Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares are trading at $2.97, up 0.51% at the time of writing.
The ASX lithium share has risen by more than 13% since 4 September, when its US suitor Albemarle Corp (NYSE: ALB) raised its takeover offer to $3 per share.
To say that Liontown is being wooed right now is an understatement.
Not only does the US lithium giant want to buy it out entirely, but Australia's mining doyen Gina Rinehart of Hancock Prospecting has embarked on a raid since the Albemarle announcement.
A notice lodged with the ASX last night reveals Rinehart snapped up another parcel of Liontown shares yesterday.
And it ain't a small parcel.
Image source: Getty Images
Rinehart upps her stake in Liontown shares
Rinehart bought 50.7 million shares at $3 per share yesterday, taking her stake in the company from 12.36% to 14.67%.
The total consideration was $152 million.
Rinehart's buying spree began on 11 September when she raised her stake in the ASX lithium stock above the 5% threshold to become a 'substantial holder'.
She had been buying Liontown shares since April and reached a 7.72% stake on 11 September.
But she didn't stop there.
By the end of the month, she held a 12.36% position.
According to a media release, she paid no more than $3 per share, and yesterday she bought at the same price.
That price is significant because it's what Albemarle is offering Liontown to take over the company entirely. Its previous offer, made in March, was $2.50 per share.
Albemarle due diligence process underway
We first learned about the increased Albemarle offer on 4 September.
This new offer valued Liontown at $6.6 billion at the time.
The board is receptive at $3 per share and has given Albemarle exclusive access to its books to conduct a short period of due diligence.
The purpose of this move is to see if Albemarle is willing to make its current conditional and non-binding offer binding.
If it does, the board has already told shareholders it will recommend that the sale proceed — unless a better offer surfaces in the meantime.
Which brings us back to Rinehart.
Why is Rinehart buying Liontown shares?
Rinehart hasn't stated specifically why she is buying.
Does she intend to make a better offer than Albemarle?
Or is she building a blocking stake to prevent the Albemarle deal, or at least influence the terms?
Liontown would need 75% of shareholders to support the Albemarle deal for it to go through.
Maybe she just wants a seat on the board to help steer the company and its flagship Kathleen Valley Lithium Project through what Hancock Prospecting has previously described as "significant execution, operational ramp-up and market risks".
Albemarle's due diligence process is likely to conclude in late October or thereabouts. We should learn more about the proposed deal then.
What does all this M&A action mean?
Liontown isn't the only lithium junior attracting attention from the major miners these days.
Another example is Delta Lithium Ltd (ASX: DLI).
In August, ASX 200 mining giant Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) went on a massive buying spree and substantially increased its stake in Delta Lithium to 17.44%.
That earned Mineral Resources boss Chris Ellison a seat on the board, along with one of his lieutenants. And not just any seat, either. Ellison is now the non-executive chair.
It's a very interesting time for ASX lithium shares.
At a minimum, all this M&A activity appears to indicate that lithium has a very big future in Australia's resources industry.
