Australian nickel miners Independence (IGO) is put forward on Monday for a $312 million (us $216 million) hostile bid smaller a Panoramic view of Resources companies (Panoramic Resources). IGO said it was interested in buying more, given the high demand for new energy metals.

IGO offered a dividend voucher for its 96.2 per cent stake in panorama, offering a 42 per cent premium to panorama's closing price on Friday.

Panorama resources' share price surged on the news before falling back slightly to a $0.443, about 7 per cent below the implied price. That suggests investors believe the deal could face hurdles.

Peter Bradford, IGO's chief executive, said the acquisition of panorama resources was in line with IGO's strategy given the growing global demand for nickel for electric vehicles. He added: "the company has not put a limit on its ability to acquire and four or five businesses will be in line with its strategy."

Panorama advised shareholders not to take any action while evaluating the offer. IGO said it had not had direct contact with the ICM hedge fund, panorama's majority shareholder. ICM owns 34.7% of panorama.

Royal bank of Canada (RBC) said in a report that IGO would trade one share for 13 panoramic resources shares, implying a price of 47.6 cents (AUD) per share.

IGO said it was in direct contact with panorama's shareholders after several failed attempts to negotiate a change of control with the company's board.

In the past few days IGO has consolidated its position in the nickel market by securing better terms in nearly two agreements for the purchase of Nova concentrate. Last month, the company reported a nearly 120% increase in first-quarter net profit from the previous quarter. (From Alu)