Inco embraces CVRD bid; offer extended to Oct. 16

Brazilian mining company CVRD has extended its offer for Inco to Oct. 16 as it seems poised to win the long takeover battle for the Canadian mining giant.

The original deadline for shareholders to tender their shares was Sept. 28, but has been moved back by almost three weeks as Investment Canada and the European Commission have yet togive their OK.Investment Canada's ruling could come at any time, CVRD said.

Canada's Competition Bureau and U.S. regulators have already signed off on the deal.

Its takeover ofInco seems inevitable after Inco's management and board on the weekend urged shareholders to tender their shares to CVRD's $86-a-share offer. Inco had earlier tried to get CVRD to boost its offer, but failed.

Inco calledCVRDan "attractive partner" for the company.

"We have great respect for the quality of their management team and for what they have accomplished as a company," Inco CEO ScottHand said in a statement on Sunday.

"Assuming CVRD is successful in their acquisition, we plan to assist them in every way we can to ensure the smoothest possible integration of our two companies, and a successful transition to create a new world leader in mining and metals," he said.

CVRD's $19-billion offer was the third for Inco. Earlier buyoutoffers from Canada's Teck Cominco and American mining company Phelps Dodge bit the dust after running intofinancing problems and shareholder opposition.

Inco itself hadtried to take over Falconbridge earlier this year, but lost out to Xstrata of Switzerland.

Just last week, Inco advised the markets that it was on track to post record third-quarter earnings, thanks to surging nickel prices. It also reached a tentative settlement to end a two-month-old strike at its Voisey's Bay operations in Labrador.