Rio Tinto (RIO.US) defends its dual listing strategy, opposing the Palliser review proposal.

Rio Tinto (RIO.US) defended its dual-listed structure on Wednesday evening and urged shareholders to vote against a proposal by hedge fund Palliser Capital to review the company's dual listing in London and Sydney. Rio Tinto is due to hold its annual general meetings on April 3 and May 1.

Rio Tinto said a unified listing structure would cause "value destruction" for the company and its shareholders, while the claim that the dual-listed structure had eroded $50bn in value was "unfounded and misleading."

Palliser Capital is pushing for Rio Tinto to unify its structure into an Australian-registered company, saying the current dual listing is eroding shareholder value and calling for an independent review to assess whether a unified structure is in the best interests of shareholders.

Proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services this week recommended shareholders vote in favour of Palliser's proposal to review Rio Tinto's dual-listed structure.

Palliser manages $1.1bn in assets and holds about $300m of Rio Tinto shares. Rio Tinto is worth more than $100bn.

Under pressure from activist investors, Rio Tinto's rival BHP Group (BHP.US) ended a similar dual-listed structure in 2022 and now primarily lists in Australia.