Rio Tinto’s US$3.3b bid wins over Turquoise Hill board, AMP loses control of key trust and James Hardie gains new CEO

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has successfully won over the board of Canada’s Turquoise Hill Resources with its takeover offer of US$3.3 billion (A$4.84 billion) to acquiring the company’s remaining 49% stake.

The revised US$3.3 billion offer trumps the US$2.7 billion previously on the table, which the Canadian miner turned away.

Acquiring full ownership of Turquoise Hill gives Rio 66% of the Oyu Tolgoi copper operation, in Mongolia which aims to become one of the world’s top five producers by 2030.

The Mongolian Government holds the remaining 34% in the asset.

Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said the company remains committed to work with the Mongolian Government in helping to realise Oyu Tolgoi’s full potential.

“This agreement represents another significant step following the recent commencement of the underground operations, and will simplify governance, improve efficiency and create greater certainty of funding for the long-term success of the Oyu Tolgoi project,” he said.

James Hardie Industries

Building materials company James Hardie Industries (ASX: JHX) has appointed Aaron Erter as its new chief executive officer, eight months after the role was made vacant when Jack Truong was fired over “work-related interactions”.

Mr Erter joins James Hardie from American consumer and industrial cleaning products manufacturer PLZ Corp, after serving as chief executive officer for the past two years.

He also held previous roles as global president of Sherwin Williams and the Performance Coatings Group.

Mr Erter is considered a highly experienced executive with a background in leading large enterprises in the consumer and industrial sectors.

James Hardie chairman Mike Hammes said Mr Erter was an ideal fit for the company.

“Mr Erter is an exceptional leader and we’re excited for him to join James Hardie,” he said.

“Aaron has more than two decades of experience leading large and complex industrial and consumer businesses, brings a wealth of experience and passion to James Hardie and will be supported by our highly capable leadership team.”

ANZ

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) has set up a US$711 million lending facility for Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution, a joint venture which makes batteries for electric vehicles (EV) in Indonesia.

ANZ confirmed the news on Friday with the announcement a 10-year Korea Trade Insurance Corporation-backed term loan facility was struck for HLI Green Power.

South Korea-based LG Energy and Hyundai commenced construction on an Indonesia-based US$1.1 billion EV battery making facility last year, which will utilise the nation’s rich nickel reserves amid mounting demand for cleaner fuel sources.

ANZ said Indonesia was gaining attention globally as a significant hub for EV batteries as “it is home to the world’s largest nickel reserves”.

Demand for EVs is accelerating – driven surging demand for cleaner fuel sources across the globe as part of a worldwide push to meet net zero.

Evolution Mining

Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) has promoted Lawrie Conway, the company’s existing finance director and chief financial officer to take over as chief executive officer and managing director.

Mr Conway will officially take-up the role on 1 January 2023.

Founder of Evolution and current chief executive officer Jake Klein has signed a new contract with the company until the end of 2024, where he will continue to serve as executive chair.

Mr Conway said the opportunity to steer Evolution in his new role is a privilege.

“It is a real privilege to be appointed to the role of chief executive officer and managing director as Evolution moves into the next phase of our journey to be a premier, global gold company.

“Evolution has a highly talented workforce committed to safely delivering our plans from a high-quality portfolio of assets.”

Mr Klein said the time was right for a leadership transition.

“Evolution has transformed its portfolio of operations over the past few years and given the structure and scale of the business, now is the right time to appoint a chief executive officer and Lawrie is the ideal candidate,” he said.

“The creation of this role will allow us to continue to deliver on both Evolution’s strategic ambitions and operational performance and establishes the organisational structure for the next chapter of growth and development.”

Mr Klein said Mr Conway will help the company implement its strategy to evolve into “a premier, global gold company”.

AMP

Financial services company AMP Limited’s (ASX: AMP) share price dipped on Friday after a trading halt led to the company confirming it had lost control of the AMP Capital Retail Trust (ACRT).

The company said it respects the decision and will continue to work to transfer the management rights.

Despite the announcement, AMP, which resumed trading, said it does not impact the sale to Dexus, which is expected to now be completed in November 2022.

However, with ACRT exiting the platform, it means AMP’s potential earn-out from Collimate Capital’s real estate and infrastructure business has dropped to just $20 million.

The maximum of assets under management that will transition to Dexus is now estimated at $18 billion.