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ARTICLE · 19 MARCH 2025

Later Gator – Canada Seeks Critical Minerals Divestiture From Previous Divestiture Acquirer

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On February 11, 2025, the Attorney General of Canada filed a Notice of Application ("NOA") in Federal Court to obtain an order directing Gator Capital Ltd. to divest its shares in Lithium Chile Inc.

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Joshua Chad
Joshua Chad
William Wu
William Wu
Courtney Aucoin
Courtney Aucoin
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On February 11, 2025, the Attorney General of Canada filed a Notice of Application ("NOA") in Federal Court to obtain an order directing Gator Capital Ltd. to divest its shares in Lithium Chile Inc.1 This application is further to a November 2022 divestiture order made under the national security review (NSR) regime of the Investment Canada Act ("ICA") that required Chengze Lithium International Limited to divest its previous investment in Lithium Chile, which it sold to Gator in 2023. Lithium Chile is an Alberta-based mineral exploration and development company. As it turns out, Gator may not have been the ideal divestiture purchaser for Lithium Chile's shares.

The NOA represents the first case where the Government of Canada has turned to the courts to enforce the NSR regime under the ICA.2 This enforcement action signals that the Government is serious about cracking down on ICA reviews to protect Canadian interests, particularly in relation to critical minerals.

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