VANCOUVER, BC (CU)_Amid the ongoing push for more clean-energy sources across the globe, the demand for lithium has seen a significant rise over the recent past, particularly from the Electric Vehicle market which is heavily reliant on the silvery metal. Lithium is one of the key component for EV rechargeable batteries, and companies along the industry’s supply chain have joined the race to secure it. According to the World Economic Forum, demand for critical metal is expected to accelerate by a factor of 6-24 by the end of this decade, generating an annual revenue of $300 billion by 2030.
Against such a background, Canadian miner Millennial Lithium Corp., which has lithium assets in Argentina, has found itself in a bidding war between some of the major players in the industry. In July this year, China’s Ganfeng Lithium Co. announced plans to buy the Vancouver-based miner at $3.60 per share, suggesting a valuation of $353 million. However, just a month later, Millennial said that it has received a new, unsolicited offer of $3.85 per share from a foreign lithium battery production company, which was later identified to be Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL).
Subsequently, in October, Lithium Americas Corp. decided to join the bidding war, offering to buy its Canadian counterpart at C$4.70 a share, suggesting a valuation of about $400 million. This amount will be payable in Lithium Americas stock and C$0.001 cash per share. The offer represents a premium of 27 per cent to the Canadian miner’s closing price on 29 October, at C$3.70 a share on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It has been unanimously determined by Millennial’s board of directors Lithium America’s offer is a superior to that of CATL, and has given the latter 10 days to match the offer.
