Oct 9 Reuters Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it will acquire Arcadium Lithium in an allcash transaction, valued at 6.7 billion, in a deal that will make it the world39;s thirdlargest lithium producer.

Rio Tinto will acquire the United Statesbased lithium producer for 5.85 per share, it said. The deal represents a 90 premium to Arcadium39;s closing price of 3.08 per share on Oct. 4, the day Reuters exclusively reported on a potential deal between the two firms.

Rio would gain access to lithium mines, processing facilities and deposits across four continents to fuel decades of growth, as well as a customer base that includes Tesla, BMW and General Motors.

We are confident that this is a compelling cash offer that reflects a full and fair longterm value for our business and derisks our shareholders exposure to the execution of our development portfolio and market volatility, Arcadium Lithium39;s CEO Paul Graves said in a statement.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the companies39; board of directors, is expected to close in mid 2025.

Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan

Source Reuters