Rio Tinto may change Chinalco deal

Rio Tinto has told Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) that a planned US$19.5 billion deal between the companies may have to be altered, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. Rio has reportedly said that shareholder feedback could necessitate changes to the deal. However, Rio Chairman Jan du Plessis said that he does not intend to put the deal to to a shareholder vote if he had reason to believe it could be defeated. Chinalco Vice President Lu Youqing said no changes had been made to the agreement to date. The proposed alliance has met some resistance from shareholders and regulators. In part to bolster its case, Chinalco sponsored a report by the Australia China Business Council, which showed that a bilateral trade agreement between the two countries would boost Australia’s GDP by US$114 billion over 20 years.