Ganfeng backs Lithium Argentina with $180M convertible note, seals PPG venture
What's the deal? Lithium ArgentinaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has secured a $180 million strategic investment from Ganfeng LithiumDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, its longtime partner, alongside definitive agreements to finalize a joint venture consolidating lithium projects in Argentina's Salta Province. The Zug-based miner, listed on the TSX and NYSE, announced both deals on August 24, 2026.
The terms: The investment takes the form of a six-year unsecured convertible note carrying a 4.0% coupon, convertible into common shares at $12.50 — roughly a 96% premium to the five-day volume-weighted average price ending August 21, 2026.
Why now? Lithium Argentina faces $259 million in convertible debt due January 2027. It plans to use the Ganfeng proceeds, plus cash on hand, to repay that debt in full, extending its maturity profile on an unsecured basis. The company ended Q2 2026 with $100 million in cash and received a further $27 million from its Cauchari-Olaroz operation in Q3.
What's the endgame? The new PPG joint venture merges three adjacent projects into one basin-wide development targeting 150,000 tonnes per annum of lithium carbonate equivalent across three phases. Owned 67% by Ganfeng and 33% by Lithium Argentina, it is expected to close in September 2026.
CEO Sam Pigott said the transactions "strengthen our balance sheet and minimize dilution for our shareholders," while positioning both Cauchari-Olaroz and PPG "to deliver significant value."
Ganfeng CEO Wang Xiaoshen framed the deals as the product of a decade-long partnership backed by "more than $2 billion of combined investment in Argentina's lithium sector," with a shared goal of exceeding 200,000 tonnes per annum of capacity.
The signal: At $180 million, the round sits in the 90th percentile of post-IPO convertible deals in the energy sector by companies based in Switzerland. The structure — deploying fresh capital to refinance near-term debt while deepening an existing partnership — reflects how lithium developers are managing balance sheets to fund expansion as they scale Argentine production.
Read more: Business Insider
Image credit: dsearls
