BHP Billiton gives up pursuing Rio Tinto
It was to be the biggest deal after Vodafone bought Mannesmann in 2000. But falling commodity prices and the credit crunch has claimed yet another victim. BHP Billiton has given up its 18 month long, $68 billion pursuit of rival miner Rio Tinto. The deal between two of the world's top three mining companies would have created an international mining mammoth, but now it won't happen.
