SMM

On December 19, the $10.6 billion Allkem-Livent merger has been approved by shareholders on both sides, creating a new company Arcadium Lithium, poised to be one of the world’s largest lithium producers after Albemarle and SQM. The primary listing of Arcadium Lithium will be on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from January 4, 2024.
Some shareholders of Allkem and analysts had questioned the strategic balance of the merger, saying that Livent might need Allkem more than vice versa while Allkem will face reduced ASX presence and have only 56% stake in the new entity.
Most of the shareholders, as the voting result shows, agree that this merger adds value by combining Allkem’s mineral resources with Livent’s processing facilities across multiple countries, creating a synergy to enhance market competitiveness such production costs and supply stability. In addition, the Company’s diversified global operations may provide a buffer against regional market volatility and geopolitical instability.
In parallel, other recent moves in Australia’s lithium industry have attracted attention as well. On December 15, Livent acquired a stake in the Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) firm ILiAD Technologies, giving Livent the right to deploy ILiAD technology at its lithium brine resource in Argentina with commercial utilization set to begin as early as 2025. On December 19, West Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart and Chile’s SQM have agreed to jointly offer to acquire Azure Minerals for $1.1 billion. All of these have shown that the Australian and global lithium landscape is going through a strategic reshuffle.