European Lithium Gains 3.1% as Court Greenlights October Merger Vote

European Lithium shares advanced 3.1% on Wednesday to EUR 0.2140, lifted by a Western Australian court ruling that clears the way for shareholders to vote on the company's proposed combination with Critical Metals Corp.

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has ordered European Lithium to convene meetings of its shareholders and optionholders, handing the company the procedural go-ahead it needed to put the tie-up to a vote. The same ruling approved distribution of the Scheme Booklet, the disclosure document already registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which is expected to reach investors around September 22.

West Leederville Meeting Set for October 22

The decisive ballot is scheduled for October 22, when shareholders and optionholders will gather in the Perth suburb of West Leederville. If the resolutions pass and the remaining conditions are satisfied, the merger is targeted for completion in November — a timetable that has firmed up considerably compared with earlier guidance.

Structured as two interlocking Schemes of Arrangement under Australian law, the deal hands European Lithium investors a floating exchange ratio. Since an August adjustment, each share held converts into between 0.025 and 0.045 Critical Metals Corp shares, with the final figure tied to the 20-day volume-weighted average price of the Nasdaq-listed stock. That replaced an earlier fixed ratio of 0.035. With Critical Metals recently trading below the USD 8.00 mark, the ratio has been running at 0.045. The cap-and-collar design is intended to shield both sides from short-term market swings.

On completion, European Lithium shareholders would own roughly 41% of the combined group on an undiluted basis.

A Stock Up 136% This Year

Wednesday's move extends a broader recovery: the shares have climbed 17% over the past 30 days and are up 136% since the start of the year, a rally driven largely by the steady progress of the takeover process. Even so, the stock sits 30% below its 52-week high of EUR 0.3055, touched in early June.

Beyond the shareholder vote, completion still hinges on a further court confirmation and the satisfaction of other closing conditions. The underlying agreement between the two companies was partly amended in July without altering the core commercial terms.

Wolfsberg Mine Remains the Operating Anchor

While the merger dominates the headlines, European Lithium's operational centerpiece stays the Wolfsberg project in Austria. The Austrian government extended the mining license by a further two years at the beginning of the year, and a final investment decision on extraction is being targeted for the end of 2026 — contingent on a stable lithium price environment and secured financing.

Attention now turns to the Scheme Booklet's arrival in late September, after which the late-October ballot will determine how the next stage of the timetable unfolds.