(Reuters) -Rio Tinto has made a plan to buy lithium miner Arcadium, the two sides said in separate statements on Monday, without disclosing any financial details.
“The approach is non-binding and there is no assurance that any transaction will be approved or proceed,” Rio said in its statement.
Reuters exclusively reported on Friday that the companies had held talks and that Arcadium could be valued at $4 billion to $6 billion or higher.
Arcadium’s market capitalization was $3.31 billion on Friday.
Rio’s approach to Arcadium comes at a time when miners are eager to secure the supply of crucial minerals needed to power the global energy transition.
If the deal is completed, Rio would become one of the world’s largest suppliers of lithium, behind Albemarle and SQM. Demand for the ultra-light metal is expected to rise later this decade due to the growth in the use of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
