Albemarle corporation (nyse:alb) completed the acquisition of 60% stake in wodgina hard rock lithium mine from mineral resources limited (asx:min).

Albemarle corporation (nyse:alb) signed an exclusivity agreement to acquire 50% stake in wodgina hard rock lithium mine from mineral resources limited (asx:min) for approximately $1.2 billion on november 21, 2018. albemarle corporation entered into a binding asset sale and share subscription agreement to acquire 50% stake in wodgina hard rock lithium mine from mineral resources limited on december 14, 2018. albemarle corporation entered into a revised agreement to acquire 60% stake in wodgina hard rock lithium mine from mineral resources limited (asx:min) for approximately $1.3 billion on august 1, 2019. the consideration will be paid in cash upon completion of the acquisition. albemarle corporation will fund the acquisition with available cash and new credit facilities. the transaction was funded by borrowing of approximately $900 million under an unsecured credit facility. under the terms of the agreement, albemarle corporation and mineral resources limited shall enter into 50/50 fully integrated joint venture and is subject to negotiation of definitive documents and board approval by the parties. albemarle corporation would manage the marketing and sales of lithium hydroxide produced by the joint venture. albemarle would acquire 50% interest in all mineral rights within the wodgina tenements, other than iron ore and tantalum, all fixed infrastructure and utility assets, the sodumene concentration plant and the mobile mining equipment. if the agreement are terminated prior to completion, albemarle will pay a break fee of $100 million to mineral resources limited. the terms as well includes an exclusivity period until december 14, 2018 for the parties to agree upon and execute binding definitive documents. as per the revised agreement, albemarle corporation and mineral resources limited shall enter into a 60:40 unincorporated joint venture for operation of the wodgina hard rock lithium mine and kemerton modules. under the term of the revised agreement, albemarle corporation will pay $820 million in cash upon completion and 40% interest in the first two 25 ktpa modules of the kemerton facility. completion of the transaction will be subject to satisfaction of conditions of an administrative nature, applicable regulatory approvals including the australian foreign investment review board and any third party consents. as per the revised agreement, the transaction is subject to firb approval for the transfer of the wodgina sale interest, samr approval, ministerial consent, third party consent, transfer of the kemerton sale interest under the kmerton sale agreement and transfer of kemerton assets under the albermarle intra-group transfer. as of july 25, 2019, china state administration for market regulation has approved the transaction. as of october 25, 2019, transaction was approved by firb. the transaction will be accretive to albemarle's earnings. as of december 14, 2018, subject to regulatory approval, completion is expected to take place in second half of 2019. the transaction is expected to complete by december 15, 2019. as of october 28, 2019, completion is expected to occur within the next 10 business days. the transaction will be accretive to albemarle's earnings. macquarie capital (australia) limited acted as financial advisor and gilbert + tobin acted as legal advisor to mineral resources limited. merrill lynch, pierce, fenner & smith incorporated acted as financial advisor and minterellison acted as legal advisor to albemarle corporation. shearman & sterling llp acted as legal advisor to albemarle corporation. albemarle corporation (nyse:alb) completed the acquisition of 60% stake in wodgina hard rock lithium mine from mineral resources limited (asx:min) on november 1, 2019. the proceed from transaction resulted in mineral resources limited moving to a net cash position and mineral resources limited intends to reinvest or retain the proceeds from the partial sale of wodgina.
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