Cameco buys more uranium

Article Excerpt

CAMECO CORP. $20.73 (Toronto symbol CCO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (306-956-6200; www.cameco.com; Shares outstanding: 395.4 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; Dividend yield 1.9%) has launched a hostile takeover bid for Hathor Exploration (symbol HAT on Toronto). Cameco is offering $520 million, or $3.75 a share. Hathor’s main exploration properties are on the east side of the Athabasca Basin. Right now, it is focusing its exploration on the Roughrider zone at its Midwest Northeast property, where it has found significant uranium mineralization over the last couple of years. Roughrider could hold as much as 57.9 million pounds of uranium. It is also near Cameco’s Rabbit Lake mill. Cameco holds cash of $1.2 billion, or $3.30 a share, so it can easily afford to buy other mining firms that enhance its long-term growth prospects. Hathor is trading at $4 a share, or 6.7% above Cameco’s offer. That means Cameco may have to raise its offer to gain the support of Hathor’s shareholders or fend off…