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Bloomberg
Tianqi Lithium plans to sell a minority stake in the world’s biggest lithium mine, giving the producer access to the cash it needs to repay the major loan behind its ballooning financial troubles.
Australian miner IGO Ltd will pay $1.4 billion in cash for a 49% stake in Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia Pty, the majority shareholder in
the Greenbushes mine in the country’s west,
according to a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The deal also includes a minority stake in Tianqi’s lithium hydroxide plant at Kwinana once a restructuring of units is completed.
Tianqi will use the proceeds to repay $1.2 billion of principal on an existing acquisition loan, as well as for working capital for the Kwinana project, it said. The company plans to sign an amended loan agreement with lenders to extend a $1.88 billion payment to November 2021. After the equity investment and a repayment of no less than $1.2 billion, the due date of the facility will be further deferred to 2022.
The deal expands IGO’s push into battery materials as it seeks to tap into an expected surge in demand as the world’s clean energy transition gathers pace.