Mining giant BHP Billiton has launched a hostile $147.4 billion bid for rival miner Rio Tinto, ending months of speculation and setting the stage for the world's second-largest takeover.
BHP hopes to sell Rio shareholders its idea of creating a super company, supplying the lion's share of the world's industries with millions of tonnes of minerals, but runs the risk of igniting a bidding war with Rio's largest shareholder, state-run aluminium group Aluminum Corp of China
BHP sweetened its initial approach by 13 per cent, offering 3.4 of its shares for every Rio share after a November proposal of three shares for one failed to persuade the Rio board sell.