Chile’s Constitutional Court declined Oct. 25 to take up a case questioning whether an agreement between China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. and Chile’s antitrust agency Fiscalia Nacional Economica (FNE) went far enough to protect SQM’s trade secrets against its Chinese competitor (GM Oct. 12, p. 25). Tianqi Lithium has agreed to acquire a 24 percent stake in SQM from Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, for $4.1 billion.
In a joint statement, Tianqi Lithium and Nutrien said they were pleased with the court decision. It allows the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC) to rule on the reconsideration motions filed by the Pampa Group, SQM and Conadecus against the TDLC’s initial decision (GM Sept. 14, p. 25, Sept. 21, p. 1). TDLC’s initial decision upheld Tianqi Lithium’s agreement with FNE to allow the deal to proceed.
Nutrien and Tianqi Lithium expect to close the sale by the end of the year as previously planned.