Deal: IGO Limited has been advised on its proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of 49 per cent of Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia, a subsidiary of China’s Tianqi Lithium Corporation that holds a 51 per cent interest in the Greenbushes lithium mine and a 100 per cent interest in a lithium hydroxide plant, both located in Western Australia.

HSF advised IGO on the acquisition itself, IGO’s fully underwritten $776 million capital raising used to partially fund the transaction, and IGO’s $1.1 billion syndicated debt facility.

Value: $1.9 billion.

Area: M&A.

Key players: The HSF team was led by partner Paul Branston, with partner David Gray leading the capital raising and partner Andrew McLean leading the financing. Support also came from senior associates Charlotte Cameron and Panashi Devchand, solicitors Jasper Johnson, Linda Nguyen, Dave Thomas and Kai Low and graduate Georgia Kalyniuk.

Deal significance: The transaction, HSF said in a statement, “reflects a continuing shift in global markets towards clean energy technologies, including those related to electric vehicles and renewable energy, which underpin the strong outlook for the lithium sector”.

Mr Branston said: “This is a truly transformational transaction for IGO, which furthers its ongoing strategy of becoming a global leader in the supply of metals that support the growth of clean energy. We are delighted to continue working with IGO on this and other important transactions.”

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Mr McLean added: “This transaction shows that financiers are very keen to support companies with a strong existing asset base such as IGO’s, as they look to grow through targeted M&A activity.”