Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF.N) has agreed to buy Canada's Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines (CLM.TO) in a deal worth C$4.9 billion ($4.95 billion) as it looks to expand its iron ore production. Cliffs, a Cleveland, Ohio-based iron ore and coal producer, said on Tuesday it would pay C$17.25 a share for Consolidated Thompson, the only Canadian-owned iron producer. That represents a 30 percent premium on Consolidated's close on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Consolidated Thompson's current capacity of 8 million tonnes a year would add to Cliffs' 2010 North American production of about about 26 million tonnes.
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