Rio Tinto Better Off Independent From Chinalco - Fund Mgr

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- JP Morgan fund manager Ian Henderson Tuesday said he would prefer Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) not complete a proposed deal with Aluminum Corp of China, or Chinalco, but still reckons that most shareholders would approve the transaction. "I'm going to guess most shareholders would vote for it," Henderson said on the sidelines of the World Mining Investment Conference in London. "If you don't want to own the shares, you can sell them." Henderson, who manages the JPMF natural resources fund for JP Morgan Asset Management and is a Rio shareholder, said he was not expressing a house view on whether the fund would vote for or against the proposed deal. "My own view is that I would rather Rio maintained its separate nature as a company," he said. "Its fuzzier when you've got a shareholder of that nature." Chinalco is state-owned, and China is Rio's biggest customer for iron ore and other commodities. Under the proposed deal Chinalco would buy stakes in Rio assets and increase its holding to as much as 18% from 9%. The deal requires regulatory and shareholder approval.