQ and attempts to take advantage of the “material governance failures created by Rio Tinto and the Turquoise Hill independent directors over the last decade”.

SailingStone Capital Partners, a division of Pickering Energy Partners, provides investment solutions in the global natural resource space with a specific focus on the industrial businesses, commodities and infrastructure assets which will enable the energy transition. It manages concentrated, public and private equity strategies for institutional investors.

Australian Mining.