April 7 (Reuters) - Copper miner Equinox Minerals Ltd said it did not expect China's Minmetals Resources to make its $6.5 billion takeover offer formal for the next several weeks.
Equinox, which extended its $4.8 billion bid for Lundin Mining on Tuesday, said on Thursday Minmetals' offer of C$7 per share undervalued the company.
Minmetals, China's biggest metals trading firm, unveiled plans to launch its offer for Equinox on Monday, chasing the Toronto-based company's copper assets in Zambia and Saudi Arabia.
'(Minmetals') announcement and its timing is clearly opportunistic and seeks to frustrate Equinox's offer for Lundin Mining,' Equinox Chief Executive Craig Williams said in a statement.
Equinox said it could only respond once it got a formal offer from Minmetals.
Shares of Equinox closed at C$7.50, and shares of Lundin closed at C$7.99 on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Gowri Jayakumar in Bangalore) Keywords: EQUINOX/ (gowri.jayakumar@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: gowri.jayakumar.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.