Good morning,

Lithium has the hottest deals around and every banker wants a piece. News broke on Monday that Barrenjoey had wormed its way into Albemarle’s $6.6 billion bid for Liontown, joining JPMorgan in the tent. UBS was also revealed to have muscled in on Greenhill’s territory on defence for Liontown.

The story of how a local start-up without a global presence managed to hook North American lithium giant Albemarle is yet to be told. Safe to say it was helped by Barrenjoey throwing resources at a Perth outpost in 2021, and hiring the two apostles – ex-Goldman Sachs mining sector guru Peter Watson and senior Barclays banker Paul Early – to build up a presence.

UBS has also had its spyglass pointed west, sending resource coverage bankers to claim a bigger share of the natural resources sector deals this time last year.

Perth is a small town and being on the ground certainly helps – running into each other at the kids’ soccer games and at the supermarket. In terms of getting on the target’s radar, it comes down to building relationships, understanding what drives them, gaining their trust and ultimately making a solid pitch about what you can bring to the table.

We also can’t disregard the fact this deal has dragged on since October with multiple bids being rejected.

Liontown-Albemarle joins Allkem-Livent as one of the biggest live lithium deals for the year (where Morgan Stanley crashed UBS’s party). While it’s not unusual to see multiple bankers on a deal, no one wants someone on their patch (and their fees).

Australia’s fragmented lithium market is expected to stay in the spotlight with players eager to grow via M&A meeting motivated buyers. While global players have been in the mix so far on the major deals, locals are expected to get a look in on the action.

Happy reading,

• Orora is prepping a $1.35 billion raise to bankroll its acquisition of The Carlyle Group’s Saverglass.
• Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources is set to buy West Australian lithium mine Bald Hill out of administration.
• Private equity backed Melbourne climate risk consultancy Energetics is up for sale via PwC.
• JPMorgan and Barrenjoey upsized Ventia’s block trade to $400 million with Apollo Global selling down further.
• Judo Bank is preparing to tap the securitisation markets for the first time for up to $500 million.

• Non-bank lender Pepper Money has picked up HSBC’sNew Zealand home loan book, writes Lucas Baird.
• A potential November meeting between US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping is at risk, China’s spy agency warned, The Financial Times reports.
• L’Occitane’s billionaire owner has ended talks that could have led to taking the skin-care company private, according to Bloomberg News.

Shares in Mineral Resources advanced 2.4 per cent to $73.90 in Monday trading, lifting its market cap to $14.4 billion.

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