China in auto power play
It might not shake up the industry just yet, but China's interest in Volvo and Saab is the start of something big in global autos, writes columnist Wei Gu. Commentary
Vedanta in $2.6bln deal to buy Asarco
NEW YORK (Reuters) - India's Vedanta Resources PLC (VED.L) has signed a $2.6 billion deal to buy the assets of bankrupt copper miner Asarco LLC, a lawyer close to the deal said on Friday.
Lawyers for Asarco declined comment as did a Vedanta representative. The deal is subject to court approval and could be topped by another bidder, but the lawyer, who asked not to be named, said that there no bids higher than Vedanta's were expected at this point.
Grupo Mexico SAB de CV (GMEXICOB.MX), Asarco's parent company has also been fighting to buy the company's assets at auction. Representatives for Grupo Mexico company were not immediately available for comment.
The Grupo Mexico unit that has been fighting to keep the Asarco assets had said in a court filing this week that the winning bid of $2.6 billion was made by somebody else and was subject to a $50 million break-up fee.
Asarco, which owns three copper mines in Arizona, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005 after it was sued for $1 billion over environmental cleanup and asbestos claims. It has been looking to sell its assets to emerge from bankruptcy.
(Additional reporting by David Schwartz in Phoenix and Euan Rocha in New York, writing by Sinead Carew)
