Lithium Producer Livent Files For IPO

(RTTNews) - Livent Corp., a lithium producer and a unit of FMC Corp. (FMC), has filed for an initial public offering or IPO of its common stock. It plans to sell up to $100 million of its shares, although that number is often a placeholder and could be subject to change. The company did not disclose pricing terms.

In a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Livent said its goal is to focus on supplying high-performance lithium compounds to the fast-growing Electric Vehicle or EV battery market.

The trend of vehicle electrification is expected to be a significant growth catalyst for lithium compounds over the next decade and into the future, the company noted.

Livent's IPO filing comes amid growing demand for lithium, used in rechargeable batteries that power electric cars and several other portable electronic devices.

Livent plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange or NYSE under the ticker symbol "LTHM".

BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse are joint bookrunners on the deal, while Citigroup, Loop Capital Markets and Nomura are acting as co-managers.

In July 2018, chemical company FMC Corp. Had said it would re-brand its lithium materials business as Livent Corp. FMC noted that as an independent company, Livent will have the "freedom and ability to chart its own course and business strategy."

Livent has been extracting lithium brine at its operations at the Salar del Hombre Muerto in Argentina for more than 20 years, and has also been producing lithium compounds for over 60 years. This includes battery-grade lithium hydroxide for use in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

For the six months ended June 30, 2018, Livent reported net income of $70.2 million, up sharply from $27.6 million in the year-ago period. Revenue for the period surged 51 percent to $210.7 million from $139.6 million in the prior-year period.