Vale said to decide on base metals sale worth billions next week: Brazilian paper

Vale (NYSE: VALE), the world’s largest nickel producer, is said to be deciding next week on the sale of a minority stake of its base metals business to automakers, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, according to Brazilian news outlet Valor.  

The board of directors of Rio de Janeiro-based Vale is to analyze binding offers on May 25 for a 10% stake that could be valued at US$2.5 billion, Valor said on Thursday. The outlet cited unnamed people familiar with the matter who aren’t allowed to speak publicly about it.   

The base metals sale could be to a single investor or a consortium, one of the people told Valor. Candidates could be GM, the Canada Pension Plan, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, and trading company Mitsui & Co. of Japan, Valor said it was told.  

The Valor report updates news of the base metals sale first reported by The Financial Times in January. The Canada Pension Plan doesn’t comment on speculation in the media, a spokesman told The Northern Miner by email on Friday. Vale and GM didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking comment. 

Vale, which bought Sudbury, Ont.-focused nickel producer Inco in 2006 and operates the Voisey’s Bay mine in Labrador among its global assets, said last year it might seek a strategic partner for the copper and nickel unit. It wants to unlock value from the surging electric vehicle market where Tesla is already a major client. The unit could be spun off in a stock listing next year, sources told Valor.  

The global transition to clean energy is increasing demand for battery metals such as lithium, copper, nickel and cobalt. This year, GM already promised a US$650 million investment in Lithium Americas’ (TSX: LAC; NYSE: LAC) Thacker Pass project in Nevada. Tesla has been one of the leading investors in the battery metals space over the past decade, according to data collected by Bloomberg. Automaker Stellantis, formerly Fiat-Chrysler, promised a $5 billion battery plant in Windsor, Ont., though it’s now in a dispute with the federal government over funding.  

“If I move the green metals, copper, nickel, cobalt, to a separate entity, that makes it easier for people to understand the criticality and the growth that’s coming,” Vale CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said on a February conference call about earnings. “That’s the next reason why we’re doing that. Because if you understand the needs of cash for this business, we’re talking a huge amount of money. We’re talking US$20 billion.”  

The company is aiming to nearly triple copper output to 900,000 tonnes a year in 2030 from 335,000 to 370,000 tonnes this year. The goal is to almost double nickel production at the same time to 300,000 tonnes per year from 160,000 to 175,000 tonnes in 2023. 

Shares in Vale fell 1.5% on Friday to US$13.88 each, following the wider market lower on concerns over stalled negotiations about U.S. government debt. The stock, valuing the company at US$63 billion, has traded in a 52-week range of US$11.72 and US$19.31.