Rio Tinto has made an announcement rejecting the revised offer from BHPB.

A release said that “The boards of Rio Tinto have given careful consideration to BHP Billiton's pre conditional offers to acquire the whole of the issued share capital of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited. Under this proposal each Rio Tinto share would be exchanged for 3.4 BHP Billiton shares.”

It said “The boards have concluded that the pre conditional offers significantly undervalue Rio Tinto. Accordingly the boards have unanimously rejected BHP Billiton's pre conditional offers as not being in the best interests of shareholders.”

Mr Paul Skinner chairman of Rio Tinto's said "BHP Billiton's offers, while improved, still fail to recognize the underlying value of Rio Tinto's quality assets and prospects. Our plans are unchanged, and will remain so unless a proposal is made that fully reflects the value of Rio Tinto. Accordingly we are forging ahead with our strategy of operating and developing large scale, long life, low cost assets to generate significant value for shareholders".

Mr Tom Albanese said CEO of Rio Tinto said "Rio Tinto has an exceptional portfolio of assets and significant stand alone growth opportunities, particularly in iron ore, copper and aluminum. These assets and opportunities, combined with the company's strong track record for value delivery, project execution and successful exploration means Rio Tinto is very well positioned to take advantage of strong global markets and the growth in the resources industry, maximizing value for shareholders."