Lithium producer Livent falls 3.6 percent in market debut

Mining News Pro -Lithium producer Livent Corp (LTHM.N) fell 3.6 percent in its market debut on Thursday after being priced at the lower end of its expected range, as investors worried about the recent declines in prices of lithium in China, the world’s largest consumer of the ultralight metal.

Livent’s debut comes a day after the major U.S. indices fell about 3 percent each, unnerving investors and pushing them to the sidelines. At its open Livent had a market capitalization of $2.34 billion.

The company’s IPO of 20 million shares was priced at $17 per share on Wednesday, below its target range of $18 to $20 per share. The IPO raised $340 million.

Prices of lithium, a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles, have halved in China this year from their peak of $24,750 per ton due to oversupply, hurting near-term earnings prospects for lithium producers.

China’s Ganfeng Lithium (1772.HK) sank 29 percent in its debut on Thursday in Hong Kong.According to