Rio Tinto 'pleased' by $19b new capital

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto says it is very pleased after successfully pulling off a $US15.2 billion ($A19.22 billion) capital raising.

The world's third biggest miner on Friday announced the final results of its rights offer to Australian shareholders after completed the UK leg of its offer on Thursday.

Rio Tinto received acceptances for 94.76 per cent of the new Australian listed stock on offer under a renounceable 21-for-40 rights offer at $28.29 a piece, a deep discount to the market price.

Underwriters later sold the balance of shares not taken up at $48.50 each, and company shareholders who did not exercise their entitlement to take part in the raising will be paid the net proceeds of $20.10 per share.

In the UK, Rio Tinto received acceptances for 96.97 per cent of the stock offer at 1,400 pence each, with underwriters also successfully finding buyers for the unsold stock.

"We are very pleased with the result," a Rio Tinto spokesman told AAP on Friday.

"We have managed to get the $US15.2 billion ($A19.22 billion) figure we sought," he said, adding that fees would be taken out of the figure.

The proceeds raised will be used to pay down some of the company's huge $US38.7 billion ($A48.94 billion) debt, mostly incurred by its takeover of Canadian aluminium giant Alcan in 2007.

This will fulfil a company pledge to reduce debt by $US10 billion ($A12.65 billion) in 2009.

The capital raising became necessary after a $US19.5 billion ($A24.66 billion) deal with the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) fell through last month.

Chinalco took up its full rights to participate in the UK capital raising.

After coming out of a trading halt on Friday afternoon Rio Tinto Ltd shares dropped $2.18, or 4.21 per cent, to $49.57 at 1529 AEST.