of Albemarle’s $6.6 billion takeover bid, the lithium junior’s biggest shareholder, Gina Rinehart, was busy setting up a new vehicle for her pivot towards critical minerals.
After exactly one year of posturing and positioning around Albemarle’s interest – which began with an offer on October 20 last year to buy the company for $2.20 per share – the players in the battle for Liontown are back to something resembling square one.But in the year since Albemarle first privately signalled its interest to Liontown, the context of this game has changed dramatically.
Not everyone is bearish; RBC expects spodumene prices to average more than $US2800 a tonne through the next two years.will weigh on lithium prices for the next year or so, and the mood wiped more than 15 per cent off the value of Albemarle shares this week as analysts forecast lower earnings for coming years.
The $1.80 issue price for the new Liontown shares is 40 per cent below the $3 per share that Albemarle was willing to pay before Rinehart complicated the process by building a potential blocking stake equivalent to 19.9 per cent of the company.But it was still 17 per cent higher than Liontown’s share price on March 27; the last time the market traded without knowing Albemarle’s interest.
Some east coast bankers were also understood to be in Perth this week talking to Hancock Prospecting about its longer-term lithium strategy.
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Source: 7NewsSydney - 🏆 16. / 63 Read more »