BHP faces anti-trust hurdles worldwide

June 26 (Reuters) - BHP Billiton , the world's No.1 miner, faces antitrust hurdles around the world in its $170 billion bid for global mining peer Rio Tinto. BHP's bid includes a pre-condition that it must gain approval from regulators in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa before sending out offer documents to shareholders. It has said it expects those approvals by the end of the year. Here is information about some of the main regulators that will be looking at the implications of an all-share offer that would create a mega mining group controlling more than a third of the world's seaborne trade in iron ore, the main raw material for steelmaking. EUROPEAN UNION The European Commission has until July 4 to complete its initial one-month investigation. At the end of that period it could clear the deal, delay its decision two weeks to consider possible remedies to fix any competitive problems, or choose to open an in-depth investigation. The in-depth investigation would last 90 working days -- about four months -- and could be extended a few additional weeks.Most cases are cleared within a month, but experts consider that a large, complex, controversial deal such as BHP/Rio is virtually certain to go to second stage. The Commission can also "stop the clock" on its deliberations for an indefinite period to give it time to ask BHP for more information. If the Commission decides the deal would be anti-competitive, it may issue a "statement of objections", formally laying out its concerns and demanding "remedies" from BHP. Remedies can be asset disposals or "behavioural" agreements aimed at increasing competition. AUSTRALIA The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) started reviewing BHP's bid on June 6, with a plan to announce its findings on Aug. 13. But it suspended the timeline on June 17 after asking BHP for more information. The ACCC has also posted a call for opinions from interested parties on its website at http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/803323/fromItemId/750991 The deadline for submissions is July 1. It has invited comments on potential issues in iron ore, thermal and metallurgical coal, aluminium, alumina, bauxite, copper, gold uranium and "mining inputs". For each commodity, it wanted opinions on how many alternative suppliers there were and how much the takeover would affect prices. In the case of iron ore and coal, it asked whether the merged entity's control of infrastructure such as power, railways and ports could keep rivals from expanding or entering the market. In bauxite and alumina, the ACCC asked whether BHP's Worsley refinery was restricting Rio's ability to compete in producing bauxite and supplying alumina. CHINA Some lawyers say the wild card in the process could be China, the world's biggest steelmaker which consumes about half of the world's iron ore produced each year. Chinese officials and steelmakers have voiced opposition to the takeover. BHP told Reuters [ID:nL18572189] that it would file documents with Chinese regulators before the end of June. China is introducing a new antitrust law from Aug. 1. Although Beijing has not yet published details of how the law will work, Chinese authorities have been closely shadowing the European Commission process and are expected to use a similar approach. Under the draft Anti-Monopoly Law, authorities will review any transaction involving companies with a combined Chinese market share of 25 percent. But the definition of "market share" has been left open to interpretation. China is heavily dependent on commodity imports, and BHP and Rio are major suppliers, but several lawyers said they thought Chinese authorities would be reluctant to launch such a major antitrust review as one of their first ever cases. JAPAN BHP has said it expects to file with anti-trust regulators in Japan, where steelmakers have joined the chorus opposing the deal. Japan's Fair Trade Commission said said the proposed merger is subject to the country's anti-trust regulations and the FTC has the right to issue orders to stop business integration if they judged a merger would infringe upon Japan's law. FTC said, however, it does not have the power to enforce the law in foreign countries. UNITED STATES, OTHERS BHP has said it already has filed with anti-trust authorities in the United States, Canada and South Africa and plans future applications in Taiwan and Korea. ** For 'ANALYSIS-BHP antitrust fight to focus on iron ore' please double click on [ID:nL26704703]. (Compiled by Tom Miles in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Eric Onstad in London, David Lawsky in Brussels, Lucy Hornby in Beijing, Yuko Inoue in Tokyo; Editing by Louise Ireland) Source: Reuters