Brazilian miner Vale raises bid for Xstrata-source

22-February-08 by AAP

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Brazilian miner Vale X has raised its bid for rival Xstrata to 47 pounds a share from 40 pounds and a formal statement of an offer is expected in the coming days, a source with direct knowledge of the merger talks said on Thursday.

The source, who asked to be unnamed, said the company has raised its bid by $US13 billion ($A14.18 billion) from the previous offer to more than $US89 billion ($A97.05 billion).

News of the new offer comes two days after Vale secured agreements with Asian and European steelmakers to raise its term iron ore prices by 65 per cent from 2007.,

Analysts estimate that the increase in ore prices will result in an extra $US10 billion ($A10.9 billion) a year in revenue for Vale.