Sayona Mining, Piedmont Lithium enter trading halt after merger report
Adds details in paragraphs 5-8
By Melanie Burton
MELBOURNE, Nov 19 (Reuters) -Shares of Sayona Mining SYA.AX and Piedmont Lithium PLL.O, PLL.AX entered a trading halt on Tuesday after a report of a potential merger of the two companies that share a lithium joint venture in Canada.
The combined entity is seeking to raise about A$150 million ($97.50 million) in fresh equity as a part of an agreed all-stock merger, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing fund manager sources.
The combined market value of both companies sits at A$754 million and any deal would consolidate their Canadian operations while shoring up their exposure to the North American electric vehicle industry, including Piedmont customer Tesla TSLA.O.
Piedmont declined to comment, while Sayona Mining did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
The two companies have a joint venture, North American Lithium (NAL) in Quebec, in which Sayona holds 75% and Piedmont has the remainder.
NAL finished ramping up in June and is targeting 226,000 metric tons a year of spodumene concentrate production, of which it will sell half to Piedmont.
Piedmont is developing a project in North Carolina and is also progressing spodumene assets in Ghana with Australian-listed Atlantic Lithium A11.AX.
Expectations have grown for further consolidation in the beleaguered sector that has been battered by oversupply and slower-than-expected uptake of EVs after Rio Tinto's $6.7 billion bid for Arcadium Lithium ALTM.N last month.
($1 = 1.5385 Australian dollars)
Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bangalore and Melanie Burton in Melbourne; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Jamie Freed
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