Tianqi Lithium to raise $750 million equity-linked funding, eyes further SQM share sale

SINGAPORE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Tianqi Lithium Corp 002466.SZ said on Wednesday it expected to raise about HK$5.86 billion ($750 million) via a share placement and convertible bonds, and planned to sell a small stake in Chilean miner SQM to bolster liquidity.

In a stock exchange filing, the Chinese lithium producer listed in Shenzhen and Hong Kong said it struck a deal to issue 65 million new H shares at HK$45.05 each, or a discount of about 9% from Tuesday's closing price of HK$49.50, worth about HK$2.9 billion.

Tianqi also entered into a subscription agreement for 2.6 billion yuan ($375 million) of zero-coupon convertible bonds due on February 9, 2027, issued at 100.5% of principal and initially convertible at HK$49.56 per share, it added.

Proceeds will go to lithium sector development, including project spending and optimisation and potential acquisitions of high-quality lithium mine assets, as well as working capital and general corporate purposes, it added.

The company said it had agreed to a 90-day lock-up after the placing closes on February 11. Goldman Sachs GS.N, HSBC HSBA.L and Huatai International are placing agents and managers for the deals.

In a separate statement, Tianqi said it intended to dispose of within a year up to 3.6 million class A shares in SQM, equivalent to 1.25% of total shares.

It has sold 748,490 SQM class B shares since December 26, 2025. It now holds 62.6 million SQM class A shares, or a stake of 21.9% in SQM, it added.

($1=$HK7.8153)

($1=6.9354 Chinese yuan renminbi)