Inova Resources Ltd. (IVA), an Australian minerals exploration company controlled by Rio Tinto Group, rose the most in two months after Shanxi Donghui Coal Coking & Chemicals Co.’s A$160 million ($143 million) takeover bid.
Inova gained 24 percent, the most since June 6, to 21 cents at 10:53 a.m. time in Sydney trading. Shanxi Donghui yesterday made a conditional offer of 22 cents a share, 29 percent more than its previous close.
Buying Inova, formerly called Ivanhoe Resources Australia Ltd., would give Shanxi Donghui copper as well as molybdenum deposits and processing facilities in Australia. Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TRQ), the Rio unit that owns about 56 percent of Inova, said it had provisionally agreed to sell about a 14.9 percent stake in the company to the bidder.
The offer is subject to a minimum acceptance condition of 51 percent. Inova’s independent board committee is assessing the offer, with UBS AG and Corrs Chambers Westgarth advising. Rio gained the stake in Inova in 2011 when it won control of Turquoise Hill, owner of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.
