Tianqi Lithium Corp. signed an agreement to acquire Nutrien Ltd.'s 62,556,568 A shares in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA, or SQM, for US$65 apiece in cash, totaling about US$4.07 billion, Nutrien and Tianqi Lithium said May 17.

The sale was required by regulators to approve the merger of Agrium Inc. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, which resulted in the formation of Nutrien, and comes despite Corfo's move to block the transaction

Corfo, a Chilean governmental organization, said in March that the sale could give China an unfavorable advantage in securing resources for developing electric vehicles and would "gravely distort market competition."

Tianqui Lithium's purchase of the SQM shares is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, subject to various conditions. The transaction will leave Nutrien with 20,166,319 B shares of SQM, which it expects to divest in due course.