The judge who is to make the final determination as to which company will be awarded the right to take Asarco out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization last week said he is going to take into consideration a number of issues and wasn’t immediately ready to accept a bankruptcy court judge’s recommendation that the Tucson-based copper mining company go back to its estranged parent, Grupo Mexico.
U.S. District Court Judge Andrew S. Hanen, in Brownsville, Texas, said he would allow Sterlite Industries, based in Mumbai, India, to argue an amended bid of $2.56 billion. Sterlite has been the favored bidder by Asarco’s interim management, labor unions and several jurisdictions involved environmental claims against Asarco.
In August, bankruptcy court judge Richard Schmidt recommended that Asarco be returned to Grupo Mexico.
Hanen is the same judge who last year ruled that Grupo Mexico was guilty of manipulating a sale of an Asarco subsidiary in Peru to divert funds to another subsidiary and has ordered the parent company to return money to Asarco.
Asarco has been operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since August 2005.
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interested in Tucson wrote on Oct 23, 2009 2:31 PM: