Key transactions & industry newsWeekly Update 09/04/2026

What We Found Interesting This Week

DOJ Backs $4B Oklahoma Aluminum Smelter as Legal Debate Intensifies


The DOJ’s support for the $4B Oklahoma aluminum smelter shows how strategically important the project has become to the federal government, which has already committed $500M through the DOE and supported the project through a DoD offtake relationship. However, the biggest challenge may not be financing or permitting, but securing enough affordable electricity. The smelter would require ~1.3 GW of power, and its LT power agreement with AEP’s Oklahoma utility has yet to be finalized. This is particularly important as aluminum producers increasingly compete with data centers for large amounts of reliable power, with data centers generally able to pay significantly higher electricity prices. The trend is already happening, with Century selling its idled Hawesville smelter site to the digital infrastructure developer TeraWulf and Alcoa marketing former industrial sites to other tech companies. For new U.S. aluminum projects, access to LT, low-cost power may therefore be more important than tariffs or government incentives. Even if the Oklahoma project reaches its planned 750,000 tonnes of annual production, the U.S. would still rely heavily on imported aluminum, which supports the case for continued investment in domestic production, particularly recycled aluminum capacity which requires significantly less electricity.

Recent M&A Transactions

Metals & Mining

Sep 4, 2026 – Crosstown Capital Partners has acquired Indiana-based MAK Steel Services LLC and Trinity Steel Services LLC, combining structural steel fabrication and erection capabilities under a private equity-backed growth strategy. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. (CityBiz)

Sep 2, 2026 – Greenland Mines (Nasdaq:GRML) has closed the acquisition of the Sarfartoq project from Neo Performance Materials for $35M, bringing the rare earth project into its mining portfolio. (Mining)

Transportation & Logistics

Sep 3, 2026 – RTB Holdings announced the acquisition of Boost Transport, LLC, a Georgia-based provider of managed transportation services, less-than-truckload, parcel, and fulfillment solutions. (PRNewswire)

Sep 2, 2026 – Enstructure announced that it has completed its acquisition of LOGISTEC’s marine services division, creating one of North America’s largest and most diversified marine terffminal and logistics networks. The combined company operates 106 terminals across 30 states and provinces, and employs approximately 6,000 employees. (YahooFinance)

Aug 27, 2026 – Apollo (NYSE:APO) and KKR (NYSE:KKR) announced a strategic partnership to support the continued growth of Atlantic Aviation, one of the largest private aviation infrastructure platforms in the United States. Under the transaction, Apollo-managed funds have acquired a significant interest in Atlantic Aviation, while KKR-managed funds remain a substantial shareholder. The transaction values Atlantic Aviation at nearly $10B. (Apollo)

Aug 27, 2026 – Priority Courier Experts, a leading provider of same-day logistics services backed by Trident Management and Bluejay Capital, has acquired INPAX Shipping Solutions, an Atlanta-based logistics provider. (BusinessWire)

Building Products & Materials

Sep 2, 2026 – Builders FirstSource announced the company has acquired Gleckler and Sons Construction and Gleckler and Sons Building Supplies, which serve homebuilder customers in central, northeast, and western Florida with residential framing services, roof and floor trusses, exterior doors, millwork, and other building materials. (LBMJournal)

Sep 2, 2026 – Trimlite, a value-added distributor of residential doors and door products and a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, L.P., announced the acquisition of KW Building Products, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clay-Ingels, LLC, a wholesale distributor of residential doors, windows, and related building products serving customers across the Mid-South and Central United States. (BusinessWire)

Aug 31, 2026 – Construction Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROAD), a vertically integrated civil infrastructure company specializing in the construction and maintenance of roadways in local markets across the Sunbelt, announced that it has acquired Asphalt Express Enterprises, LLC, a liquid asphalt supply and hauling business headquartered in Ardmore, Oklahoma, serving hot-mix asphalt producers throughout Oklahoma and northern Texas. (PRNewswire)

Aug 31, 2026 – Ohio-based Contract Lumber announced the company has acquired HT Building Products, which has locations in Houston and Dallas. (LBMJournal)

Energy

Sep 2, 2026 – Vertiv Holdings said it would acquire microgrid and advanced power controls company Utility Innovation Group ​for about $1.45B in cash, with an additional payment ‌of up to $1.15B if certain earnings targets are met. (Reuters)

Sep 2, 2026 – U.S.-based Diversified Energy will acquire ‌privately held Birch for about $1.8B, expanding its presence in the oil- and gas-rich ​Permian Basin. (Reuters)

Sep 1, 2026 – Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE:CPK), through its indirect subsidiary Peninsula Pipeline Holdings, LLC, announced it sold a minority interest in Florida Energy Pathway, a natural gas transmission infrastructure project designed to support South Florida’s growing energy needs. Under the agreement, Peninsula will retain 51% ownership of the project and NextEra Energy Resources will acquire a 49% minority ownership interest. (FinancialTimes)

Aug 30, 2026 – ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) announced that it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Brazos Midstream’s Permian Midland Basin natural gas gathering and processing assets for total cash consideration of $4.425B. (PRNewswire)

Aug 28, 2026 – Foster Fuels, Inc announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Colonial Group, Inc. Colonial is a Savannah-based, family-owned-and-operated, diversified family of companies that specialize in energy, chemical, logistics, and transportation sectors. (FosterFuels)

Others

Sep 3, 2026 – Nvidia has agreed to buy New York-based AI startup Hugging Face in a deal worth roughly $13B, the latest acquisition by the chip giant at the center of the artificial-intelligence boom. (WSJ)

Aug 31, 2026 – SLB agreed to acquire thermal management company Kelvion from private-equity funds for $4.1B. (WSJ)

Aug 31, 2026 – Aon agreed to buy insurance brokerage USI Insurance from private-equity firm KKR for roughly $17B, including debt. (WSJ)

Top News Stories

Metals & Mining

DOJ backs $4B Oklahoma aluminum smelter as legal debate intensifies. The U.S. Department of Justice has urged a court to dismiss Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s lawsuit filed on the proposed $4B Oklahoma aluminum smelter, arguing that the project would strengthen national and economic security.

Trimet builds 40,000-tpa aluminum scrap sorting hub as recycled metal demand rises. Trimet is bringing aluminum scrap sorting and processing in-house at a new German facility, using laser technology to improve recycled metal quality and raw material security.

Alcoa files SEC registration for $5.6B South32 alumina, aluminum and bauxite asset deal. Alcoa has moved its proposed acquisition of South32’s bauxite, alumina and aluminum interests forward with a U.S. SEC filing, with the transaction carrying an implied enterprise value of up to $5.6B.

Canada doubles U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% as trade war escalates. Canada will raise tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum to 50% from September 8 as part of a $19.88B retaliatory package, while Ottawa introduces $5.4B in support for workers and businesses affected by the trade dispute.

Maaden secures $1B in oversubscribed financing as Saudi mining push accelerates. Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) has secured $1B in inaugural international syndicated credit facilities, with strong demand from global lenders highlighting confidence in the company’s expansion strategy and Saudi Arabia’s broader mining ambitions.

U.S. invests another $100M to secure last remaining domestic alumina refinery. The U.S. Department of War has committed another $100M to Atlantic Alumina Company (Atalco), taking total government investment to $400M as Washington moves to protect the country’s last remaining domestic alumina refinery and strengthen a critical defense supply chain.

Transportation & Logistics

200,000 Railcars Face Retirement — What Comes Next? Roughly 200,000 of North America’s 1.6 million railcars are approaching retirement, while new railcar production remains well below that level. The aging fleet is expected to tighten available railcar supply and create a significant replacement need over the coming years.

New data shows on-time container shipping suffers biggest drop in 5 years. Global container vessel schedule reliability dropped to 56.4% in July 2026, a decline of 6.1% from June, according to a new report from Sea Intelligence.

$5.3M a new record for Panama Canal transit. Canal officials confirmed that South Korea’s SK Gas Ltd. bid $5.3M for an auctioned Panama Canal transit slot for the liquefied petroleum gas carrier G. Spirit, the highest reported price ever for the waterway linking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

UPS reorganization prioritizes global logistics over parcel delivery. United Parcel Service announced the adoption of a new operating model and leadership structure aimed at better exploiting its global network to accelerate profit growth as it evolves from a traditional small package carrier to more of an integrated logistics provider.

Energy

Dominion Energy secures shareholder approval for merger with NextEra. Dominion Energy said in a regulatory filing on that its shareholders approved the utility’s previously announced $66.8M merger with ​NextEra Energy, at a special meeting, with 671.32 million votes ‌cast in favor of the deal.

Australia outback gas players eye Northern Territory to skip data center power queue. Gas producers and advisers promoting Australia’s Northern Territory as a home for AI data centers say developers there can bypass ​grid-connection queues stalling projects in the populous southeast by building ‌their own power generating units.

Chevron expands Venezuela presence with $7B plan to double oil output in five years. The Trump administration is ​in talks with Venezuela’s interim ‌government about taking an ownership stake in the South American country’s oil ​resources.

Others

U.S. adds a whopping 162,000 jobs in a bright spot for the economy. The U.S. added 162,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department reported, a much-stronger-than-expected result that suggested the labor market shook off its early-summer doldrums.

Volkswagen board approves doubling job cuts, restructuring in surprise move. Volkswagen’s supervisory board has approved a plan to double job losses at the automaker to 100,000 and halve its model portfolio as it contends with President Trump’s tariffs and intensifying competition from Chinese automakers.

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.

BACK TO NEWS