BHP bid for WMC gets OK

Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board has approved BHP Billiton‘s (BHP-N) white-knight bid for WMC Resources (WMC-N).

The approval, announced by Australian Treasurer Peter Costello, is subject to BHP’s consulting with the government on any third-party deals it makes that involve uranium production or sales. The government regulates sales of Australian uranium to foreign buyers.

BHP has bid A$7.85 cash for all shares of WMC, an offer that closes May 6. It outbid Swiss-based metal trader and producer Xstrata (xta-l) in early March. The offer is equivalent to an offer of US$24.08 for one 4-share WMC Resources American Depository Receipt, and values the whole company at A$9.2 billion.