Credit Suisse poaches Lehman metals/mining banker

(Reuters) - He will be part of Credit Suisse's European energy group and
report to Jeremy Fletcher, chairman of the bank's EMEA metals
and mining unit. He is slated to start Sept. 3 and will be based
in London.




Tory, who also previously worked as an attorney, has advised
Anglo-American, Glencore International and Rio Tinto .
Lehman was advising Alcoa on a possible bid for Alcan
before the Canadian company agreed to be bought by Rio Tinto.


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Asian Stocks Rise the Most in Three Months on Takeovers; Posco, BHP Climb

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose the most in three
months, spurred by Rio Tinto Group's $38 billion bid for Alcan
Inc. and higher sales at U.S. retailers.

Posco surged by the most in four years and BHP Billiton Ltd.
climbed following Rio's offer. Samsung Electronics Co. jumped
after reporting better-than-expected earnings and a newspaper
said billionaire investor Carl Icahn may be planning a hostile
bid. South Korea's Kospi index, the region's best performer in
the past three months, advanced 2.8 percent to a new high.


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Rio's Albanese plans grand union

(Reuters) - Rio , the world's second biggest miner, unveiled an agreed $38 billion takeover of Canada's Alcan Inc on Thursday to create the world's biggest aluminum producer.




London-based Albanese, 50 in September, is a U.S. citizen who grew up in New Jersey and graduated in mineral economics and mining engineering from the University of Alaska.


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UPDATE 1-Alcan says lined up bidders for packaging assets

(Reuters) - "We have several people who have provided indicative values
to us," Dick Evans, president and chief executive of Alcan,
told Reuters in an interview.




Evans said Alcan had been very near a decision on selling
its packaging group, which has annual revenues of some $6
billion, before Alcoa Inc. made a $28.8 billion hostile
cash-and-stock offer for Alcan on May 7.


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Copper steady on tight supply, global woes cap price

(Reuters) - Falling stocks and a strike in the world's biggest copper producer Chile kept prices steady on Thursday, although global economic concerns dragged on the market.

Mining equities were boosted by news of the latest merger announcement that Rio Tinto had agreed to buy Canadian aluminium giant Alcan Inc. for $38.1 billion, creating the world's biggest aluminium firm.


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European stocks rebound, M&A fever boosts miners

(Reuters) - European stocks rose in early trade on Thursday, as optimism over U.S. corporate results and mergers and acquisitions fever in the mining sector helped the market reverse a two-day losing streak.

Rio Tinto said it has agreed to pay $38.1 billion for Canadian aluminium group Alcan, sending the mining sector sharply higher.


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Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Rises, Led by BHP, Rio on Metals Rally; Banks Drop

(Bloomberg) -- Australian stocks rose, rebounding
from two-days of losses. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group led
mining shares higher after metals such as copper and zinc gained,
and on a report Rio is poised to bid for Alcan Inc.

``I would bet both BHP and Rio are running the numbers over
Alcan, and maybe other companies, with a view to making a bid,''
said Richard Wallace, who helps manage $138 million at Wallace
Funds Management in Sydney. ``As an investor you don't want to
stand in the way of a train, so you'll see plenty of buying of the
shares ahead of a potential announcement.''


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Alcoa Q2 profit slips; extends Alcan offer

(Reuters) - Alcoa also extended its $28.6 billion offer to acquire Canadian rival Alcan Inc by a month. The offer, which has been rejected by Alcan, was due to expire on Tuesday.




Alcoa said earnings from continuing operations were $716 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with $749 million, or 85 cents per share, in the same quarter of last year. Revenue rose to $8.1 billion from $7.8 billion.


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Alcoa gets new antitrust request on Alcan bid

(Reuters) - Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Alain Belda said in a statement the information request was "a normal and expected part of the regulatory process" and that Alcoa had a detailed roadmap to resolve the competition issues.




Earlier this week, Alcoa said it could raise its $28.6 billion offer for Alcan, even as the Canadian company rebuffed requests for talks.


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UPDATE 1-Alcan rebuffs Alcoa request for talks on bid

(Reuters) - Alcan's chief executive, Richard Evans, told Alcoa CEO
Alain Belda in a letter that Alcan had no reason for any
further discussion with Alcoa "at this time."




In an exchange of letters late last month included in a
filing by Alcoa with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, Belda had offered to meet Evans in Montreal to
discuss Alcoa's offer, which Alcan has rejected.


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Canadian Stocks Slip as Investors Await Merger Developments: Encana Falls

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell as investors
awaited further developments on the potential takeovers of two of
the nation's biggest companies, Alcan Inc. and BCE Inc. Such energy
companies as EnCana Corp., among the biggest advancers yesterday,
declined.

Investors may decide to lock in gains today, said Fred
Ketchen, managing director of equity trading at Scotia McLeod Inc.
in Toronto.


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BHP eyeing Alcan, sources say

(Reuters) - The emergence of BHP as a possible white knight in the face of Alcoa Inc.'s $28.7 billion hostile offer for Alcan came as Alcoa's stock hit a six-year high on a report that the U.S. aluminum company, and not its Canadian rival Alcan, was a target of BHP. Alcoa stock eased to close less than 1 percent higher.




The sources told Reuters that BHP, which trades in Australia and London, has hired Merrill Lynch & Co. to explore the possibility of buying Alcan, but stressed that such a move is not definite.


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UPDATE 1-Alcoa CEO says would hate to raise bid for Alcan

(Reuters) - "At the moment, we think this is a full price," he said,
speaking on the sidelines of a JP Morgan conference in New
York. "I'd hate to have to go higher than that at this point."




Alcan has rejected Alcoa's offer, saying the price is too
low.


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Hindalco Shares Advance on Speculation Alcan May Make a Takeover Offer

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Hindalco Industries Ltd.,
India's biggest aluminum producer, rose, poised for the biggest
gain in almost seven years, amid speculation the company may
become a takeover target.

Alcan Inc. may partner Sterlite Industries Ltd. to make a
bid for Hindalco in an attempt to fend off a hostile takeover
attempt by New York-based Alcoa Inc., the Times of India said
today in a column. ``We do not comment on such wild rumors,''
said Pragnya Ram, Hindalco's spokeswoman in Mumbai.


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Alcan shares surge as it rejects Alcoa bid

(Reuters) - Alcan stock rose C$4.28 to a new high of C$92.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange and $4.86 to $85.89 on the New York Stock Exchange.




John Redstone, analyst at Desjardins Securities, thinks there is a 50 percent chance of a counter-bid for Alcan, especially as Alcoa's offer would likely take several months to gain approval from anti-trust authorities.


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US stock indexes rise in takeover-driven rally

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a report that Canada's Alcan Inc. may force rival aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. into a bidding war, suggesting corporate takeover attempts and buyouts will continue to drive stocks higher.

Adding to positive sentiment was discount retailer Target Corp., which reported earnings that beat Wall Street estimates and buoyed the retail sector. For details, see ID:nN23265483.


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U.S. Stocks Gain on Earnings, M&A; Target, Medtronic, Alcoa Lead Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose after Target Corp.
and Medtronic Inc. reported profit that beat analysts' estimates
and investors speculated that Alcoa Inc. is a takeover target.

Retailers led gains in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index after
Target, the second-largest U.S. discount chain, said cost cutting
boosted earnings. Medtronic, the biggest maker of electronic
heart devices, had the second-biggest advance in the S&P 500.
Alcoa climbed to an almost six-year high after Alcan Inc. said
the aluminum producer may have made its $24.7 hostile takeover
offer to fend off a bid itself.


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Alcan rejects takeover by Alcoa

(Reuters) - Alcan said shareholders should not tender shares to the Alcoa offer, which it said does not adequately reflect the value of Alcan's assets, strategic capabilities and growth prospects.




"Furthermore, it is clear to us that Alcan and Alcoa have fundamentally different approaches and track records in creating shareholder value. We are convinced that the proposed Alcoa-led acquisition of Alcan is not the right choice for our shareholders," Alcan's chairman, Yves Fortier, said in a release.


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Alcoa CFO calls bid for Alcan fair

(Reuters) - While he was addressing the summit, Alcan announced its board had recommended shareholders reject the unsolicited $27.6 billion takeover offer. McLane declined to comment on specifics of the rejection until he could review it with fellow Alcoa executives.




For summit blog: http://summitnotebook.reuters.com/)


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