Norilsk says has 97.7 pct LionOre, to buy the rest

MOSCOW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Russia's Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.MM) said on Tuesday it had acquired over 97.7 percent of the shares in Canada's LionOre Mining International Ltd. (LIM.TO) and was starting a mandatory acquisition of the remaining shares.

The latest acquisition of shares secures Norilsk's C$6.8 billion ($6.45 billion) takeover of LionOre, making the Russian company the first to produce up to 300,000 tonnes a year of nickel.

Norilsk said in a statement it would proceed with the compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares under Canadian law as its offer to acquire LionOre had been accepted by holders of more than 90 percent of the outstanding common shares.

Norilsk paid C$27.50 ($26.07) per LionOre share. Its offer for the world's 10th-largest nickel producer was higher than a rival bid by Xstrata Plc (XTA.L).

Nickel, used in making stainless steel, hit an all-time high of $51,800 a tonne on May 9.

Norilsk, majority owned by billionaires Vladimir Potanin and Mikhail Prokhorov, boosted net profit 154 percent to $5.965 billion last year. Revenues rose 61 percent to $11.550 billion.