Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said it would take an almost 25 percent stake in China Molybdenum.
The move comes as battery producers and new energy vehicle makers rush to secure battery raw materials resources like lithium, cobalt and nickel amid the rapid development of the new energy sector. Molybdenum Square Rod
CATL’s Sichuan unit will indirectly own a 24.68 percent stake in CMOC via a capital boost and stake transfer, according to a company filing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The move would make the world’s largest battery maker the second-biggest indirect shareholder in the cobalt giant.
Shanghai-based private equity firm Cathay Fortune, which holds 30.19 percent of CMOC’s shares, is its biggest shareholder.
CATL also said it did not seek to control CMOC, nor plan to increase its holdings in CMOC in the next 36 months.
To offset rising costs of battery materials, CATL has taken measures including signing long-term contracts with suppliers, recycling materials and negotiating a dynamic battery pricing scheme with automakers, it said when releasing its third-quarter profit last month.
The two companies have established strategic partnerships in recent years.
Last April, CATL said its subsidiary would take a stake in CMOC’s copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for $137.5 million.
Shares of CMOC listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange jumped 3.9 percent to 4.31 yuan ($0.5914) on Tuesday.
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