MOSCOW, March 26 (RIA Novosti) - Mechel [RTS: MTLR], a leading Russian mining and metals company, has made a $1.498 billion purchase offer to the U.K.-based Oriel Resources Plc, the British company said on Wednesday.
Media reports earlier said that in early March Mechel had started negotiating the acquisition of Oriel, a London-based chrome and nickel mining and processing company valued at around $1.2 billion.
Oriel owns the Tikhvin smelter near St. Petersburg and has two deposits in Kazakhstan, including the Voskhod chrome and the Shevchenko nickel projects.
Mechel's market capitalization is around $18.1 billion. Last year, the company increased its coal output by 25% to 21.2 million metric tons, and pushed rolled steel production up 9% to 5.1 million metric tons.
