Indian metals maker Sterlite Industries Ltd has raised its offering bid for bankrupt U.S. copper miner Asarco to $2.565 billion. Asarco has been under bankruptcy protection since 2005.

"After extensive discussions and review, in order to provide full cash payment to asbestos creditors … Sterlite increased its offer from $2.135 billion to $2.565 billion cash," the company said in a statement. The company has various asbestos claimants to pay off. Asbestos exposure is linked to mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Sterlite Industries has been engaged in a bidding war for Asarco with rival company Grupo Mexico. It has been said that Sterlite’s new offer "might change the game" in the long-running Asarco battle, according to Gregory Duhl, a law professor at William Mitchell College of Law in Minnesota who specializes in bankruptcy. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who is based in Brownsville, Texas, is expected to rule on the competing Sterlite and Grupo Mexico plans by October 31.

Grupo Mexico acquired the company in 1999, but lost control of Asarco’s board during bankruptcy proceedings. Last month a U.S. bankruptcy court recommended that Grupo Mexico be allowed to take control of Asarco as it was more likely to pay Asarco’s creditors and asbestos claimants in full.

On the one hand Grupo has some equity and the court may decide it wants to retain that equity," Duhl said. "On the other hand, ultimately the court could weigh which plan is going to allow the company to operate better."

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