【China's Market Regulator Publishes Six Merger Review Cases to Curb “Involution” in Key Industries】 China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) published six typical merger review cases aimed at addressing excessive and disorderly competition, including TCL Zhonghuan New Energy Technology's acquisition of a stake in Yidao New Energy and the establishment of a joint venture for lithium-ion battery separators by Cangzhou Mingzhu and Guangzhou Zengcheng Development Zone. SAMR said it will continue to strengthen merger and antitrust reviews in key sectors including photovoltaics and lithium batteries, while supporting corporate mergers and acquisitions that improve asset utilization and operational efficiency.

【Nth Cycle to Go Public via SPAC Merger, Expanding U.S. Black Mass Refining】 U.S. critical minerals refiner Nth Cycle has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. VI, with the combined company expected to list on the New York Stock Exchange at an implied enterprise value of approximately $585 million. Nth Cycle’s OYSTER electrochemical refining platform processes black mass from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and battery manufacturing scrap to recover critical materials including nickel and lithium. The transaction is expected to support the company’s expansion of domestic critical mineral and battery material refining capabilities in the U.S.

[SMM Flash] Sinomine Resource Group is in talks to acquire Globe Metals & Mining’s Kanyika niobium development project in Malawi. The potential transaction would bring the Chinese critical-minerals group closer to a project it is already supporting through Sinomine International (Zambia) Engineering, which has been involved in early construction and development works at Kanyika. Globe began construction in January 2026 under a cost-reimbursable collaboration agreement, while first oxide production is targeted for the first quarter of 2028. Kanyika is positioned as a potential source of niobium and tantalum oxides, with Globe’s 2026 project plan targeting approximately 3,000 tonnes per year of Nb₂O₅ and 150 tonnes per year of Ta₂O₅ at full scale. Globe has previously retained full ownership and offtake rights while using Sinomine’s regional construction and processing expertise. Any acquisition would strengthen Sinomine’s exposure to niobium outside China and could add another strategic African critical-minerals asset to its expanding international portfolio.

On August 20, Guodian Power Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guodian Power") issued an announcement regarding the initiation of acquisition of certain assets of its controlling shareholder. The announcement stated that Guodian Power, as the integration platform for conventional energy generation business of China Energy Investment Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "China Energy Group"), plans to initiate the acquisition of equity interests in seven energy platform companies under the controlling shareholder. The total installed controlled capacity in operation is approximately 320,000 kW, and the total installed controlled capacity under construction/planned is 13.54 million kW. Guodian Power intends to make the acquisition in cash.

Brookfield and La Caisse have completed the acquisition of Canadian renewable energy producer Boralex, purchasing all outstanding Class A shares for CAD 37.25 per share in cash. Following the transaction, Boralex will continue operating as an independent company, while its shares have been delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Boralex owns about 3.8GW of operating wind, solar, hydro and battery storage assets across Canada, France, the US and the UK.

SMM learned that a computing power leasing platform, as a partner of a leading AI computing service provider, has recently been acquiring a large amount of server leasing resources and has access to reliable downstream customers. Its H100 leasing budget is set at a five-year fixed price of 75,000 yuan per unit per month. SMM believes that the platform's bulk acquisition combined with a fixed budget indicates that the intermediary layer is scaling up its hoarding of H100 resources, reinforcing the trend of locking in prices through long-term contracts.