European Lithium moves into titanium with $49m acquistion
European Lithium, led by Tony Sage, will move into the titanium space after agreeing to acquire the entire issued share capital of Velta Holding, a US-based company with production and mining assets in Ukraine.
The company announced to the market on Tuesday that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100 percent of the issued capital of Velta Holding through approximately 173 fully paid European Lithium ordinary shares.
This represents an offer of $49 million based on European Lithium’s current share price (ASX:EUR) of 28.5 cents per share.
The acquisition will give EL access to existing mining, processing and production assets in Ukraine.
This will also mean that European Lithium, through Velta, will control around two percent of the global titanium raw material market, which is on the list of priority projects of the US-Ukraine Mineral Resources Agreement.
European Lithium (ASX:EUR) chairman Tony Sage said the acquisition was an important step in expanding the company’s access to critical and strategic minerals.
“Titanium is an important material used in aerospace, defense, medical and industrial applications, and Velta’s asset base and technical capabilities provide the company with a platform for future growth,” he said.
“This transaction is intended to complement EL’s core lithium business and support long-term shareholder value creation.”
In the statement, it was stated that the miner and producer, which carries out most of its operations in Ukraine, managed to maintain its export markets and operational stability despite the ongoing conflicts in the region.
“Further expansion of production capacity and investment programs will depend on the current security environment and the fulfillment of the terms and conditions of the proposed transaction,” EL said in a statement. The statement was included.
Velta Holding Chief Executive Officer Andriy Brodsky said the agreement represents an opportunity to advance various development initiatives in Ukraine and the United States.
“These initiatives focus on both horizontal and vertical integrations that support the transition from a feedstock-based model to the production of titanium metal and other value-added critical materials,” Mr. Brodsky said.
“For Ukraine, this represents investment, employment and the introduction of new technologies. For Europe and the USA, it supports the development of reliable and transparent supply chains for critical materials.
“Our partnership with European Lithium is expected to strengthen our ability to integrate Ukrainian resources into Western value chains while operating in accordance with international standards of governance and transparency.”
This acquisition follows European Lithium’s recent move to sell five million shares of Critical Metals Corp for an estimated $124 million.
It currently holds 44,982 percent of Critical Metals’ capital, or approximately 48 million shares.
