Albemarle Corporation (Charlotte, N.C.) announced that its subsidiary, Albemarle Lithium UK Limited, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity of Guangxi Tianyuan New Energy Materials Co., Ltd. (Tianyuan), a lithium converter located in Guangxi, China. Under terms of the agreement, Albemarle will acquire all outstanding equity from Tianyuan’s shareholders for approximately $200 million, subject to certain adjustments. Albemarle expects the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, to close in early 2022.
Founded in 2017, Tianyuan’s operations include a recently constructed lithium processing plant strategically positioned near the Port of Qinzhou in Guangxi. The plant has designed annual conversion capacity of up to 25,000 metric tons LCE and is capable of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. It currently is in the commissioning stage and is expected to begin commercial production in the first half of 2022.
“The acquisition of Tianyuan, which owns and operates a newly constructed lithium processing plant, aligns with our strategy to pursue profitable growth in line with customer demand,” said Kent Masters, Albemarle CEO. “This will be a key component of our next wave of projects designed to increase our conversion capacity in a capital-efficient manner in the coming years. As the global transition to cleaner energy rapidly develops, this added lithium capacity will enable us to help our customers achieve their growth and sustainability ambitions.”