xstrata ditches indophil bid

Confirmation from The Age today (22/8/08)

Xstrata Plc, the world's fourth-largest copper producer, abandoned a $545 million bid for Indophil Resources NL, yielding to a management buyout group that sweetened its rival offer. ``We see no value in remaining involved in a competitive process with the Stanhill Resources/Crosby Capital consortium,'' Charlie Sartain, Xstrata Copper chief executive officer, said on Thursday in a statement distributed by the Regulatory News Service.

Although in the light of the following comment they may just be prepared to sit back and wait to see if the Stanhill bid falls over!

There was ``a high degree of uncertainty'' over the financing of Stanhill's bid, ``particularly in light of the significant future funding obligations'' for the project, Xstrata's Sartain said.