Australia’s Wesfarmers still keen to buy Lynas
SYDNEY: Australia’s Wesfarmers Ltd remains keen on buyout talks with rare earths miner Lynas Corp Ltd, the retailto-chemicals conglomerate said on Friday, despite its A$1.4 billion (US$992 million) approach being rejected earlier this week.
“We remain keen to work collaboratively with the Lynas board and management team as well as the Malaysian government and regulatory authorities to secure a long-term and sustainable outcome for all stakeholders,” Wesfarmers chief executive officer Rob Scott said in an emailed statement.
Lynas had said on Wednesday that it would not engage with the conglomerate on its “highly conditional” takeover approach for the only proven producer of rare earth elements outside China.
In the statement, Scott said the 44.5 per cent premium price of its all-cash proposal reflected an expectation that regulatory issues “that have weighted on Lynas for many years” can be solved.
“We look forward to hearing the company’s solution,” he said.
Lynas, which has a mine in Western Australia and an US$800 million processing plant in Malaysia, is facing problems getting license renewals for the plant due to concerns over waste storage.
Its shares have risen 36 per cent to A$2.12 per share since Wesfarmers’ approach was first made public, well short of the $A$2.25 per Lynas share conditional deal tabled by Wesfarmers, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding the deal.
A successful takeover would give the retail-to-chemicals conglomerate exposure to new energy materials, with control of the only proven producer outside China of materials used in everything from electric cars to wind turbines.