Right now, holders of major lithium stocks are still hopeful that the 'M&A' days could be back soon, holding out for that hope, as we all remember that it was the proposed takeover of LTR and AZS that whipped up hysterical buying of lithium stocks.
While AZS has received shareholder approval for their takeover by SQM/Hancock to go through, now they must anxiously wait for a month or so to see if they can get the go ahead from FIRB and High Court of WA. As far as the market is concerned, the deal has been taken for granted as a go. But should FIRB not approve or set conditions due to the presence of Tianqi as a key shareholder having an interest in SQM, that could result in a deal breaker, an unexpected event that could reverberate negatively across the lithium stock space. Because that would present as a major blow, killing any further hopes of market premium from M&A.
If ALB nor SQM can be allowed to takeover any Australian lithium company, then prospect for any takeover would be moot.
Given the circumstance that the lithium industry is in now, does both SQM and Gina feel that the premium they're paying for AZS is worth what they considered to be at the time the proposal is made? Probably not, but they're too far into it. So if there's any opportunity to back out, they may elect to do so.
