Steel maker ArcelorMittall is unlikely to face a bidding war with Nunavut Iron Ore for target Baffinland Iron Mines.
That's the emerging consensus of analysts following Arcelor's move to top Nunavut Iron's offer for Baffinland.
ArcelorMittall had already been looking at Baffinland, and that makes Arcelor the "natural buyer," said Desjardins analyst John Redstone. "We do not expect Nunavut Iron Ore Acquisition Inc. to come back with a competing bid."
Jennings Capital Peter Campbell has the same view, according to miningweekly.com, adding that other buyers are also probably out of the running at this point.
Still, there's talk of a fair bit of interest in the company's data room.
Even if somebody does show up, Arcelor has a right to match. If it does grab Baffinland, the steel maker will have locked up a potential store of iron ore needed to feed its mills.
For Nunavut Iron, there's a broad silver lining. Baffinland stock was trading at 40 cents before Nunavut Iron made its first offer of 80 cents a share. Now, Arcelor is in at $1.10 a share. Nunavut Iron's backing group, as owners of about 20 million shares, is up about $14-million in that time.