Interlopers get regulatory nods

The Canadian Competition Bureau and U.S. Federal Trade Commission have granted anti-trust clearance for Teck Cominco‘s (TEK.B-T, TCKBF-O) $17.8-billion hostile bid for Inco (N-T, N-N).

Teck’s bid, which hinges on Inco dropping its preferred plan of acquiring Falconbridge (FAL-T, FAL-N), expires on July 24.

In other news, Teck will list its class B shares for trading on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 29; the shares will bear the ticker symbol TCK. The company’s dual class of shares will also see their ticker symbols change to TCK.A and TCK.B in Toronto on that day.

Teck chief executive Don Lindsay says the NYSE listing will increase the liquidity of the B class shares, and boost the company’s visibility south of the border.

Meanwhile, Swiss-based miner Xstrata (XSRAF-O, XTA-L) says that the Canadian Competition Bureau has issued it an advance ruling certificate clearing the way for it to proceed with its bid for Falconbridge.

The company also says that the U.S. Department of Justice has completed its review and has not identified any competition issues. The company is now free to proceed with its offer without further anti-trust review in the United States.

Xstrata still requires a similar nod from the European Competition Commission, which is expected to deliver its verdict by July 13. In Ottawa, the federal government is reviewing the all-party Commons industry committee’s recommendation that Investment Canada postpone its review of Xstrata’s bid until all other international regulatory bodies have ruled on the proposed Inco-Falconbridge merger.

Xstrata already owns just shy of 20% of Falconbridge, and has offered $52.50 cash per share, or $16.1-billion, for the rest of the company. The bid values the whole company at around $20 billion, trumping Inco’s friendly $19-billion offer. Xstrata’s offer expires July 7; Inco’s, at the end of June.

Inco’s planned nuptials with Falconbridge have been delayed several times owing to regulatory reviews in Europe and the United States. Regulators there are worried that the enlarged Inco would have a stranglehold on the superalloy and nickel-plating markets. The two companies recently agreed to sell Falco’s high-grade Nikkelverk nickel refinery in Norway to help address those concerns.

LionOre Mining International (LIM-T, LIM-A, LOR-L) can pick up the refinery, which has an annual capacity of around 85,000 tonnes of refined nickel, 39,000 tonnes of refined copper plus cobalt, platinum group metals, gold and silver, for US$650 million in cash and shares.

The deal is conditional on Inco acquiring control of Falconbridge. Some media reports have the European Union close to approving Inco’s bid for Falco, with a draft decision approving the deal reportedly on its way to the 25 European Union member states for review.

Shares in Inco were 93 higher at $66.43 in late morning trading in Toronto on June 15. Falco was up 75 at $54.80, while Teck’s B shares were $1.93, or 3.2%, better at $61.92. For its part, Lionore jumped 35 ,or 7%, to $5.35. Xstrata was more than 8% higher at 1,969 pence in London.