Chinese firm Tianqi, owner of 22% of SQM shares, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against a ruling that upheld the board-only approval of the Codelco-SQM agreement. The company argues it violates Chile's corporations law and harms minority shareholders' rights. Tianqi stresses it does not aim to halt the deal but to ensure proper legal scrutiny.
Tianqi Lithium, the Chinese company holding 22% of SQM shares and entitled to elect three of the eight board members, escalated its legal challenge on Friday, November 21, 2025. It filed a 41-page appeal with the Supreme Court against the ruling from Santiago's Fifth Chamber of the Court of Appeals, issued on November 11.
That decision rejected Tianqi's illegality claim against the Financial Market Commission (CMF), which had endorsed that the joint venture agreement between Codelco and SQM for lithium from the Atacama Salt Flat required only board approval, bypassing shareholders. Tianqi argues this breaches Article 67 No. 9 of the Corporations Law, depriving minorities of key information, shareholder voting, and withdrawal rights.
"Given the nature of the operation, its approval cannot take place behind closed doors, but by integrating shareholders," states the appeal. Tianqi's lawyers described the CMF's review as "superficial and insufficient," claiming it erred in finding no share disposal or loss of SQM control to Codelco.
The firm clarified it does not seek to block the deal, as "Tianqi does not even have enough votes to veto said agreement, if it wanted to." Instead, it aims to rectify the process to safeguard minority rights. "What is truly at stake is the solidity of Chile's institutional framework regarding the protection of shareholders' rights, particularly minority shareholders," the document concluded, warning that an unfavorable ruling could enable control transfers without consultation.