Atlas gives MinRes deadline to match Hancock bid

Western Australian iron ore mining firm Atlas Iron has given Mineral Resources three days to match a takeover bid from Australian entrepreneur Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.

Atlas' board of directors said that the Hancock offer of A4.2¢ for each Atlas share is superior to the previous offer from Mineral Resources and has given Mineral Resources until 21 June to match it. Mineral Resources has offered one of its share for 571 Atlas shares, which equates to around A2.9¢ per Atlas share at Mineral Resources' opening share price today of A$16.40 ($12.10).

Atlas is struggling to remain profitable because of the large discounts applied to its lower grade ore, but has attracted takeover interest because of its 15mn t/yr export allocation at Port Hedland. Australian iron ore mining firm Fortescue Metals has also acquired 19.9pc of Atlas but has not made a direct bid for control of the firm.