Rio Tinto CEO plays down M&A activity for 2019
24 DEC 2018
Rio Tinto [LON, ASX:RIO] Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques attempted to minimise expectations of M&A activity by the Anglo-Australian mining group next year, FT.com reported. Jacques said the company has a few non-core assets remaining but has already completed the majority of its divestments.
In the last two years the business has disposed of assets worth USD 11bn, the report noted.
The company has yet to decide how to spend USD 3.5bn it made from selling a stake in the Indonesian copper mine Grasberg but will make the decision before February’s scheduled annual results presentation, Jacques said. Analysts anticipate a shareholder payout rather than further acquisitions, the item reported.
The CEO went on to say that there are currently few beneficial opportunities for acquisitions, although the situation is being monitored. The uncertainty of the current environment means investors are less concerned with growth, he said.
Rio has recently been tipped as a potential acquirer of the USD 15bn US mining group Freeport-McMoRan [NYSE:FCX], the report noted.
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