Talison to mine the market in $197 million float

The company is about to embark on a global roadshow to spruik the offer, with Rothschilds acting as financial adviser and Macquarie Capital Advisers as the Australian lead manager.

A total of 35 million shares will be offered under the dual-listing arrangement at between $4.10 and $5.10 a share. The proceeds of between $143.5 million and $196.4 million will be used to repay all debt, cover the costs of the offer and for working capital.

Talison mines and processes lithium minerals, used in mobile phones and laptops, from its Greenbushes lithium operations in Western Australia's south-west.

The Greenbushes lithium operations were acquired by a group of private equity firms led by Resource Capital Fund in 2007 as part of the Sons of Gwalia acquisition.

Talison expects lithium demand to grow by about 6 per cent a year until 2013. The growth in electric vehicles using rechargeable lithium batteries is tipped to provide a big boost to the sector.

Talison chairman Peter Robinson said stimulus packages focusing on "green" initiatives would push the demand for lithium, which is also used in fibreglass for large wind-turbine blades.

"Talison Lithium has a world-class lithium deposit and, the company is well positioned to respond to an increase in market demand for lithium," he said.