BHP Billiton, the UK-listed miner, has asked Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan to weigh up the merits of it making a bid for Alcoa, the US aluminium group, following rival Rio Tinto’s $38bn offer for Alcan of Canada.
Rio’s offer is the largest takeover bid seen in the mining sector and is expected to trigger a wave of merger and acquisition activity as rival mining companies try to bulk up and avoid being taken over themselves.
