LONDON (Reuters) – Shares in Bacanora Lithium rose as much as 30% on Thursday after China’s Ganfeng Lithium, one of the world’s top lithium producers, agreed to buy the shares it does not already own for up to 190 million pounds ($264.5 million).
The deal, which values Bacanora at up to around 267 million pounds, comes as prices for lithium surge due to booming demand for electric vehicles, where the chemical is used in rechargeable batteries.
Ganfeng, which in February announced a plan to raise its stake in Bacanora to 28.88% from 17.41%, will acquire the remaining shares in the company at 67.5 pence each, a joint statement said. The increase in Ganfeng’s stake to 28.88% is expected to complete shortly, it added.
London-listed shares in Bacanora, which aims to start production from its Sonora lithium project in Mexico in 2023, surged 30% to 59.5 pence by 1250 GMT, putting the offer at an 11% premium.
Jiangxi-based Ganfeng said in late March it planned to boost production capacity roughly fivefold to 600,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) annually, without providing a timeframe.
Bacanora will delist from London once the deal goes through, removing one of two pure-play lithium producers on the London Stock Exchange at a time when investors are looking to capitalise on companies that will drive the transition to cleaner energy.
The deal follows the announcement of a merger between lithium producers Galaxy Resources and Orocobre Ltd last month as demand for the key electric vehicle battery ingredient surges after a three-year downturn.
Prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China, as assessed by Asian Metal, are up 69.5% year to date at 89,000 yuan per tonne ($13,760), the highest since August 2018.
($1 = 0.7184 pounds)
(Reporting by Tom Daly, Zandi Shabalala and Clara Denina; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason Neely)
