Chile’s Supreme Court rejected Chinese firm Tianqi’s appeal to halt a lithium deal between SQM and state-run Codelco, local newspaper La Tercera reported on Wednesday.
Tianqi has argued that the agreement should have been approved by SQM shareholders. CMF, Chile’s financial regulator, ruled that no such approval is required.
The Chinese company, which owns about a fifth of SQM, asked the Supreme Court to halt the deal after an appeals court declined to do so while it analyzed the arguments.
According to La Tercera, Chile’s top court said “the Supreme Court is not an appellate court,” and would only rule on such matters in exceptional circumstances, which wasn’t the case.
Tianqi did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
SQM and Codelco expect to begin their partnership in 2025 and have expressed confidence in the agreement, which will make the state the majority shareholder.
(By Fabian Cambero and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Kylie Madry and Paul Simao)
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