PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed European Lithium has announced a $750-million transaction with Nasdaq-listed Sizzle Acquisition Corp.

European Lithium on Wednesday announced a business combination agreement with Sizzle, under which it would  sell down its interest in the Wolfsberg lithium project, in Austria, and merge with Sizzle through a newly formed lithium exploration and development company called Critical Metals Corp.

On completion of the transaction, European Lithium will be issued $750-million worth of new shares in Critical Metals, which will be listed on Nasdaq, representing a near 80% interest in the combined company.

European Lithium can also earn up to an additional 10% of the ordinary shares in Critical Metals Corp, subject to the ordinary shares of Critical Metals trading above $15 and $20 for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading-day period in the five-year period following closing.

“We are enthusiastic to partner with the Sizzle team to form a publicly traded company on Nasdaq and are thrilled to have Carolyn Trabuco, Sizzle’s lead independent director, join the Critical Metals board,” said European Lithium executive chairperson Tony Sage.

 “The need for additional battery-grade lithium in Europe will only continue to accelerate as demand for electric vehicles (EVs) continues to outstrip supply. Wolfsberg is poised to become the first major source of battery-grade lithium concentrate in Europe, the world’s leading EV market, capable of supporting the production of approximately 200 000 EVs per year.

“The funds raised though this transaction will provide us with the resources anticipated to be required to advance construction and commissioning of Wolfsberg. With the capital raised, in addition to the increased access to the public capital markets by listing on Nasdaq by means of the business combination, we believe we will be able to achieve our commercial goals at Wolfsberg by 2025.”

European Lithium will call for a shareholder meeting before the end of November to approve the transaction, but the company’s board of directors has urged shareholders to vote in favour of the transaction.

Following the closure of the transaction, European Lithium will continue to be listed on the ASX as a mining exploration and development company, and its primary focus will remain progressing the Wolfsberg lithium project through to the construction and development stages. In the near term, the company is committed to the delivery of the definitive feasibility study for Wolfsberg during the first quarter of 2023.