CATL Reportedly Bids for Canadian Lithium Miner Millennial for About $300 Million

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) was the mystery suitor behind the C$377 million ($298 million) offer for Vancouver-based Millennia. CATL has not given official response yet.

This Tuesday, CATL announced the plan to invest at most RMB 13.5 billion in building a new lithium-ion battery factory in Yichun City, Jiangxi Province.

SEE ALSO: CATL to Invest 13.5 Billion Yuan in Building a Lithium-Ion Battery Plant in Yichun, China

A bidding battle for Millennial is heating up as Chinese firms compete to secure key elements needed for electric-vehicle batteries.

Millennial revealed on September 8th that it had received a non-binding offer of C$3.85 per share from a foreign lithium-ion battery manufacturer who was unwilling to be named. The second highest offer also came from a Chinese company. China’s Ganfeng Lithium Co. offered to buy Millennial for C$353 million, or C$3.60 per share this past July. On July 30th, Ganfeng Lithium Co. announced its subsidary Jiangxi Ganfeng Battery Technology Co., Ltd. had received more funding from investors led by Hubei Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd.

People with knowledge of the matter said, Millennial’s assets have also attracted interest from China Molybdenum Co. Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty the suitors will proceed with binding offers, the people said.