RIO Completes Hathor Acquisition

Miner Rio Tinto plc (RIO - Analyst Report) through an indirect wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary completed acquiring the remaining shares of Hathor Exploration Limited for C$4.70 in cash. Hathor Exploration is a Canada-based uranium company.

The deal involved the acquisition of roughly 7.9 million shares, or 5.87% of Hathor’s outstanding shares.  After the consummation of the transaction, Rio Tinto owns 100%, or roughly 135.3 million of Hathor’s common shares. The uranium company will probably be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange soon.

The acquisition of 5.87% of common shares of Hathor’s ends Rio Tinto’s pursuit that began in November, 2011. Recently, the mining giant received the green signal from Canadian Competition Bureau, implying compliance with each and every requirement of the Competition Act (Canada).

Headquartered in London, UK, Rio Tinto is engaged in exploring, mining and processing of the earth's mineral resources, producing a broad range of metals and minerals. The company competes against global mining giants like BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP - Analyst Report) and Vale S.A (VALE - Analyst Report). Rio Tinto has extensive uranium mining experience worldwide and controls widespread operations in mining and manufacturing of alumina, aluminium, iron ore, diamonds and titanium dioxide in Canada.

We believe the company’s expansion as well as divestiture programs are conducive to maintaining a balanced financial position, going forward. The global demand for the company’s key products such as iron ore, copper, and aluminum are expected to double in 15 to 20 years, primarily driven by China, India, and other rising economies based on their policies of industrialization and urbanization.

The current Zacks Consensus Estimates for the fiscal years 2011 and 2012 are $8.62 and $8.72, representing year-over-year growth of 19.23% and 1.21%, respectively. Estimate for the fourth quarter is $4.76 per share.

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