Timeline: Major acquisitions by Xstrata since 2002

(Reuters) - Lonmin Plc (LMI.L), the world's third-biggest platinum producer, rejected an unsolicited takeover bid worth $10 billion from mining group Xstrata (XTA.L) on Wednesday, saying the 33-pound per share cash offer undervalued the company.

Xstrata has grown from a small Swiss producer of steel alloys in the late 1990s to the fifth-biggest mining group by market value through a string of acquisitions.

Following is a chronology of the Anglo-Swiss group's major acquisitions since March 2002, when Xstrata plc was created through an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange:

March 2002 - Xstrata acquires Glencore's GLEN.UL Australian and South African coal assets for $2.5 billion, becoming the world's largest exporter of thermal coal.

January 2003 - Xstrata buys the German Nordenham zinc smelter from Metaleurop for $100 million.

June 2003 - Xstrata completes the acquisition of MIM Holdings, an Australian metals and mining group which produces coking coal, copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold assets, for $2.9 billion.

April 2004 - Xstrata purchases 45 percent of the Cook Colliery from Centennial Coal Company Ltd CEY.AX for $6.35 million, increasing its stake in the Queensland-based coking coal mine to 95 percent.

August 2005 - Xstrata buys 19.9 percent of Canada's Falconbridge Limited for $1.7 billion to add nickel to its suite of commodities and expand into North American markets.

October 2005 - Xstrata acquires the remaining 80 percent of Falconbridge, with the total cost of the takeover amounting to $18.8 billion.

March 2006 - Xstrata acquires a one-third stake in the Colombian coal operation, Cerrejon, from Glencore International, for $1.7 billion.

June 2006 - Xstrata buys Tintaya, Peru's third-biggest copper mine, from BHP Billiton (BLT.L) for $811 million.

August 2007 - Xstrata acquires South Africa's Eland Platinum in a $1 billion takeover in a bid to tap booming demand for the metal from Asia.

August 2008 - Xstrata unveils a $10 billion takeover bid for the world's third-biggest platinum producer Lonmin, aiming to diversify its business from industrial metals such as copper.

-- South Africa-focused Lonmin swiftly rejects the bid.

Sources: Reuters; www.xstrata.com;

(Writing by Jijo Jacob, Editing by David Cutler and Erica Billingham)