Nuclear Resurgence Seen Luring Paladin Takeover Bid: Commodities

Australian uranium producer Paladin Energy Ltd. is tempting acquirers from Canada to China with a stock price that’s less than the value of its net assets as Japan restarts idled nuclear reactors.

Paladin, which lost almost 80 percent of its value after Japan suffered the worst atomic crisis in a quarter century, is now trading at a 22 percent discount to book value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While uranium prices have tumbled 26 percent since the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant in March 2011, the Perth-based company is projected this fiscal year to post its first profit since beginning production of the nuclear fuel, analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.