China eyes victory in takeover bid for London listed Banacora
China’s takeover of a British lithium miner is reportedly on the brink of success after a key shareholder signalled support for the deal.
Ganfeng Lithium needs 75 per cent support for its proposed £285m takeover of Bacanora to succeed at which point the company would likely be delisted from London’s AIM stock exchange the Telegraph first reported.
The Chinese Lithium company, which already has approval from shareholders that own 45 per cent of company stock and owns a further 28.9 per cent of shares itself, has just received asset from a major shareholder controlling five per cent of the shares taking the deal over the line.
Senior UK politicians have previously stated their opposition to the deal which will place even more of the world’s mineral reserves under the control of Chinese companies which own an estimated 90 per cent of rare earth mines and manufacture 80 per cent of lithium ion batteries.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former leader of the Conservative Party, accused ministers of being “asleep on the watch,” over the Banacora deal.
“China has been snapping up reserves all over the world. We need to ensure this deal does not further increase the power of the undemocratic, dictatorial regime in Beijing,” Smith said.
Read more: US-China rhetoric won’t solve our climate woes if Beijing stays hooked on coal