Newscasts - US stake in Lithium Americas poses long‑term worries, expert says

Lithium Americas

24/09/2025 21:28

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Source: 'Reuters - Business videos'

Description: Alexander Morris, CEO and chief investment officer at F/m Investments, said the reported plan by the Trump administration to take an equity stake in Lithium Americas “may, on its face, be a good idea" but added that he was concerned about “what happens two years from now, particularly as the administration changes.”

Short Link: https://lseg.group/4nkmAlt

Video Transcript:

News today about Lithium America having a new investor, the United States government, America itself sets up an interesting precedent and a continuation of Donald Trump as deal maker in chief that may have great long-term implications but may have some worries. This is one of many types of these deals we've seen, many we will see, but a broader recognition that for a long time, companies have been dependent upon the government, largely for revenue. The government is often the largest client of many of these companies, true from Amazon all the way through to Boeing and a handful of defense companies. And this is now the first time that the government will actually take a stake in that. But like any government program, unless it has a known end and a set scope, what could be a good idea quickly becomes a bad one through management or mismanagement. Although this may, on its face, be a good idea and it may be a great deal for lithium to refinance and to restructure its debt and bring on a shareholder like the US government, we don't know what happens next. And I think that's the part that worries us. Not the government ownership, not the participation. It's what happens two years from now, particularly as administration changes. Do we sell these positions? Do we get the right price? What happens then?