The following is a timeline of the courtship dance between some of Canada's largest mining companies, including Falconbridge Ltd., Inco Ltd., Teck Cominco Ltd. and foreign players Xstrata PLC and Phelps Dodge Corp.
March 9, 2005: Noranda Inc. offers to buy the 41 per cent of Falconbridge it doesn't already own for $3-billion in stock to take advantage of rising metal prices, simplify its ownership structure, and boost its appeal to investors
June 30: deal is completed
Aug. 15: Switzerland's Xstrata PLC offers $2-billion for a 19.9-per-cent stake in Falconbridge, raising speculation it may buy the miner outright
Aug. 30: Xstrata says it's boosted its Falconbridge stake to 20.01 per cent
Sept. 22: Falconbridge adopts poison pill, saying it has hired advisers to "review value-creation opportunities"
Oct. 11: Inco Ltd. makes a friendly offer to buy Falconbridge for more than $12-billion, creating the world's largest nickel producer, capping years of speculation that the companies would join forces
Oct. 21: Don Lindsay, president and chief executive of Teck Cominco says the Inco-Falconbridge union is good for the industry. "Anything that will ultimately result in Canadian assets becoming more efficient and more competitive and more viable in a very competitive market, particularly when the next downturn comes, I think is a good thing"
November: reports swirl that Xstrata is preparing a bid for Falconbridge
Feb. 23, 2006: European Union regulators open new probe into Inco-Falconbridge union, saying they are worried about their dominance in the nickel and cobalt markets
May 8: Teck Cominco jumps into the fray, offering $17.8-billion to buy Inco. But that deal is conditional on Inco not completing its Falconbridge takeover
May 13: Inco boosts its bid for Falconbridge to $19-billion
May 14: The U.K.'s Sunday Times reports that JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank are helping Xstrata CEO Mick Davis prepare a potential £9.5-billion bid for Falconbridge
May 15: Inco CEO Scott Hand raises his estimate for potential cost savings from the Inco-Falconbridge union, saying the deal is still the best one for Inco shareholders
May 17: Xstrata bids $16.1-billion for the 80 per cent of Falconbridge it doesn't already own, a 12.3-per-cent premium over Inco's offer
May 31: Falconbridge's board rejects Xstrata's bid and says it still favours Inco's offer. Separately, Inco rejects Teck-Cominco's bid
First week, June: Inco files a notice to U.S. securities regulators saying it's in takeover negotiations with other potential buyers
June 6: Falconbridge sells its Nikkelverk refinery in Norway in a move to gain regulatory clearance from the European Commission. The two companies believe the competition issues identified by the EC and the U.S. Department of Justice "are addressed" by the agreement
June 26: U.S. copper miner Phelps Dodge Corp. says it plans to buy both Inco and Falconbridge for at least $48-billion (U.S.), creating the world's largest nickel producer and the largest publicly traded copper producer
July 19: Xstrata increases its all-cash offer for Falconbridge Ltd. from $59 to $62.50 and extends the closing time of the offer to August 14. That will allow Falconbridge shareholders to receive a special cash dividend of 75 cents per share available to Falconbridge shareholders of record July 26.
July 27: Xstrata said it planned to start boosting its stake in Falconbridge to 25 per cent from the current 20 per cent while its full takeover was pending.
July 28: Inco Ltd. concedes defeat in its bid for rival Falconbridge Ltd., leaving the field clear for a takeover by Swiss-based Xstrata. When the cash-and-stock offer expired at midnight, PST, on July 27, less than the necessary 50.01 per cent of Falconbridge shares had been tendered.
