Teck Cominco Ltd. said Tuesday it has no intention of negotiating a new offer to purchase Inco Ltd.
In a statement, the company said it “is not in, and has no plans to enter into, discussions or negotiations with Inco Ltd. regarding Teck Cominco's offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Inco.”
Teck has made a $19.6-billion cash and share offer for Inco, in competition with a rival bid from Phelps Dodge Corp.
In the statement, Teck chief executive Don Lindsay said the company believes its offer is “clearly superior to the highly conditional Phelps Dodge offer” in that it offers almost twice as much cash.
The Phelps Dodge offer also need regulatory and shareholder approval, Teck said.
The Teck offer expires on midnight August 16.
The statement follows comments from Mr. Lindsay at a mining conference in Australia, where he told reporters it is “unlikely” that his company will make a higher bid for Inco Ltd.
“We will only do what makes sense for Teck Cominco shareholders,” Mr. Lindsay said, when asked about increasing the company's $19.6-billion cash a share offer.
In a directors circular filed with regulators Monday, Inco's board directed the company's executives and advisers to open talks with Teck to see if it is willing to enhance its takeover bid.
Inco's board has recommended that its shareholders vote in favour of a rival bid from Phelps Dodge Corp., but it noted that the Teck offer could result in an alternative proposal that is superior to that of Phelps.
The circular said that Phelps' offer is better, even though it involves less cash and has a lower current value, because of Teck's dual class share structure.
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