Key transactions & industry news Weekly Update 10/18/2024
Recent M&A Transactions
Metals & Mining
Oct 18, 2024 – Miata Metals (CNQ: MMET) has expanded its gold exploration portfolio with the acquisition of 79North, which owns gold assets in Suriname. (Mining Technology)
Oct 17, 2024 – Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAP) has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Aperam (ENXTAM: APAM) for $539 million. Aperam has a global presence in stainless, electrical and specialty steel and recycling, with customers in over 40 countries. (Universal Stainless)
Oct 14, 2024 – Kilwaughter Minerals Limited will become part of the multi-national Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. (ENXTPA: SGO) after they reached a binding agreement for Saint-Gobain to acquire the Northern Irish quarrying and mineral processor. (Kilwaughter)
Oct 11, 2024 – ArcelorMittal (ENXTAM: MT) has entered into a definitive Equity Purchase Agreement with Nippon Steel Corporation (TSE: 5401) to acquire Nippon’s 50% equity interest in the AM/NS Calvert Joint Venture. (ArcelorMittal)
Transportation & Logistics
Oct 17, 2024 – Forging company Bharat Forge (BSE: 500493) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AAM India Manufacturing for $64.5 million. AAM is a subsidiary of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, a US-based player in the automotive components sector. (Business Standard)
Oct 15, 2024 – Sono Hospitality Group, South Korea’s largest resort operator, will add low-cost carrier Air Premia Inc. to its bulging portfolio for $34.6 million. (KED Global)
Building Products & Materials
Oct 17, 2024 – Four Seasons Building Products acquired the assets of Ceda-Alum LLC, a Northern California-based manufacturer of patio covers, pergolas, and opening roof systems. (PRWeb)
Oct 17, 2024 – Carlisle Companies Incorporated (NYSE: CSL) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Plasti-Fab, the expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation brand of PFB Holdco, Inc., for $259.5 million. Plasti-Fab is a leading, vertically integrated provider of EPS insulation products across Canada and the Midwestern United States. (Yahoo Finance)
Oct 15, 2024 – Undivided Life Holdings acquired McKnight Construction, a metal building construction firm with a long history of quality craftsmanship and professional work at an affordable cost. (Business Wire)
Energy
Oct 15, 2024 – Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE: NBR) and Parker Wellbore have signed a definitive agreement under which Nabors will acquire all of Parker’s issued and outstanding common shares in exchange for 4.8 million shares of Nabors’ common stock. (PR Newswire)
Oct 15, 2024 – Ivy Energy, a leading provider of solar and EV billing solutions for multi-tenant real estate, has acquired Glow Energy, a key innovator in distributed energy billing technology. (AccessWire)
Others
Oct 15, 2024 – American Express (NYSE: AXP) completed its acquisition of Tock, a reservation, table, and event management technology provider, from Squarespace (NYSE: SQSP). (American Express)
Top News Stories
Metals & Mining
Lakeshore-based aluminium downstream producer receives USD 5 million government aide. The Canadian federal government funded Can Art as part of its larger initiative. It has invested $12 million in six manufacturers: BSB Manufacturing Ltd., Clover Tool Manufacturing Ltd., CMP Automation Inc., Electrovaya Inc., and Marwood International Inc., in addition to Can Art Extrusion.
Alcoa’s Q3 net income marks over a fourfold growth despite weaker operational performance. Alcoa encountered a havoc surge in net income from $20 million in Q2 2024 to $90 million in Q3 2024, driven by skyrocketed alumina prices amid stable raw material costs. Adjusted net income was $135 million in Q3 2024 versus $30 million in Q2 2024. Its adjusted EBITDA jumped by 250% Q-o-Q and 550% Y-o-Y, amounting to $455 million in the third quarter of 2024 ended September 30.
US primary aluminium output drops in July’24, but scrap recovery compensates for it by gaining 5% Y-o-Y. Compared to the production volume in June at 55,000 tonnes, the US output in July gained 2,000 tonnes M-o-M. The average daily production of primary aluminum in the United States during July 2024 was 1,830 tonnes, which reflected no change from the previous month but edged a drop of 11.17% from 2,060 tonnes in July 2023. Total aluminum recovered from scrap in July 2024 was 292,000 tonnes versus 295,000 tonnes in June 2024 and 278,000 tonnes in July 2023.
Transportation & Logistics
Mexican legislation seeks to reverse privatization of rail industry. Mexico’s Congress has passed legislation that would reverse railroad privatization laws enacted in the 1990s and give the government more control over rail operations, particularly passenger rail.
Forward Air retains investment bankers to sell company, sources say. Pressure on the expedited trucking company’s board to sell has mounted in recent weeks in the wake of a messy merger with freight forwarder Omni Logistics. Activist holders have said private equity ownership would allow the company to cure its heavy debt load (incurred as part of the deal’s financing) and formulate a fresh go-to-market strategy away from the public eye.
Rail a key to 10 million-TEU Charleston forecast. Rail connections and massive infrastructure investment have an East Coast container port complex looking toward annual volume of 10 million twenty-foot equivalent units. Ten million TEUs would be a record for an East Coast port. New York-New Jersey claims the high mark of 9.49 million TEUs set in 2022. South Carolina’s previous high was 2.85 million TEUs in 2022.
Weekly US rail traffic back ahead of 2023 levels. The week saw 505,033 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.6% from the same week in 2023. That included 222,003 carloads, down 1.3% from the same week a year ago, and 283,030 containers and trailers, up 5.9%. A week ago, traffic was 2.5% below the same week in 2023, the first time since January that volume had seen a drop compared to the previous year.
Energy
Texas natural-gas pipeline eases bottlenecks, paves way for higher shale output. A new pipeline carrying shale natural gas from west Texas toward export hubs on the U.S. Gulf Coast has eased constraints that crashed local prices this year, and will help pave the way for higher U.S. oil production. The line, a joint venture between WhiteWater Midstream, EnLink Midstream, Devon Energy, and MPLX, can carry up to 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day, adding 14% in new regional capacity as it ramps up this year.
Others
US single-family homebuilding hits five-month high, but trend remains soft. The US single-family homebuilding surged to a five-month high in September, but permits for future construction rose only marginally amid excess supply of new homes on the market and prospective buyers holding out for lower mortgage rates. Despite the second straight monthly increase in single-family housing starts, economists expected that residential investment, which includes homebuilding and sales, remained a drag on third-quarter economic growth.
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.