Mining Giant Offers To Buy Canada's Alcan

Rio Tinto, mining giant in Sydney, Australia, offered to buy Canadian aluminum company Alcan Inc. for $38.1 billion in cash. This was a friendly takeover that tops a hostile bid by US based Alcoa. The bid exceeds a $28 billion offer of cash and stock from Alcoa that Alcan's board rejected in May, and would create the largest aluminum company. Alcoa, Inc. withdrew its offer on Thursday after being outbid. In a joint statement Rio Tinto and Alcan said the Anglo-Australian was offering $101 a share for Alcan and that Alcan's board was recommending the deal to shareholders.