Rio Tinto Asked to Explain Trading Halt Timing In Alcan Deal

The Australian Stock Exchange asked mining giant Rio Tinto on Monday to explain the timing of its announcement of a $44 billion AUD ($38 billion USD) takeover of Canada's aluminum producer, Alcan. Rio Tinto called a Sydney trading halt on Thursday afternoon Australian time, but that was after The Wall Street Journal's website had carried references of both boards' approval of the bid and its price. The Sydney Morning Herald's Web site on Monday reported that Rio defended its decision not to call an faster halt to trading, saying that early media reports of the deal had been "general speculation and rumor only". Soon after the Journal's Web site story was posted, there was a spike in the price of stock in another potential takeover target, Alumina Ltd. Market speculation suggests that BHP Billiton, in response to the Rio Tinto-Alcan deal, might make a $70 billion play for U.S.-based Alcoa and Alumina, its partner in the global Alcoa Worldwide Alumina and Chemicals alliance. Like Rio Tinto, BHP is keen to grab aluminum operations to tap into growing global demand for the metal, particularly from China. Meanwhile, stock in Rio Tinto fell 4.2 percent in Australia on Monday as some analysts suggested its bid for Alcan might be too high.