The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved a merger transaction between European Lithium (ASX:EUR) and New York-listed special purpose acquisition company Sizzle Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:SZZL).
Under the arrangement, European Lithium will merge its wholly owned Wolfsberg Lithium Project in Austria with a newly formed lithium development and exploration company, Critical Minerals Corp (CRML), which is set to list on the NASDAQ in due course.
The deal will see European Lithium pocket US$750 million worth of shares in Critical Minerals Corp (CRML).
European Lithium first signed its business combination agreement with Sizzle back in October 2022, and shareholders approved the merger on 20 January 2023. Now that the deal has been approved by US regulators, Sizzle shareholders are set to vote on the transaction on or around 23 January 2024.
The SEC approval was enough to see shares in European Lithium spike 34.72% to $0.097 on 28 December 2023.
European Lithium Chairman Tony Sage says the NASDAQ listing of CRML is expected to create a ‘significant increase in shareholder value’.
“The company is excited to announce the SEC has declared the F-4 effective.
We look forward to the completion of the transaction and the proposed listing on the NASDAQ that offers increased access to US capital markets as the Critical Minerals team works to successfully commercialise Wolfsberg.”
“We look forward to the completion of the transaction and the proposed listing on the NASDAQ that offers increased access to US capital markets as the Critical Minerals team works to successfully commercialise Wolfsberg”
Meanwhile, European Lithium plans to begin its initial work program at Austrian Lithium Projects — which comprise 245 exploration licences covering 114.6km-square just 70km north of Wolfsberg — ‘shortly’. Initial surface sampling from this area showed grades of up to 3.98% Li2O.
Alongside its upcoming CRML shareholding, European Lithium currently holds an 11.3% interest in Cyclone Metals (ASX:CLE), which has recently acquired the Iron Bear magnetite iron ore project in Canada, and 15 million shares in CuFe (ASX:CUF), which currently exports iron ore from its Wiluna deposit in Western Australia.
Write to Joshua Smith at Mining.com.au
Images: European Lithium
