SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA), the lithium three way partnership entity owned by Tianqi Lithium Corporation (TLC) (51%) and IGO Limited (49%) has entered right into a Scheme Implementation Agreement to purchase 100% of Essential Metals Limited (ASX:ESS) for A$0.50/share.
The transaction represents a 36.3% premium to ESS’s 30-day VWAP and values ESS’s fairness at A$136 million on a fully diluted basis.
Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia expects the transaction to full by May 2023.
Essential Metals Limited is a lithium exploration firm which owns 100% of the Pioneer Dome Project in Western Australia.
Pioneer Dome is found roughly 130 km south of Kalgoorlie and 200 km north of the port of Esperance.
The project covers an space of 450 km2 and is in shut proximity to the Mount Marion and Bald Hill lithium projects. Pioneer Dome is one of solely 14 JORC compliant spodumene lithium resources in Australia, with an outlined JORC useful resource of 11.2 Mt @ 1.16% Li2O1. ESS additionally holds a number of different pursuits in early-stage exploration projects throughout lithium, nickel and gold.
ESS’s Board of Directors have unanimously recommended that ESS shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme, and every ESS Director intends to vote their ESS shares in favour of the Scheme (in every case inside the absence of a superior proposal and topic to an independent expert concluding that the Scheme is inside the best pursuits of ESS shareholders).
The proposed Transaction is topic to various conditions together with ESS shareholder and court approvals. The conditions are set out in full inside the SIA which is attached to today’s announcement by Essential Metals Limited regarding the Scheme.
The Transaction delivers significant advantages to Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia, including:
• It is aligned with TLEA’s technique focused on constructing a globally significant lithium business;
• Continues to diversity and expand TLEA’s lithium portfolio inside Western Australia;
• Secures additional lithium resources with the potential for continued growth through future exploration; and
• Offers entry right into a extremely potential lithium province.
The Transaction will be funded utilizing money generated by TLEA. IGO will handle the exploration and preliminary project research on behalf of TLEA.
IGO’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Matt Dusci, commented, “Both IGO and TLC are dedicated to progressing and rising our lithium three way partnership business. The ESS transaction provides an alternative to speed up lithium exploration to bring new resources to production. It additionally enhances the numerous growth alternatives inside the TLEA enterprise which include the continued expansion of the Greenbushes operation, the profitable ramp up Train 1 of the lithium hydroxide facility at Kwinana and progressing towards the monetary funding decision for Train 2.
We look ahead to supporting Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia with future work programs over the ESS assets, because the three way partnership seeks to bring new resources to manufacturing to address the market deficit of uncooked supplies critical for clear energy transition.”