Sibanye-Stillwater to boost stake in Finnish lithium company to 50%

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Sibanye-Stillwater (SBSW) said Thursday it will exercise its pre-emptive right to increase its shareholding in Finnish lithium firm Keliber to 50% plus one share at a cost of €146M ($152.4M), Reuters reports.

Sibanye (SBSW) also will offer to buy minority shareholders out to boost its stake above 80%, which would entail a maximum possible overall cost of €446M.

Keliber aims to be the first fully-integrated lithium producer in Europe, targeting first production in 2024 and ramping up to produce ~15K metric tons/year of lithium hydroxide.

Keliber said the financing from Sibanye (SBSW) will allow it to start construction in the summer and to place orders for equipment upon receipt of required environmental permits.

Seeking Alpha contributor JR Research views Sibanye-Stillwater (SBSW) as a Speculative Buy in a recently published analysis.