When Russian oligarch Viktor Rashnikov made a $554 million takeover bid for West Australian iron ore miner Flinders Mines on Friday, investors and bankers immediately wondered whether his $702 million, 4.99 per cent stake in Fortescue Metals Group might be up for sale.

Bankers eager for a deal reasoned that Rashnikov, the major holder of Magnitogorsk, could put his Fortescue stake on the block to fund the Flinders takeover and were said to be pitching for the job late last week.