By staff reporter Yan Jiangning

(Caijing.com.cn) Australian miner OZ Minerals said its shareholders have approved a US$1.4 billion offer by state-owned China Minmetals to buy its major assets.

Minmetals sweetened its offer to US$1.4 billion from the original US$1.2 billion just hours before the shareholder vote.

The higher offer came after investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd. withdrew a rival A$1.4 billion bid, while OZ rejected other recapitalization proposals in favor of the Minmetals deal.

The revised offer falls within the independent expert's valuation range of US$1.4 billion to US$1.6 billion, the company said.

The transaction will be completed within a week, and the acquired assets will come under the management of a new Australian-registered company named Minerals and Mining Group Ltd, China Minmetals said.

The deal, approved by OZ shareholders, will see Minmetals purchase all of the Australian firm's assets excluding the Prominent Hill mine in South Australia and the Martabe project in Indonesia.

Minmetals' original A$2.6 billion offer was rejected by the Australian government on the grounds that Prominent Hill mine, which was included in that deal, was located in a military zone near a weapons testing range.

OZ chairman Barry Cusack had warned shareholders before the vote that the company would be in grave danger of liquidation take-over if they rejected Minmetals' offer.

"If you approved the plan finally, OZ will have a bright future,"Cusack said.

The deal was supported by 92 percent of shareholders.

China Minmetals said the increased offer reflects the improvement of current metals and capital markets, while the deal would help it further expand global operations.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-06-11/110182813.html