Daily Brief Energy/Materials: Liontown Resources, EcoPro Materials, S&P/ASX 200, Alphamin Resources , West China Cement and more

• Liontown Resources (LTR AU) has received a revised non-binding privatisation proposal from Albemarle Corp (ALB US) at A$3.00 per share, a 20.0% premium to the previously rejected offer of A$2.50.
• The revised offer is attractive compared to the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project’s NPV range, peer multiples and historical share prices. The offer price is final, barring a superior proposal.
• Liontown has granted Albemarle a limited period of exclusive due diligence. The Board intends to recommend a binding proposal at A$3.00 per share. The retail vote could be a risk.

• Korea FSS has provided guidelines to assign different weights to IPO orders from Day 1 to Day 5. Bookrunners should give higher weights to institutions that place their orders early.
• The question of whether this will deter the rush to place bulk orders close to the deadline and lead to a higher weighting of essential pricing is generating significant interest.
• The volume of orders and allocation by price range could serve as practical clues for assessing post-IPO pricing, making it a crucial factor in formulating post-IPO trading strategies.

• The S&P/ASX 200 INDEX has been stuck in the 7000-7600 range for the past 2 years, with a brief dive to 6500 during the summer of 2022. 
• If we consider the bottom at 6411 in October 2022, the index may have started to build an uptrend since then, but failed repeatedly to breach past the 7600 barrier.
• After a brief correction in August 2023, the index is currently rising, but soon it will encounter WEEKLY resistance that could hamper its chances of breaking out of its range.

Alphamin Resources (AFM) offers rare exposure to a metal (tin) that both Rio Tinto and the MIT regard as the most likely to benefit from the electrification of the world economy. Having successfully ramped up its Mpama North mine at Bisie in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019–20, when the tin price was enjoying one of its biggest bull markets in decades, AFM is now in a net cash position and is paying dividends at the same time as developing a second mine (Mpama South).

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.

• West China Cement