According to Reuters, Rio Tinto is preparing to take its Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) public in H1 2019. Rio Tinto owns 58.7 percent of the company with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp owning 26.2 percent and Canada’s Labrador Iron Ore Royalty owning 15.1 percent.
For the IPO, Rio Tinto is targeting a valuation of US $4 billion and has hired several investment banks including JP Morgan Chase to assess feasibility. Previously, Rio Tinto was unsuccessful at selling its stake in IOC in 2012.
The rumor of Rio Tinto, the world’s second largest listed mining company, exploring an IPO surfaced since August 2018 as it communicated a strategy of concentrating on Australia’s western Plibara region where it has lower costs and higher grades.
IOC produces iron ore pellets and concentrate from operations in Newfoundland and Labrador, and runs port facilities in Sept-Iles, Quebec, as well as a 420-kilometer railway that links the mine to the port.