Livent shareholder sues for access to Allkem merger documents

The news: A shareholder in US lithium giant Livent has launched legal action against management a day after a successful vote to merge with Allkem, Bloomberg Legal reports. The shareholder, Craig Bailey, has accused management of trading off shareholder value to jockey for corporate positions in the merged entity, Arcadium Lithium.

The numbers: Bailey claims Livent management walked away from a negotiating position that would have left shareholders with 47% of Arcadium, rather than the eventually agreed 44%, with the remaining 56% going to Allkem shareholders. The action seeks access to company documents, including board meeting minutes, to determine how decisions on the merger were made.

The context: Livent president and chief executive officer Paul Graves is set to become Arcadium's CEO, while Allkem chair Peter Coleman has been tapped to lead the merged entity's board. The legal action does not seek to block the merger.