Rio Tinto $781m notes buyback oversubscribed

Rio Tinto said its offer to buy back $781m in US denominated notes due between 2021 – 2025 had been oversubscribed.

The buyback will be used to shrink the company's balance sheet and reduce debt. Rio said it would not be accepting any more notes for purchase.

Last month the mining giant said it would spend up to $2.5bn buying back its own notes, concentrating initially on those that were due over the course of 2019 and 2020.