On Friday 17 December Ganfeng Lithium announced that its recommended takeover offer for Bacanora Lithium PLC had become effective, which valued Bacanora at approximately £260 million. The Takeover Code Rules changed in July 2021 and this is the first takeover offer made under the new regime to be successful.
Bacanora, whose shares are traded on AIM, is a lithium development company focused on building a 35,000 tonne per annum open pit lithium carbonate operation at its flagship asset, the Sonora Lithium Project in Mexico. The Sonora Lithium Project is one of the largest lithium mines in the world, based on proven and probable reserves. It has 8.8 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent resources, with an approximate 250-year resource life.
Teacher Stern acted for Ganfeng Lithium in its takeover offer for Bacanora. Gafeng’s lithium compound capacity ranks third worldwide, and Ganfeng is the world’s largest lithium metal producer. The Ganfeng Lithium Group covers a wide range of the lithium battery supply chain, from lithium resource development, refining and processing to rechargeable battery manufacturing and battery recycling. Ganfeng’s products are widely used in electric vehicles, energy storage, 3C products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Partner David Ponsford led the transaction, with assistance from George Stead, Guy Zarins and Wing Ming Choi (Corporate), and Lorna Clarke (Banking & Finance).
Roy Zhang Tong, Head of Corporate Development at Ganfeng commented: David Ponsford and the wider Teacher Stern team have shown great professionalism throughout Ganfeng’s takeover offer for Bacanora Lithium. As the team leader, David communicates with different parties and successfully managed legal challenges from multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, Mexico and Germany. David is diligent, efficient and reliable. He is client oriented and does not limit himself to the role of “legal expert” but also acts as a “problem solver” to push forward for positive outcomes. It is our pleasure working with him on such a complex cross boarder transaction.
