Insight 11 | Latest Twist in $4.1 Billion Lithium Saga

There has been a fair amount of legal battling around a proposed $4.1 billion transaction whereby Tianqi Lithium (“Tianqi”), a Chinese chemical company and one of the world’s biggest lithium producers, agreed to purchase 62,556,568 “Series A shares” of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (“SQM”), a U.S.-listed Chilean chemical company and another of the world’s leading lithium producers, from Nutrien, a U.S.-listed Canadian company and the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services.

On September 7th, 2018, the Chilean National Economic Prosecutor (FNE) announced the result of its investigation and published a “Report Regarding the Partial Acquisition by Tianqi Lithium Corporation in SQM” in addition to proposing a settlement agreement between FNE and Tianqi in order to mitigate some of the anti-competitive effects of the transaction.

On October 4th, 2018, the Chilean Antitrust Court (TDLC) approved the proposed settlement. On October 11th, 2018, the Chilean Constitutional Court (TC) suspended the sale on due process grounds. A new hearing was set for October 22nd, 2018.

Evan Epstein, the Founder and Managing Partner of Pacifica Global, has been writing about this case and you can read his latest take on the following link: Proposed Settlement Does Not Solve U.S. Antitrust & Governance Concerns in $4.1B Lithium Saga.

Keywords: #Lithium, #Corporate Governance, #Antitrust, #settlements #Technology, #Electric Vehicles, #Chile.

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Pacifica Global was founded in San Francisco to serve as a leading corporate governance advisory firm. The mission of Pacifica Global is to help founders, executives, directors and investors solve some of their most complex corporate governance conflicts and challenges.