Davis Polk advised BNP Paribas Securities Corp., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and RBS Securities Inc. as joint bookrunners on an SEC-registered offering by Rio Tinto Finance (USA) plc of $3 billion aggregate principal amount of notes guaranteed by Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited. The offering consisted of $1 billion principal amount of 1.375% notes due 2016, $1.25 billion principal amount of 2.250% notes due 2018, $250 million principal amount of floating-rate notes due 2015 and $500 million principal amount of floating-rate notes due 2016.
Rio Tinto Finance (USA) plc is a finance company of the Rio Tinto Group, which is a leader in finding, mining and processing the earth’s mineral resources. Major products include aluminum, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt and talc) and iron ore. The Rio Tinto Group’s activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.
The Davis Polk corporate team included partner Nigel D. J. Wilson and associates Roman Ajzen and Brandon Schubert. Partner Michael Farber and associate Kerry S. Price provided U.S. tax advice. Partner Jonathan Cooklin and associate David Wilson provided U.K. tax advice. Members of the Davis Polk team are based in the London and New York offices.
