Source: Mining Weekly                       Date: 31 August, 2011

Cameco may be looking to dominate the uranium market with a series of acquisitions. Currently, the uranium titan is offering CAD 520 million for Hathor Exploration, but that may be just the beginning. Meanwhile there is a possibility the French company Areva will place its own counter-bid for Hathor. Both Areva and Cameco are currently exploring for uranium deposits in Mongolia.

Cameco announced its hostile offer of CAD 520 million (that is CAD 3.75 per share) last week raising share prices by 50 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The stock price finally settled at CAD 3.89, a figure still well above Cameco's offer, suggesting investors might be expecting another offer. Analysts believe this is possible.

Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel listed three arguments regarding a Canadian deposit at Saskatchewan for investors to allow his company's attempt at a hostile takeover. He explained there are many risk for a junior company such as Hathor and it is dangerous for one to attempt to build a mine in the current economic climate. Second, Cameco doesn't believe the deposit the company is interested in has enough resources to justify a project with great infrastructure costs. Finally, the Athabasca basis where the site is located has complex geology that the company can handle through past experience at the location. Of course, he is likely most interested in the 40 percent premium over Hathor's closing price.

Companies lied low in the months immediately following the Japanese nuclear disaster. However, now enough time has passed for companies to act assertively once again. The source reported that the company has been interested in acquisitions, but had not found one that suited it until now.

If this attempt goes well for Cameco, it's likely it will make a move to acquire another junior Fission Energy. Its attempt on Hathor has already spiked Fission's share prices, raising it by USD 0.61 each. This is most likely because it also owns property in the nearby area.