Key transactions & industry newsWeekly Update 02/06/2026

What We Found Interesting This Week

New Digital Infrastructure Campus to Be Built at Hawesville


The power market has become a make-or-break issue for aluminum smelters. They are no longer just negotiating with utilities, but competing with data centers and AI infrastructure for the same constrained power supply. Smelters generally require $30–$40/MWh to remain profitable, while hyperscale data centers can pay over $100/MWh, allowing the digital economy to outbid heavy industry and repurpose legacy industrial sites. This imbalance is highlighted by Century Aluminum’s decision to sell the Hawesville, Kentucky facility, historically one of its largest U.S. smelters, which was curtailed primarily due to power costs rather than operational capability. The conversion of Hawesville into an AI digital campus underscores the core issue, without long-term, low-cost power contracts, even large and strategically important smelters are not viable. Instead of restarting an older, power-exposed asset, Century is redeploying capital into a 60/40 joint venture with Emirates Global Aluminium to build a 750,000 MT greenfield smelter in Inola, Oklahoma, where a long-term power contract would materially improve economics. Public policy is now essential to making that shift viable, with Oklahoma’s 2025 Reindustrialize Oklahoma Act providing over $275M in incentives and a special PSO rate for the ~ $4B project. Absent these supports and tariff protection for domestic aluminum, smelters are increasingly unable to compete for power against higher-value digital loads.

Recent M&A Transactions

Metals & Mining

Feb 5,2026 – Papilo, the leading total waste management solutions provider backed by Impact Fund announces the strategic acquisition of Warwick-based Allwood Recycling Solutions. The acquisition creates a combined group with over 200 employees and annual revenues of more than $82M with a shared ambition to provide best-in-class customer service while supporting the circular economy. (Palatine)

Feb 3,2026 – Littlejohn & Co., LLC, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, CT, today announced that it has acquired 80/20 (“80/20”) from MPE Partners. 80/20 is a leading provider of premium, configurable modular framing solutions serving automation, productivity, and safety applications across a diverse range of end markets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. (BusinessWire)

Feb 2,2026 – Eldorado Gold agreed to acquire Foran Mining for ~$2.79B, including debt. The companies the deal will create a gold- and copper-mining company with near-term growth opportunities and a diversified portfolio, benefiting from robust metal prices and rising demand for critical minerals. (WSJ)

Transportation & Logistics

Feb 5, 2026 – Callbox Logistics announced the majority acquisition of JMC Global Concierge Logistics, a complementary logistics and freight services provider. Together, the companies form a more diversified logistics and supply chain platform with expanded capabilities and broader service coverage for customers. (PRNewswire)

Feb 5, 2026 – Atlantic Street Capital, a private equity firm that invests in lower middle market companies through an operationally intensive strategy, announced today the sale of GAT Airline Ground Support, Inc., a leading provider of ground handling and catering services to the airline industry, to PrimeFlight Aviation Services. (PRNewsWire)

Feb 4, 2026 – Allstates WorldCargo, a leader in logistics solutions, today announced its acquisition of Promptus, LLC, a Miami-based customs broker and logistics firm focused on trade with Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean. (BusinessWire)

Feb 4, 2026 – Antin Infrastructure Partners has announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Vigor Marine Group, a provider of maintenance, repair, overhaul, manufacturing, and maritime services for the U.S. maritime sector. (MarketScreener)

Feb 2, 2026 – Logistics Plus, Inc., a global leader in transportation, logistics, and unique supply chain solutions, announced the planned acquisition of Evo Supply Chain Pvt. Ltd., which will operate as the new India subsidiary within the Logistics Plus global network. (LogisticsPlus)

Jan 28, 2026 – Rinchem Company, LLC, a specialty warehousing and logistics company with a global network of chemical and gas logistics capabilities, announced a combination with Dupré Logistics, L.L.C., a regional leader in transportation and logistics solutions for the chemical supply chain. (PRNewswire)

Building Products & Materials

Feb 5, 2026 – Heidelberg Materials Australia has agreed to acquire the construction materials business of Maas Group Holdings for $1.2B, expanding its aggregates, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt operations across eastern Australia. (S&PGlobal)

Feb 3, 2026 – Watertown-based Thermo-Tech Mechanical Installation has been acquired by Columbus, Ohio-based Installed Building Products for an undisclosed price. Thermo-Tech is a full-service mechanical insulation company supplying the construction industry. The company has an annual revenue of approximately $13M. (BizTimes)

Feb 3, 2026 – TopBuild Corp. (NYSE:BLD), a leading installer of insulation and commercial roofing and a specialty distributor of insulation and related building products to the construction industry in the United States and Canada, announced it acquired Applied Coatings and Upstate Spray Foam. Based in Winfield, N.Y., Applied Coatings and Upstate Spray Foam together generate approximately $20M in annual revenue. (GlobeNewsWire)

Feb 2, 2026 – TITAN Group (Brussels:TITC) has completed the acquisition of Vracs de L'Estuaire, an established cement business in Northern France, reinforcing the Group’s commitment to further develop its product offering in France and accelerate the growth trajectory under its TITAN Forward 2029 strategy. (BusinessWire)

Energy

Feb 5, 2026 – Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Distributed Power Solutions, LLC, a leading provider of turnkey, scalable and highly-reliable distributed power solutions serving a diverse set of customers and end markets, in an equity and cash transaction valued at approximately $675M. (BusinessWire)

Feb 4, 2026 – Reliable Energy Partners, a growth platform targeting residential and commercial customers in the highly fragmented propane distribution sector and backed by Soundcore Capital Partners, LP, is pleased to announce its acquisition of Irvington Gas, LLC. (PRNewswire)

Feb 3, 2026 – Germany has agreed to buy 25.1% of Dutch grid operator TenneT's German division for $3.9B, in a long-planned move to tighten Berlin's control over critical energy infrastructure. (Reuters)

Feb 2, 2026 – Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy and Houston's Coterra Energy are merging in an all-stock deal to become a large-cap producer with a top position in the Permian Basin as shale operators consolidate to cut costs and boost scale. The deal creates a company with an enterprise value of $58B. (Reuters)

Feb 2, 2026 – Independent power producer TerraForm Power Partners LP has acquired the planned 1.56-gigawatt Steward Creek Solar Project in Lee County, Illinois, from project developer Hexagon Energy LLC for an undisclosed amount. (GlobeNewsWire)

Others

Feb 3, 2026 – Elon Musk’s rocket maker SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence startup xAI in a deal that will value the company at $1.25T. The record-setting transaction is the largest merger of all time and values SpaceX at $1T and xAI at $250B. (CNBC)

Feb 3, 2026 – Banco Santander is buying Webster Financial in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $12.3B, marking an escalation in the Spanish banking giant’s push to expand its presence in the U.S. (WSJ)

Top News Stories

Metals & Mining

Rio Tinto, Glencore scrap mining mega-merger. Rio Tinto (ASX:LON; NYSE:RIO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) have scrapped plans for a mega-merger that would have created the world’s largest mining company with a combined value of $232B.

From smelter to homes: TRIMET and Iqony unlock waste heat value. The process of channeling industrial waste heat from TRIMET’s aluminium smelter located in Essen has been launched by TRIMET Aluminium SE in partnership with Iqony Fernwärme GmbH. This launch directly aims towards incorporating carbon-neutral energy, which will aid in boosting the environmental efficiency of the district heating network, further solidifying the sustainability credentials of the local heat supply.

Glencore to sell 40% stake in Congo mines to U.S.-backed consortium. Glencore (LSE:GLEN) has entered a non-binding agreement to sell a 40% stake in its mine assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium. Under the proposed deal, Orion CMC would acquire 40% of Mutanda Mining and Kamoto Copper Company, both majority held by Glencore (95% and 75% respectively), for a total enterprise value of $9B.

1,447 acres secured: Vedanta Aluminium advances 3 MTPA smelter plans in Odisha. The government of Odisha, in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, allotted Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminum products, with land for over 1,447 acres, as a significant industrial push. This land has been provided to the firm for developing a 3 MTPA smelter project, which will be further accompanied by a 4,900 MW captive power plant in the Dhenkanal district.

New digital infrastructure campus to be built at Hawesville. Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) announced the sale of the Hawesville, Kentucky site, which will be redeveloped by TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF) into a digital infrastructure campus supporting high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads.

Two Shanxi bauxite mine auctions aborted in January. Auctions for exploration rights to two bauxite mine blocks in North China's Shanxi province were aborted within less than a week in January, according to information published on the province's online natural resources trading platform.

Transportation & Logistics

FMC fines MSC millions for Shipping Act violations. The Federal Maritime Commission said it has fined Mediterranean Shipping Company $22.67M for three types of Shipping Act violations.

Canadian pension funds to exit UK's Associated British Ports in over $13B deal. Two Canadian pension funds plan to sell their stakes in Associated British Ports in a deal that they hope will value the UK's biggest ports operator at more than $13.63B.

Union Pacific and Wabtec sign $1.2B deal to modernize locomotives. Union Pacific and Wabtec signed a landmark agreement totaling $1.2B to modernize the railroad’s AC4400 locomotives. This agreement represents the largest locomotive modernization investment in rail industry history, building on Union Pacific’s previous 2022 order which is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

New industrial development worth $7.7B for Norfolk Southern in 2025. Norfolk Southern Corp. announced that its customers advanced over 60 industrial development projects in 2025, representing a significant $7.7B in industry investment for new or expanded rail-served facilities along the railroad and its short line partner routes.

Werner settlement ready to go in drivers’ lawsuit that dates to 2014. Eleven years after the lawsuit was first filed, the details of an $18M settlement between Werner Enterprises and roughly 100,000 drivers have been disclosed.

Energy

EU targets Russian crude anew with far broader sanctions plan. The European Commission proposed a sweeping ban on any services that support Russia's seaborne crude oil exports, going far beyond previous piecemeal EU sanctions in its effort to stunt Moscow's key source of income for its war on Ukraine.

Canada expected to scrap EV mandate in favor of new fuel efficiency system. The Canadian federal government is expected to announce its national automotive strategy, replacing the country's electric vehicle mandate with new fuel efficiency standards and credits, CBC News reported.

Younan Company announces 880MW solar-plus-storage project in California. With plans for an 880 MW solar-plus-storage project in California, private equity firm Younan Company is entering the U.S. clean energy market as it decides to diversify beyond its conventional real estate and hospitality portfolio.

Brazil's oil regulator authorizes Petrobras to resume Foz do Amazonas drilling. Brazil's oil regulator ANP authorized state-run oil firm Petrobras to resume drilling activities at the environmentally sensitive Foz do Amazonas region, a document seen by Reuters showed.

U.S. court again rules an offshore wind project can resume construction. A U.S. judge cleared Denmark’s Orsted to resume work on its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York, dealing yet another blow to Trump administration efforts to halt offshore wind activity in federal waters.

Others

U.S. enlists Mexico, EU and Japan in its minerals race with China. The U.S. has agreed to work with Japan, Mexico and the European Union on the development of critical minerals used in industries such as defense.

U.S. will cut tariffs on India to 18% in trade deal. The U.S. has agreed to reduce tariffs to 18% on India, which in turn will stop buying Russian oil, President Trump, in a deal aimed at easing trade tensions between the two countries. Trump last year levied a 25% tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, on top of a 25% “reciprocal” tariff that Trump imposed on the nation.

About RJM

RJM & Company is a specialized M&A and capital markets advisory investment bank. We provide boards and management teams of public and private companies with independent advice and expertise in a variety of sectors including road, rail and marine transportation, infrastructure, chemicals, energy, metals and mining, manufacturing, building materials, and other coverage areas of the industrial complex. RJM advises clients on all aspects of transactions including timing, structure, and pricing. RJM originates opportunities and helps negotiate and execute transactions already under evaluation.

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