SQM controlling shareholder moves to block stake sale to China's Tianqi

The controlling shareholder in Chilean lithium producer SQM on Wednesday filed suit with Chile's Constitutional Court to block a deal allowing the sale of nearly one-fourth of the miner to China's Tianqi Lithium.

The lawsuit alleges that Chile's antitrust court last week failed to follow due process when it approved a settlement between Tianqi and Chilean regulators allowing the Chinese miner to purchase a coveted 24 percent stake in the world's No. 2 producer of lithium. The court said the agreement would limit the exchange of commercially sensitive information between the two companies.