Lithium Rush Heats Up With SQM’s $1 Billion Azure Buy
- Australian miner Azure agrees to revised takeover offer
- Follows increased interest in battery-metal producers
An SQM lithium mine.
Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Lithium mining giant SQM has won over Perth-based Azure Minerals Ltd. with a sweetened A$1.6 billion ($1 billion) cash offer, the latest deal as large battery-metal producers race to secure supply in Australia, home to some of the world’s richest deposits.
Azure’s board will back the new binding bid from SQM, which increased its cash offer by 52% to A$3.52 per share, the Australian producer said Thursday. That’s a 44% premium over Azure’s closing price on Oct. 20, and follows a previously rejected non-binding offer of A$2.31 made in August.