The Japanese venture investments giant SoftBank Group Corp has announced that it will be investing up to CAD$99.1 million into the Canada-based firm Nemaska Lithium in order to secure up to 9.9% of the company.
The investment is by way of private placement of share subscription receipts at CAD$1.12 a piece — and notably represents SoftBank’s first investment into the lithium industry.
Nemaska Lithium will reportedly be using the new funds to accelerate construction and commissioning of the firm’s new Whabouchi Mine project in Quebec and also its Shawinigan facility.
“We are extremely pleased to be further accelerating the Mobile Revolution, an era of IoT (Internet of Things) and electric vehicles enabled by the fusion of technology and energy storage,” noted SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son in a press statement on the matter.
Here are two more big notes regarding the deal: “For so long as it holds a minimum ownership interest of 5% in Nemaska, SoftBank will have the option each year to purchase up to 20% of Nemaska’s lithium product output over the long term. SoftBank will also have the right to nominate a director to be appointed to Nemaska’s board.”
Reuters has added some context on this as well: “The investment comes at a time when lithium batteries are increasingly being installed in electric cars, including Tesla’s top-of-the-line Model X and General Motors Co’s modestly-priced Chevy Bolt. … SoftBank has been investing aggressively in technology companies worldwide — mostly through its London-based Vision Fund — and has stakes in companies including US ride hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc.”
While I don’t often make a point of noting the biases witnessed in some of Reuters‘ reporting, I chose to make an exception this time and to include the line above comparing the Tesla Model X to the “modestly priced” Chevy Bolt.
You’ll note that the writer (or editor) chose to compare the Chevy Bolt to a vehicle that it has practically nothing in common with (the Model X) rather than the Tesla offering that could be considered a competitor of sorts (the Model 3). The Tesla Model 3 of course actually undercuts the Chevy Bolt on pricing, though, so the jab wouldn’t have worked in that case. …
I’ve noticed over the last year that these sorts of causal smears against Tesla have been more and more common. If even I notice how blatant they’ve become — despite having nothing much good to say about cars, and being very unlikely to ever purchase a Tesla — then that really says something. After all, why even bring Tesla into the article to begin with (except for a subtle smear)?
Back to the subject at hand, lithium mining really looks to be a sector that’s slated to boom over the coming years … as evidenced by this news here.
Images via Nemaska Lithium
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