SYDNEY, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Shares in Australian copper miner Oz Minerals Ltd OZL.AX jumped as much as 14 percent on Thursday after an unsourced media report said U.S. private equity giant KKR & Co LP KKR.N was attempting to buy a 10 percent stake.
The stock rose as high as A$3.77, its biggest jump since January 2014 and its highest intraday level in nearly a month, after the Australian Financial Review reported that KKR was planning the share raid at A$3.60 per share.
The article also said that KKR already has a stake of about 5 percent in the company, which in 2009 had an attempted takeover by state-owned enterprise China Minmetals Corp CHMIN.UL blocked by the Australian government.
Oz Minerals said in a statement it was aware of the media speculation but declined comment. Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn), which the report said was advising KKR on the attempted purchase, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shares in many Australian mining companies have plunged this year as commodity prices sink on slowing economic growth in top trading partner China. Before the media report, Oz Minerals shares had fallen by a third since a peak in May.