Santiago—Chilean billionaire Julio Ponce on Dec. 15 called off a year-long process to sell an indirect stake in Sociedad Quimica & Minera de Chile SA (SQM), according to Bloomberg. Sociedad de Inversiones Oro Blanco SA, one of the holding companies through which Ponce controls SQM, said in a regulatory filing that bids received for its stake in another holding company, Sociedad de Inversiones Pampa Calichera SA, failed to “contribute to the social interest of shareholders,” and that the board had unanimously decided to call off the sale. SQM shares fell after the news was announced.
SQM is locked in an arbitration process with the Chilean government over rights to extract lithium and other minerals from brine in northern Chile’s Salar de Atacama, a concession that accounts for more than 30 percent of the company’s earnings before items. The government argues that SQM had underpaid taxes and fees, an accusation that SQM has denied. Ponce is also appealing a $70 million fine for illegal trading in the holding companies that Chile’s regulator imposed in 2014. Chile’s securities regulator ruled this month that whoever bought the Pampa Calichera stake would have to present a public tender offer for all SQM shares if the buyer gained effective control of SQM’s board through any shareholder pacts. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. owns a 32 percent stake in SQM.