Rio Tinto is to buy the US company Arcadium Lithium for $6.7bn (\u00a35.1bn), in a huge bet on the energy transition despite global headwinds in the electric car market<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Anglo-Australian metals and mining company said it would pay $5.85 a share for the US-based lithium miner. That represents an almost 90% premium to Arcadium\u2019s closing price of $3.08 a share on 3 October, the day before news of a potential deal emerged.<\/p>\n The acquisition would give Rio access to lithium mines, processing facilities and deposits in Argentina, Australia, Canada and the US to fuel decades of growth, as well as a customer base that includes the carmakers Tesla, BMW and General Motors.<\/p>\n Lithium prices have floundered because of Chinese oversupply and a slowdown in electric vehicle sales, resulting in miners of the metal emerging as attractive takeover targets.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a countercyclical expansion aligned with our disciplined capital allocation framework, increasing our exposure to a high-growth, attractive market at the right point in the cycle,\u201d Jakob Stausholm, the chief executive of Rio, said.<\/p>\n