BHP Billiton received a favourable response from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)for its offer to buy Rio Tinto. Although Rio Tinto has altogether rejected the offer, BHP seems optimistic as it continues to gain no-objections from authorities of various countries. The offer was not objected by the U.S. Department of Justice when presented with it in July, followed by the European Commission (EC) undertaking an investigation into the proposal. The EC probe was started as initial investigation noted the proposal raises serious doubts to its compatibility with the Single Market. %% BHP Billiton had offered Rio Tinto 3.4 BHP Billiton’s shares for each Rio Tinto share.