(Yicai Global) Nov. 2 -- Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology's attempt to take over Millennial Lithium is on the rocks after the Canadian lithium ore miner received a superior offer from compatriot Lithium Americas.

Lithium Americas has submitted a bid 22.1 percent higher than that of CATL, Millennial Lithium said yesterday. It is the third bid that the Vancouver-based miner, which owns two world-class lithium salt lake projects in Argentina, has received since July. In September CATL outbid compatriot rival Ganfeng Lithium.

Lithium Americas, which runs projects in Jujuy, Argentina and Nevada, the US, has offered to pay existing shareholders CAD4.70 (USD3.80) per share, payable as share capital in Lithium Americas and CAD0.001 (USD0.0008) in cash, Millennial Lithium said. It eclipses CATL’s offer of CAD3.85 per share made in September for a cash buy-out of CAD377 million (USD304.5 million).

Lithium Americas has also agreed to pay the contract termination fee of USD20 million that Millennial Lithium now owes CATL since the deal between them has been scrapped. Ningde, southeastern Fujian province-based CATL also has ten working days to try and beat the better offer.

CATL has been purchasing stakes in global lithium resources to consolidate supply of the key raw materials used in electric car batteries. It has already bought into Canadian mineral resources titan Nio Lithium, North American Nickel and Australia’s Pilbara Minerals. Suzhou-based Tianhua Times New Energy Industry Investment, a CATL unit, also invested USD240 million in the Manono project in the Congo in September.

Editor: Kim Taylor