Mayer Brown advises on landmark US$67 million investment for Cornish Lithium plc

London — Mayer Brown has advised Cornish Lithium on a £53.6 million (US$67 million) initial investment made by a group of leading institutional investors led by the UK Infrastructure Bank alongside The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) and TechMet. Following the closing of this round of initial investment, Cornish Lithium has announced that it will also make available a further retail share offering through Crowdcube (Retail Offer).

This is the first direct equity investment from the UK Infrastructure Bank which will invest approximately £24.0 million (US$30 million equivalent) into the development of the UK’s critical minerals supply chain. The funding package is expected to significantly accelerate progress toward the creation of a domestic UK supply of battery grade lithium compounds. EMG, a US-based private equity fund focused on the energy and minerals sectors, is also investing around £24.0 million (US$30 million equivalent) and TechMet, the critical minerals investment company and Cornish Lithium's largest institutional investor is investing a further US$7 million (£5.6 million), bringing its total investment into Cornish Lithium to US$30 million.

The Mayer Brown team was led by Corporate & Securities partner Robert Hamill and included Corporate & Securities senior associate Harriet Hainsworth and associate Alexander Sperling; Tax partners James Hill and Kitty Swanson, Finance partner Simon Fisher and Litigation partner Jason Hungerford (all London) and Corporate & Securities partner John Ablan (Chicago).