Albemarle Completes Acquisition of Lithium Salts Production Assets in Asia

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) has announced it has completed the acquisition of the Jiangxi Jiangli New Materials Science and Technology lithium business for a purchase price of $145 million.
As quoted in the press release:

The transaction includes manufacturing assets and supporting business functions located in both Jiangxi and Sichuan, China focused on the production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate.
“This acquisition, which combines Jiangli New Material’s manufacturing excellence and Albemarle’s leading resource position, will accelerate Albemarle’s ability to meet our lithium growth plan,” said David Klanecky, vice president of Albemarle’s Lithium Division. “The facilities in both Jiangxi and Sichuan are strategically located in high growth regions and will enable us to enhance customer service and deliver exceptional product diversity across end markets, geographies and technologies, particularly in Asia Pacific.”
Collectively, the Jiangli New Material assets have a total lithium salts capacity of 15,000 MT/year. Albemarle has already completed engineering and is in the construction phase of an expansion project at Jiangxi to create an additional 20,000 to 25,000 MT/year of lithium hydroxide capacity. This expansion, which is expected to begin production in 2018, will be used to satisfy long-term customer supply agreements.

Click here to read the full press release.