Australia-based Sayona Mining on Tuesday revealed that its bid for North American Lithium (NAL) is being contested, hitting its share price.
Sayona explained that its proposed acquisition of NAL could only proceed with the Superior Court of Quebec’s approval.
The company said that NAL and its court-appointed administrator had filed a joint motion with the court seeking approval of the acquisition. However, the motion was being jointly contested by an alternative bidder for, and unsecured creditor of, NAL.
The bidder was not named in Sayona's press release.
“We are continuing to work our way through the process of acquiring NAL, as per our joint bid with Piedmont Lithium.
“We remain confident of progressing this through to successful completion and delivering the benefits of our bid for all stakeholders,” said Sayona MD Brett Lynch.
The court has scheduled a substantive hearing of the joint motion for June 28.
Sayona’s stock at one point on Tuesday sunk nearly 17% to a low of A$0.054 a share, before recovering to close at A$0.063 a share – down 3% on Monday’s closing price.