BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, has knocked rival Xstrata out of the running for Australia's WMC Resources with a recommended A$9.2bn (€5.5bn) cash offer.
BHP Billion hired Deutsche Bank, Xstrata's broker, to provide it with mergers and acquisitions advice on the deal. JP Morgan, which is joint broker to both Xstrata and BHP Billiton, advised Xstrata along with Gresham Partners.