This isn't a bull market - so when someone suggests that uranium producer Paladin Energy (PDN) could be in the sights of the world's biggest uranium miner, all its shares could manage on the open this morning was a 0.2 cent rise to $1.202 - and before the first hour of trading was over, the shares lost even that blip.

After all, this stock has had its share of disappointments with trading losses, a falling uranium price and labour troubles. Paladin shot from 0.8c in 2003 to $10.80 at the height of the uranium frenzy of 2007, but it's been largely a downhill ride since then.

On the other hand, bear markets are ideal for buying assets and companies when they’re cheap.

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Sydney-based Foster Stockbroking shot out a note this morning saying any such list of targets would have to include Paladin. It pointed out “it’s interesting to note that Cameco are not in need of additional funding for their current suite of projects which management have highlighted will be funded from internal cash flows”.

Moreover, the Canadian company - which is now developing its Cigar Lake mine in Saskatchewan - wants to double uranium production to 18,150 tonnes a year by 2018, which suggests acquisition rather than lengthy mine development. It was outbid for another Canadian project owned by Hathor Exploration. Recently it paid $C136m to buy German nuclear fuel broker Nukem Energy, which trades about 5200 tonnes a year but - more importantly - has agreements for uranium mined in Uzbekistan.

Foster says that, should Cameco be on the acquisition path, Paladin would have to be on its radar with the two operating uranium mines, Langer Heinrich in Namibia and Kayelekera in Malawi.

But Paladin has a number of attractive other projects, which seem not to be factored into its price. With the change of government in Queensland, its control of the Isa uranium project may be a winner. The Valhalla deposit has 28,778 tonnes of uranium, Skal 9177 tonnes. It owns 41 per cent of the advanced Bigrlyi uranium deposit in the Northern Territory and, also in the NT, controls 13,980 tonnes at the Pamela/Angela project. On top of that, Paladin acquired, through the NGM Resources takeover, uranium projects in Niger, one of the world’s top uranium producers. These are affected by Al-Qa'ida activities at present, but have long-term potential (as do its two deposit in Western Australia).

Investors clearly don't like the depressed uranium market. Predators relish such opportunities.