US-based lithium miner Piedmont Lithium on Wednesday announced that it would sell the rest of the shares it held in Australian miner Sayona Mining for A$59.9-million, or $39.4-million.
The Nasdaq- and ASX-listed company agreed to sell 1.15-billion shares of Sayona for A$0.052 a share through a secondary block sale. The sale price represents a premium to the 20-day volume-weighted average price.
Following the transaction and some smaller recent public market share sales, Piedmont will no longer hold any shares of Sayona.
The sale has no impact on Piedmont’s joint venture (JV) or offtake position with Sayona Quebec.
“We acquired our initial Sayona shares as part of our strategic investment in the Sayona Quebec JV and will recognise a meaningful gain on the investment. We remain fully committed to our JV with Sayona, with a particular focus on the ongoing ramp-up of North American Lithium, the largest lithium operation in North America,” said president and CEO Keith Phillips.
“Our 25% JV interest and associated offtake agreement are core assets of Piedmont, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners at Sayona to supply Inflation Reduction Act-qualified lithium resources critical to the US electric vehicle supply chain,” he said.
The decision to divest the Sayona shares aligns with Piedmont’s commitment to maintaining a prudent balance sheet while simultaneously minimising dilution of Piedmont’s shareholders. This action, in addition to recently announced cost-saving, strategically positions Piedmont for the long term.