Interesting - It would appear that this would now leave companies like RIO, Wesfarmers, ALB and (I think FMG were supposedly looking at Greenbushes ?) with a giant middle finger ... lol
Where will the interested parties in Greenbushes turn their interest to ?
The article was run through Google Translate so the grammar isn't 100% but you get the picture
My apologies if already posted - I didn't see it but it was referenced by
@findinggems somewhere else so credit to him.
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3n2WgoDFU4_9qLP_xhhkGg
Tianqi Lithium may be acquired by a state-owned enterprise and cause the actual controller to change. It will suspend plans to sell the Western Australia Green Bush lithium mine
Citing REDD's report, according to people familiar with the matter, a state-owned hydropower company in Chengdu is negotiating with Tianqi Lithium, with a view to its parent company, Chengdu Tianqi Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Chengdu Tianqi Industry") Taking control of the company in the hands, the negotiation has entered the final stage, but for this state-owned enterprise should be part of the acquisition of Tianqi Lithium (that is, the acquisition is not more than the proportion held by Chengdu Tianqi Industry, which is 36.04%) or all acquisitions; and about Whether New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. should participate in the acquisition as a minority shareholder has not yet been determined, so the plan has not been finalized.
According to relevant sources in the US ALB company, Tianqi Lithium has decided to suspend its plan to sell shares of the Green Bush lithium mine on Wednesday. REDD also received a response from Tianqi Lithium Industry that it has not signed any legal documents and agreements with third parties regarding the sale of assets. It is understood that Green Bush is the world's largest lithium mining site. Green Bush lithium mine is owned by Tianli Lithium (hereinafter referred to as "Telison"), a subsidiary of Tianqi Lithium. This asset was used to repay the company’s $3.5 billion loan in December 2018 to acquire SQM (Chile Mining Company). The American ALB Company (which holds a 49% stake in Talison) believes that Tianqi Lithium is unlikely to sell its assets in Australia, saying that Talison is an asset that many companies are currently interested in.
At the same time, a person familiar with the situation revealed that ALB said that it is currently worried about its investment credit rating and intends to buy Tianqi Lithium’s shares in Talison to ease debt pressure. Another source said that Tianqi Lithium's termination of the sale of Green Bush's shares is likely to prevent ALB from interfering with its plan to maintain control of Talison.
If the equity change of Tianqi Lithium will trigger the change of the actual controller in the US dollar bond prospectus, Tianqi Lithium’s 3.75% USD 300 million debt holders due in 2022 will have the right to choose a higher than 101 The price of cents is applied for resale (including accrued interest and unpaid interest).