Rio Tinto May Be Looking Riversdale Mining

Rio Tinto RIO, the world's second-largest iron ore producer, is rumored to be interested in acquiring Australia's Riversdale Mining, a producer of coking coal, according to the Daily Telegraph. Rio Tinto has previously said it would not be looking to make megadeals this year, but added that it was interested in smaller deals in the coal sector. The company had been shopping for iron ore deals, but after not finding a suitable deal, Rio has shifted its attention to acquiring coking coal assets. Riversdale, which primarily does business in Africa, has 13 billion tons in coking coal reserves. No deal has been reached between Riversdale and Rio, the Telegraph reported. Riversdale's major shareholders include India's Tata Steel, Brazilian steelmaker CSN and US investment firm Passport Capital, which combined own over half of the company, according to the Business Spectator.