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Gina Rinehart\u2019s Hancock Prospecting has joined forces with a Chilean mining giant in a $1.7 billion bid to takeover Australian lithium miner Azure Minerals.<\/p>\n
Hancock said it has partnered with Sociedad Qu\u00edmica y Minera (SQM), adding its weight to an ongoing takeover tussle for Azure and in the process cutting out rival mining magnate Chris Ellison\u2019s Mineral Resources, another large investor in West Australia\u2019s lithium sector.<\/p>\n
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Most Australian lithium mines produce spodumene \u2013 a crystalline powder that is about six per cent lithium.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>NYT<\/cite><\/p>\n Rinehart is one of several West Australian mining billionaires who are in a mad scramble to gain control over the state\u2019s vast deposits of lithium \u2013 the metal dubbed \u201cwhite gold\u201d due to its market value and silver colour.<\/p>\n Lithium\u2019s value lies not in its scarcity, but in the booming demand for batteries, which are the driving force behind the global electric vehicle wave. The mineral is the car\u2019s most expensive component.<\/p>\n Azure\u2019s flagship Andover lithium project boasts hundreds of outcropping lithium-rich rocks over a nine kilometre range near Roebourne in Australia\u2019s remote Pilbara region.<\/p>\n SQM controls 19.4 per cent of Azure\u2019s stock and had its original $3.52-a-share offer endorsed by the miner\u2019s board. It\u2019s been joined on the share register by Hancock, which took 18.3 per cent, in a takeover play reminiscent of Hancock\u2019s recent demolition of US giant Albermarle\u2019s aspirations to seize control of another West Australian lithium developer Liontown.<\/p>\n In the face of Hancock\u2019s presence, Albermarle eventually gave up its hopes of taking full control of Liontown. Similar tactics tilted the Azure battle in favour of Hancock.<\/p>\n In a move that pincers Ellison, the partnership said two other major shareholders in Azure \u2013 mining legend Mark Creasy\u2019s Creasy Group and German-based Delphi Group \u2013 intend to sell all their shares to SQM and Hancock unless a superior proposal emerges.<\/p>\n Ellison owns 13.56 per cent of Azure, while Creasy controls 12.84 per cent, and Delphi has a 10.15 per cent stake. Azure\u2019s shares went into a temporary trading halt on Monday at $3.63.<\/p>\n Gina Rinehart\u2019s Hancock has partnered with Sociedad Qu\u00edmica y Minera, adding its weight to an ongoing takeover tussle for Azure.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Michael Quelch<\/cite><\/p>\n SQM\u2019s chief executive, Ricardo Ramos, said his company and Hancock had signed a binding implementation deed with Azure minerals to acquire all its shares for a cash price of $3.70 a share, backed up by a joint off-market takeover bid at a cash price of $3.65 if the deed didn\u2019t give them full control of Azure.<\/p>\n Azure said the new offer was a 5.2 per cent premium over SQM\u2019s original offer which the board unanimously recommended to shareholders in October. \u201cWe encourage all shareholders to support the transaction,\u201d managing director Tony Rovira said.<\/p>\n Ramos said the revised offer to Azure\u2019s shareholders provided compelling cash value in a time of broader market volatility.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are pleased to have received the unanimous support from the Azure Board and support from substantial shareholders Delphi Group and Creasy Group for the transaction,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>\n He said SQM would use its lithium expertise and Hancock\u2019s significant local mining knowledge to manage the elevated risk of exploration drilling at Andover.<\/p>\n Creasy is a long-term shareholder in Azure. His company Yandal also directly owns a 40 per cent chunk of the Andover prospect.<\/p>\n Lithium\u2019s importance was underscored recently by the Albanese government doubling the finance available to local exporters of essential elements for batteries and other renewable technologies from $2 billion to $4 billion.<\/p>\n The sector gained serious attention between 2014 and 2018, when an army of rusted-on retail shareholders piled into ASX-listed lithium prospects, motivated by the material\u2019s importance to the electric vehicle revolution which was starting to take shape just six years after Tesla unveiled its first car.<\/p>\n The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. <\/i><\/b>Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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