Linklaters and Davis Polk have scored roles on Rio Tinto’s $6.7bn acquisition of lithium chemicals producer Arcadium Lithium. 

Linklaters is acting for Rio Tinto on the deal, with the transatlantic team led out of New York by former Shearman & Sterling co-managing partner George Casey, who joined Linklaters in January at the head of a six-lawyer M&A team ahead of Shearman’s merger with Allen & Overy. The New York team was also led by partner Pierre-Emmanuel Perais, with the London effort headed by partners James Inglis and Lisa Chang. 

Meantime the Davis Polk team was headed by M&A group head William Aaronson and corporate partner Cheryl Chan, both of whom are based in New York. 

Linklaters has advised Rio Tinto on other acquisitions and investments over the past few years, including advising the mining giant on the renewal of its partnership with the government of Madagascar relating to the QMM ilmenite mining project in Fort Dauphin, a project worth more than $1.2bn.

Last year Linklaters also acted for Rio Tinto alongside alliance partner Allens on its joint venture agreement with First Quantum Minerals Limited for the development of the La Granja copper project in Peru, one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world.

The Arcadium deal will catapult Rio Tinto to become the world’s third largest miner of the metal used in electric vehicle batteries, Reuters reported. It will help the company – already the world’s biggest producer of iron ore – transform itself into a processor of low carbon raw materials needed for the energy transition. 

Rio will pay $5.85 per share in cash for Arcadium, a 90% premium to its closing price of $3.08 per share on 4 October prior to reports of the deal.

Rio Tinto chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm said buying Arcadium was “a significant step forward in Rio Tinto’s long-term strategy, creating a world-class lithium business alongside our leading aluminium and copper operations to supply materials needed for the energy transition”.

Rio will gain access to lithium mines, processing facilities and deposits in Argentina, Australia, Canada and the US to fuel decades of growth, as well as customers that include Tesla, BMW and General Motors.

The deal will see Rio acquire Arcadium’s capabilities in lithium chemicals manufacturing and extraction processes, including hard-rock mining and direct lithium extraction. The company’s global operations include around 2,400 employees and facilities and projects in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, the UK and the US. 

The Davis Polk team advising Arcadium on the deal also included partners Michael Kaplan (capital markets), William Curran (tax) Kyoko Takahashi Lin (executive compensation) and Howard Shelanski (antitrust and competition). 

The firm also advised on the formation of Arcadium earlier this year, acting for chemicals producer Livent alongside offshore law firm Ogier on its $10.6bn merger of equals with Allkem that created the company. King & Wood Mallesons and Sidley Austin acted as legal counsel to Allkem on the deal.