BHP's Kloppers Says His Rio Offer `Attractive' Amid Uncertainty

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- BHP Billiton Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Marius Kloppers said his hostile $111 billion bid for rival Rio Tinto Group was more attractive amid the current ``uncertainty'' in global financial markets. "We view this transaction, if anything, is more attractive under these lightly more uncertain circumstances," Kloppers said in an interview in Canberra. "It's a deal for all seasons. In difficult times like this, people value cost savings, synergies and cash flow benefits."About $3.6 trillion of market value was erased from global stocks this week before yesterday, triggered by the bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Rio's shares in Sydney this week traded at a record discount to BHP's takeover bid, signaling concern amongst investors the world's largest mining acquisition may fail. "The way the Rio Tinto share has traded compared to ours underscores our point quite well," Kloppers said. "We find it very difficult to see, at that 45 percent premium uplift we have offered Rio Tinto shareholders, that they can do that on a stand alone basis."Kloppers said global demand for BHP resources was still "very, very robust." --By Gemma Daley