SQM shareholders move to shake up company governance

• Two major shareholders in lithium producer SQM have proposed to change the company’s governing statutes in a way that could block other shareholders from gaining control.
• Pampa Calichera and Potasios de Chile, both controlled by businessman Julio Ponce, call for an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to approve the proposal, according to a filing with Chilean securities regulator SVS.
• The new proposal would create an exception to an existing company statute that regulates the voting power of SQM’s shareholders, which analysts say could allow Ponce-controlled firms to match the voting power of new or existing shareholders looking to purchase or increase their stakes in the company.