Chinese battery maker CATL to acquire Canada's Millennial Lithium

NexMetals Mining

29/09/2021 01:38

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Canada's Millennial Lithium Corp  ML.V 
said on Tuesday Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex
Technology Co Ltd (CATL)  300750.SZ  has agreed to buy the miner
for C$376.8 million ($297.3 million), after outbidding
compatriot Ganfeng Lithium  002460.SZ   1772.HK .
    CATL earlier this month had made an offer of C$3.85 per
share in cash, Argentina-focused Millennial Lithium said,
outbidding the C$3.60 per share offer made in July by Ganfeng,
one of the world's biggest producers of lithium chemicals used
in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nP8N2OQ01F
    The outright acquisition of a lithium miner by CATL follows
its purchase of stakes in another Argentina-focused lithium
company, Neo Lithium Corp, as well as in Greenland-focused North
American Nickel and Australia's Pilbara Minerals as it looks to
shore up supply of key battery ingredients.
    In April, CATL said its subsidiary agreed to take a stake in
China Molybdenum Co's  603993.SS   3993.HK  Kisanfu mine, a
major source of battery metal cobalt, in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) for $137.5 million.
    Millennial Lithium said on Tuesday that CATL has also
reimbursed it for the termination fee of $10 million paid to
Ganfeng, which had until Monday to match the higher bid but
decided against it.
    CATL's late charge puts the brakes on a prolific acquisition
spree by Ganfeng so far in 2021, which has seen it agree to buy
the shares it does not already own in Mexico-focused Bacanora
Lithium  BCNB.L  for $264.5 million, as well as stakes in a
lithium mine in Mali and a salt lake in China for $130 million
and 1.47 billion yuan, respectively.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2OS0US
    The deal also comes as prices for battery-grade lithium
carbonate in China  AM-995C-LTCB  have more than tripled so far
this year as EV demand roars back from the pandemic fallout.
    

 (Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru and Tom
Daly; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((Sabahatjahan.Contractor@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1
646 223 8780; outside the U.S. +91 80 6749 2635))