Livent also expects to grant the initial purchasers a 13-day option to purchase up to an additional $33.75 million in green bonds. The bonds will be convertible into cash, Livent stock, or a combination thereof, at Livent's election. The interest rate, conversion rate and other terms will be determined on pricing of the offering.
Livent expects to use the proceeds to refinance existing eligible green projects, designed to align with the provisions of the 2018 International Capital Market Association Green Bond Principles, by repaying amounts outstanding under its revolving credit facility. Livent intends to allocate any remaining net proceeds from the offering to eligible green projects within two years of the date of issuance.
Financing with terms and conditions tied to ESG principles is a growing trend in debt and equity financing related to mineral production.
Livent is a vertically integrated lithium producer which extracts lithium from brine from the Salar del Hombre Muerto in Argentina.
Its strategy is focused on supplying lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate to the electric vehicle battery market. The company produced 21,348 tonnes of lithium hydroxide and 16,785t of lithium carbonate in 2019.
The company said at the start of the year it expected 30% volume growth in 2020.
Livent shares are trading at US$7.67, valuing the company at $1.1 billion.
