SANTIAGO - A Chilean company with a large stake in lithium miner SQM said on Tuesday it would auction 2.5-million B-series shares it holds in the firm, according to a filing with the country's financial regulator.
The company, Pampa Calichera, controlled by influential SQM shareholder Julio Ponce, said the object of the share sale was "to strengthen the capital structure" of the company. The sale of B-series stock will not impact Ponce's right to appoint SQM board members.
The world's No. 2 lithium producer earlier this year raised $1.1-billion to help underwrite an expansion in Chile and a new project in Australia as demand for the metal used in electric vehicle batteries soars.
Ponce, former son-in-law of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, bought into SQM during its privatisation in the 1980s and has retained a substantial stake in the company ever since.
The Chilean billionaire has received several offers to purchase his shares in the company over the years.
Brazilian private equity firm IG4 Capital earlier in 2021 offered $916-million to buy into Ponce's holding companies with the goal of simplifying SQM's complex ownership structure, sources told Reuters. A representative for Ponce said in April that he had rejected the offer.