European Lithium's 180% Run Meets Its Moment of Truth: Court-Ordered Vote Puts $835 Million Critical Metals Merger on the Clock

European Lithium holders vote on the $835M Critical Metals takeover; court confirmation is set for Oct 26, 2026, with completion expected by November.

European Lithium shareholders are about to find out whether this year's stunning rally has been a bet worth cashing in. The company's planned handover to Critical Metals Corp has entered its final regulatory stretch, with a court-ordered vote now standing between investors and the completion of a deal valued at $835 million.

The Supreme Court of Western Australia set the process in motion roughly two weeks ago, directing European Lithium to convene separate meetings for its shareholders and listed option holders. Those gatherings will give security holders their first formal say on the takeover arrangements. Voting documentation has already gone out, available both electronically and by post, after the scheme booklet cleared registration with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

A Split Verdict From the Independent Expert

Not all security holders are being told the same thing. An independent expert examined the terms for each class of securities separately, and its conclusions diverged in a way that matters.

For ordinary shareholders, the assessment found the offer not fair — yet still reasonable and in the best interests of investors. The listed options fared better: the same review judged that offer both fair and reasonable without qualification. On that basis, the independent board committee urged investors to back the proposal, provided no superior rival bid emerges.

The mechanics of the exchange are anything but fixed. European Lithium holders will swap their stock for new CRML shares, with the allocation expected to land somewhere between 0.025 and 0.045 new securities per share held, according to media reports. What determines the final ratio is the volume-weighted average price of Critical Metals' Nasdaq-listed stock over the twenty trading days leading up to the meeting — a floating benchmark that keeps the precise terms in play until the last moment.

Two Dates, One Deal

If security holders give the nod, the matter moves straight back to court. A second hearing before the Supreme Court of Western Australia is scheduled for October 26, 2026, where final confirmation of the arrangements will be decided. Should both the vote and the judicial sign-off go smoothly, the full merger — a pure stock transaction in which Critical Metals acquires all shares and listed options — is expected to close before the calendar turns, with November 2026 penciled in for implementation.

The stock has been riding that momentum. European Lithium finished Thursday's session at EUR 0.2550, a gain of 10% on the day, extending its year-to-date advance to 181%. In more recent trading the shares changed hands at EUR 0.2535, keeping the annual gain at 180%.

A Sector That Won't Sit Still

Those gains have come against a restless backdrop for commodity names. Mining equities have shown no unified direction lately, swinging between brief recovery attempts and fresh bouts of profit-taking. Albemarle and SQM both surrendered the previous day's gains on Wednesday, and the sector fund LIT ETF also slipped.

Pressure also arrived from Asia, where Chinese lithium carbonate prices fell noticeably in September, touching 143,000 CNY per tonne — the lowest level in nearly a month — before dropping below the 135,000 CNY mark as the month wore on. The trigger was an upward revision to tracked inventory figures, which hardened expectations of a more comfortable supply picture and weighed on prices across the raw materials complex.

For European Lithium investors, the calculus now comes down to a single question: take the Critical Metals paper on offer, or hold out for something better that has yet to appear.