Rio Tinto's proposal to raise $19.5bn from Chinalco is seen by the mining group's board members and shareholders as an "option" to follow if there are no superior alternatives in the next three months, according to some Rio shareholders.
If financial and commodity markets improve before the summer, several of the mining group's largest shareholders said, Rio could still proceed with a rights issue or an alternative asset-stake sale. To drop the deal with the Chinese state-owned metals company, which Rio's board unanimously voted to recommend last month, the miner would incur a $195m break fee.
