China's Chinalco is planning to revise a 19.5-billion-dollar bid for part of Rio Tinto after the Anglo-Australian mining giant's share price soared, state media reported.
Xiong Weiping, president of the Chinese state-owned firm, told Caijing magazine: "The market has definitely undergone changes. We will study the current situation with Rio Tinto accordingly."
The deal, which would be China's largest ever foreign investment, involves Chinalco buying asset stakes worth 12.3 billion dollars and paying 7.2 billion dollars for bonds that are convertible into Rio shares at a later date.
It would eventually see Chinalco double its investment in Rio to 18 percent and take two seats on the miner's board.
The report in Caijing on Tuesday said Xiong denied speculation that Chinalco would cut its target share in Rio to 15 percent.
At 60 dollars a share, Chinalco'scurrent offer represents a massive premium to the miner's market price of 52 Australian dollars (41 US dollars).
But Rio's shares have soared since the bid was announced on February 12 and closed at 65.5 Australian dollars on Tuesday.
The deal is pending approval by the Australian government and Rio Tinto's shareholders, some of whom have criticised the company for offering Chinalco generous terms on the bonds instead of going to shareholders to raise capital.
The proposal has also come under fire in Australia amid increasing sensitivity about China's quest to secure a firmer hold on natural resources around the globe.
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