The UK-based Vendanta Resources’ subsidiary Sterlite Industries on Thursday said it has raised its offer for the operating assets of bankrupt US copper mine Asarco by about $500 million.
The revised bid will be $2.1 billion in cash. While there is an increase in the cash consideration, Sterlite will receive about 72.5 per cent interest in the Litigation Trust, to be set up by the ‘Debtors in Possession’ (Asarco), at the closing of the transaction consequent to a US court judgment against Americas Mining Corporation, the company said.
The nine-year copper price participation note of $207.9 million and a put option granted to the Asbestos creditors against their share of 27 per cent litigation interest remain unchanged.
The move follows Grupo Mexico announcement that it would raise its offer to $2.2 billion in cash, in addition to a $280 million note, an increase of about $500 million over its previous offer.
Last week, Sterlite upped its offer to $1.58 billion in cash, up from $1.1 billion and a price participation note for copper for $208 million for which it had earlier offered $770 million.
Both Sterlite and Grupo Mexico are battling it out in a Texas court for control of Asarco, which sought court protection in 2005 following a worker strike and over $1 billion of environmental damage and asbestos claims.
Source: The Hindu Businessline