Sayona to Transform into Elevra Lithium After Merger with Piedmont

Deal News | Apr 11, 2025 | EIN

In a significant merger, Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium are coming together to form Elevra Lithium. Despite a challenging market, with Sayona's shares down 33% year to date, the announcement of the merger led to a 13% rise in Sayona's share price. The merger aims to leverage Sayona's production capabilities with Piedmont's presence in North America, promising substantial synergies with the expectation of full-year spodumene concentrate sales between 200,000 to 230,000 dmt. Costs are anticipated to range between $1,150 and $1,300 per dmt sold. The merger, expected to complete by mid-2025, will result in a 50/50 ownership split between the companies. Elevra Lithium will be based in Australia and have listings on both ASX and NASDAQ. Significant recent developments include Sayona's first international shipment of NAL spodumene concentrate and $13 million in capital projects. The new entity's board will be a mix of members from both companies, with Dawne Hickton set to become Chair and Lucas Dow as CEO. Sayona and Piedmont have seen a 54% decrease in their share prices over the past year.

Sectors

Mining and Metals
Energy

Geography

Australia – The merged company, Elevra Lithium, will be domiciled and primarily listed in Australia, underscoring the geographical importance.
North America – Piedmont's market presence in North America plays a crucial role in the merger's strategic goals, aiming at addressing this major market.

Industry

Mining and Metals – The industry involves the extraction and processing of minerals, with a specific focus on lithium in this article, as both Sayona and Piedmont are engaged in lithium mining and production.
Energy – Lithium is a critical component in energy storage solutions, particularly in batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy, making this industry relevant to the merger.

Financials

$37 million – The loss reported by Sayona in 1H FY25.
$1,060 per dry metric tonne – The unit operating cost of spodumene per tonne reported by Sayona.
200,000 dmt to 230,000 dmt – The expected full-year spodumene concentrate sales.
$1,150 to $1,300 per DMt – The forecasted cost range per DMt sold.
$13 million – Amount spent by Sayona on capital projects at the North American Lithium site.
$207 million – Sayona's market capitalization.
$59 million – Piedmont's market capitalization.

Participants

Name	Role	Type	Description
Sayona Mining	Target company	Company	An Australian company engaged in the exploration and production of lithium.
Piedmont Lithium	Bidding company	Company	A US-based lithium company focused on developing and producing lithium resources in North America.
Elevra Lithium	New entity	Company	The resulting entity from the merger of Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium.
Dawne Hickton	Chair designate	Person	She will become the Chair of Elevra Lithium's board.
Lucas Dow	Managing director and CEO	Person	He will serve as the CEO and managing director of Elevra Lithium.