Reuters solely reported on Friday that the businesses had been holding talks, and Arcadium may very well be valued at $4 billion to $6 billion or larger.
Arcadium’s market cap was $3.31 billion at Friday’s shut.
Rio’s method to Arcadium comes as miners are desperate to safe provides of vital minerals wanted to energy the worldwide power transition.
If consummated, the deal would make Rio one of many world’s largest suppliers of lithium behind Albemarle and SQM. Demand for the ultralight metallic is forecast to surge later this decade from progress in lithium-ion battery use in electrical automobiles and client electronics.
(By Himanshi Akhand and Surbhi Misra; Modifying by Cynthia Osterman)