Australia's OZ Minerals grants BHP due diligence on improved $6.4 bln offer

Australia's OZ Minerals Ltd said on Friday it granted global miner BHP Group Ltd due diligence after it raised takeover its offer for the copper miner to A$28.25 per share, representing an enterprise value of A$9.60 billion ($6.42 billion).

The new offer was at a 7.4% premium to OZ Minerals' last close and higher than the A$25 per share proposal rejected in early August as "opportunistic" and undervalued. "After carefully assessing the Revised Proposal, the board of OZ Minerals has agreed to grant BHP the opportunity to conduct due diligence for four weeks on an exclusive basis," OZ Minerals said. ($1 = 1.4948 Australian dollars)

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