(Reuters) - Rare earths miner Lynas Corp said on Wednesday its board had concluded it would not engage with conglomerate Wesfarmers, stating its takeover offer undervalues the company's intellectual property.
"Lynas has developed significant intellectual property (IP) in engineering, processing and product development. This IP is valuable in its own right, and its value is not reflected in the Indicative Proposal from Wesfarmers," the company said in a statement.
Wesfarmers on Tuesday said it was still interested in acquiring Lynas and could table a less conditional bid for the only major producer of rare earth elements outside China.
(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)
