Lithium technology startup EnergyX has made a $150 million bid for Galan Lithium’s assets in Argentina, part of a strategy to consolidate acreage needed to produce the electric vehicle battery metal amid low market prices.
The offer – for $150 million in cash, shares in EnergyX, project financing and a royalty payment – was first sent on July 11 and the two companies are in negotiations, according to EnergyX.
Details of the offer were first reported in the Australian press.
Representatives for Perth-based Galan were not immediately available to comment. The company’s stock, listed in Australia, was halted on Monday pending what Galan said was a “clarifying announcement regarding a media article.”
The bid comes as prices for lithium have tumbled in the past year, fueling layoffs at industry leader Albemarle and others. Teague Egan, EnergyX’s CEO, said he was making the move for Galan’s Argentina acreage in a bid to consolidate acreage amid low prices.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that lithium demand will continue to grow later this decade,” said Egan.
The head of EnergyX’s South American operations, Juan Carlos Barrera, is a consultant to Galan’s board, according to the companies’ websites.
General Motors and a consortium led by South Korean conglomerate Posco Holdings are investors in EnergyX, which has offices in Austin, Texas.
EnergyX, which in 2022 lost out on a bid to develop Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni lithium deposit, has a pilot project in northern Chile and is developing projects in North America.
(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
