CMF slams the door on Tianqi: no shareholder meeting is required to approve SQM-Codelco agreement

The Financial Market Commission (CMF) determined that “from the information available to this service, it is not possible to conclude that the legal assumptions contained in No. 9 of article 67 of the Public Limited Companies Law be verified that make it necessary for the matters contained in the so-called Association agreement are known, discussed and approved by the Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of SQM“.

In this way, the market regulator closes the door to Tianqi, which on May 21 requested to review the resolution issued on January 9, 2024, in order for the SQM board to decide whether or not to finalize the transaction. operation for develop lithium from the Salar de Atacama between 2025 and 2060 through a joint venture between the state company and the private non-metallic mining company.

The CMF said that “Considering that the assumptions contained in articles 57 No. 4, 67 No. 9, 69 No. 3 of the Public Limited Companies Law are not verified, this Commission considers that it is not appropriate for an Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of SQM to make a ruling on the so-called Association Agreement, so that This operation must be analyzed and resolved by the SQM board of directors.“.

“The foregoing is without prejudice to the right of the shareholders, if applicable, to pursue the responsibilities of the directors in accordance with the general rules, in the event of damage to the company and the shareholders,” said the entity chaired by Solange Berstein.

The Chinese lithium miner Tianqi, which participates in the ownership of SQM, has opposed the agreement with Codelco, in the terms that were established.