Australia's Treasurer: Rio Tinto-BHP JV End A Commercial, Regulator Matter
October 17 2010 - 7:19PM
Dow Jones News
The termination of BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd.'s
(RTP) planned US$116 billion Pilbara iron ore deal is a commercial
matter for the companies involved and independent regulators, a
spokesman for Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said Monday.
"The Treasurer won't be offering a running commentary," the
spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.
The planned joint venture, which would have been responsible for
around a third of the global iron ore trade, had been facing
problems for months as regulators in Germany, the European Union,
Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Australia picked over the details
of the proposal.
-By Rachel Pannett, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-6208-0901;
rachel.pannett@dowjones.com