Rio Tinto announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Arcadium Lithium in an all-cash deal at $5.85 per share, expanding its access to a key ingredient of electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Rio Tinto Plc, a multinational mining and metallurgical company, has sold US investment grade bonds worth $9 billion to finance the acquisition of Arcadium Lithium Plc for $6.7 billion. This is ...