Critical Metals Secures Full Ownership of Tanbreez via $835M All-Stock Deal with European Lithium

Critical Metals has announced its intention to acquire European Lithium in an all-stock transaction, a move that will give it complete control over the Tanbreez rare earth project in Greenland while also eliminating a major shareholder.

Under a letter of intent unveiled on Monday, Critical Metals proposes to exchange 0.035 of a common share for each European Lithium share. Based on the closing prices and exchange rates as of April 22, this ratio values the deal at approximately $835 million.

European Lithium currently holds around 34% of Critical Metals' outstanding shares, which had a market value of $540 million on April 22. Upon completion of the acquisition, Critical Metals plans to cancel these shares.

The deal will also transfer the remaining 7.5% stake in the Tanbreez project-previously owned by European Lithium-to Critical Metals. This follows the Greenland government's recent approval of the indirect transfer of the Tanbreez license to Critical Metals, which confirmed its 92.5% ownership after acquiring a majority interest from the previous owner last October.

Located at Killavaat Alannguat in southern Greenland, Tanbreez is widely recognized as one of the largest undeveloped heavy rare earth deposits outside China. Since entering the project over a year ago, Critical Metals has advanced key developments, including a preliminary economic assessment that estimated the project's value at $3 billion, based on a 4.7-billion-tonne resource spread across two deposits.

The company continues to explore what it sees as a vastly underdeveloped resource. It has already secured offtake agreements for 75% of its future production, and the project has received preliminary backing for $120 million in financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

Critical Metals has stated that initial ore production is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2028 or the first quarter of 2029.