The world's largest mining group, BHP Billiton, is considering a rival bid for aluminum producer Alcan and has hired an investment bank, sources familiar with the matter said.The emergence of BHP as a possible white knight in the face of Alcoa's $28.7 billion hostile offer for Alcan came as Alcoa's stock hit a six-year high on a report that the U.S. aluminum company, and not its Canadian rival Alcan, was a target of BHP. Alcoa stock eased to close less than 1 percent higher.
The sources told Reuters that BHP, which trades in Australia and London, has hired Merrill Lynch & Co. to explore the possibility of buying Alcan, but stressed that such a move is not definite.
A BHP spokeswoman in Sydney said the company did not comment on speculation. Montreal-based Alcan and Merrill Lynch declined to comment.
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