Norilsk bid superior, says LionOre Board

The board of LionOre Mining International (LIM-T, LMGGF-O, LOR-L) has determined the $27.50-per-share bid for the company from Norilsk Nickel (NILSY-O, MNODL-L) is a superior offer under the support agreement with earlier bidder Xstrata (XSRAF-O, XTA-L).

The board’s decision on the new offer, which values LionOre at $6.8 billion, frees the board to recommend it to shareholders instead of the friendly Xstrata bid of $25 per share (or $6.2 billion for the whole company). The break fee in the deal is now $305 million.

Xstrata has until June 1 to make a counter-offer under a matching right it holds from the previous support agreement. It has already increased its bid once, from an original $18.50 per share, in response to an earlier bid from Norilsk.