2008年3月18日 必和必拓曾寻求澳大利亚总理协助收购力拓

上月，在中国铝业公司(Aluminium Corporation of China，简称中铝)成功收购力拓(Rio Tinto) 9%股份的消息传出几个小时后，必和必拓(BHP Billiton)的高层就飞往堪培拉，与澳大利亚总理陆克文(Kevin Rudd)进行了秘密会谈。在全球最大的并购案之一中，必和必拓打算收购力拓。

BHP Billiton chiefs flew to Canberra last month for a confidential meeting with the Australian prime minister hours after it emerged a Chinese group had amassed a 9 per cent holding in Rio Tinto, which BHP wants to buy in one of the world’s largest takeover bids.

昨日，澳大利亚媒体首次报道了必和必拓董事长安德(Don Argus)及首席执行官马利尤斯?科劳珀斯(Marius Kloppers)与陆克文会谈的细节，澳大利亚总理办公室随后对此予以确认。

Details of the meeting between Don Argus, BHP’s chairman, Marius Kloppers, the chief executive, and Kevin Rudd were reported yesterday for the first time in Australia and later confirmed by the prime minister’s office.

此次会谈突出表明，作为澳大利亚最大企业的必和必拓准备付出多大努力，说服政府相信自己与力拓联姻的好处──以及插手收购的中国企业所带来的威胁。

The talks underline the lengths to which the country’s biggest corporation is prepared to go in order to convince the government of the merits of it linking with Rio – and of the threat posed by the Chinese interloper.

中国国有铝业集团中铝上月宣布，中铝与美国铝业(Alcoa)联手斥资140亿美元，收购了力拓9%的股份。

Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco), the state-owned aluminium group, said last month it had joined forces with Alcoa of the US to spend $14bn on its stake in Rio.

中铝对力拓伦敦上市股票发起的这次突袭，完全出乎必和必拓与力拓的意料，而且时机把握在必和必拓发起1470亿美元敌意收购的几天之前。

The raid carried out on Rio’s London share register caught both BHP and Rio by surprise and came days before BHP launched its hostile $147bn offer.

一位了解力拓的知情人士透露，必和必拓试图让澳大利亚政府站在自己一方，防止另一家企业竞购力拓。

A person close to the Anglo-Australian miner said that BHP was attempting to get the Australian government on side to prevent another party bidding for the mining group.