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MELBOURNE, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Bluescope Steel Ltd. bought 19.9 percent of Smorgon Steel Ltd. on Thursday to block a A$1.58 billion takeover offer from OneSteel Ltd. , pushing Smorgon shares to a 6-{ year high.

Analysts said it made sense for Bluescope to try to stop the planned OneSteel/Smorgon tie-up, because both companies bought steel from Bluescope and would have more bargaining power if they united.

''The intention of acquiring this strategic stake is to ensure that the OneSteel/Smorgon Steel merger proposal does not proceed in its current form,'' Bluescope said in a statement after the market closed.

''The company has no intention to acquire further Smorgon Steel shares, but reserves the right to do so in different circumstances.'' Smorgon's shares touched A$1.82 before closing up 4.1 percent at A$1.77, just one cent above the OneSteel offer, giving the group a market capitalisation of A$1.59 billion.

Bluescope's shares fell 0.3 percent to A$6.82, valuing it at A$4.8 billion, in a market up 1.9 percent.

Analysts said Bluescope wanted to force an outcome that would help them.

''They don't have A$1.5 billion lying around to make a full takeover offer,'' said BT Financial Group analyst Chad Slater.

Bluescope also might be looking to ensure it extracts some benefits from any deal, possibly by picking up assets that OneSteel may be forced to sell off to appease the competition regulator, analysts said.

OneSteel had no comment.

The move came days after Australia's competition regulator raised concerns about OneSteel's bid for Smorgon, throwing into doubt their deal to combine Australia's two largest makers of long steel products.

Bluescope said it had noted the regulator's concerns.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is due to hand down its final decision on the OneSteel-Smorgon deal on Sept. 6.

Twenty percent of Smorgon's shares traded on Thursday and 4.5 percent of the shares moved in a single block.

Smorgon earlier said it did not know who had bought the shares or what their motives were.

($1=A$1.30) REUTERS PV SSC1407