Uranium One has increased its stake in Aussie-based uranium miner Paladin Energy
(ASX:PDN) sparking speculation that a takeover may be on the way.
Paladin has projects in Australia and two operating mines in Africa.
It has been speculated for some time that Canadian uranium giant Cameco is to launch a takeover bid for the miner, however as yet nothing has eventuated.
On April 30, Paladin advised the market that Uranium One had increased its stake by 1.4% which, on Monday that stake rose to 3%.
Uranium One is smaller in size to Paladin, however Reuters says the Canadian miner may draw on recent partnerships with the Russian and Japanese governments.
Reuters says the company acquired a 50% stake in the Karatau mine in Kazakhstan from Russia’s state owned uranium miner last year.
In return Russia received a 17% stake in the miner.
Reuters reports that Uranium One has also completed a financing deal with a consortium of Japanese companies.
Paladin posted a $591.82 million loss in fiscal 09.
