Key transactions & industry news Weekly Update 12/20/2024
Recent M&A Transactions
Metals & Mining
Dec. 17, 2024 – Alpayana S.A.C. has made an unsolicited all-cash takeover bid to acquire Sierra Metals Inc. (TSX: SMT), a Canadian mining company specializing in copper production with additional base and precious metals by-product credits at its Yauricocha Mine in Peru and Bolivar Mine in Mexico. (Business Wire)
Dec. 16, 2024 – Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Forgital Group, a leading manufacturer of advanced forged and machine-finished components for aerospace and industrial markets, from Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG). (Stonepeak)
Dec. 12, 2024 – Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) and O3 Mining Inc. (TSXV: OIII) have signed a definitive support agreement under which Agnico Eagle will acquire O3 Mining for ~$204M. (Agnico Eagle)
Transportation & Logistics
Dec. 19, 2024 – Scan Global Logistics acquired ITN Logistics Group, a leading Canadian freight forwarder providing comprehensive global logistics solutions. The acquisition strengthens SGL’s Canadian operations by adding scale, expanding locations, and increasing market share. (Scan Global Logistics)
Dec. 18, 2024 – ADL Final Mile, a final mile delivery company headquartered in Omaha, NE, acquired Henry Industries, Inc., which is a leading provider of customized and final mile logistics services in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. (Yahoo Finance)
Dec. 16, 2024 – Less-than-truckload carrier Pitt Ohio acquired Midwest carrier Sutton Transport. Wisconsin-based Sutton Transport operates 13 terminals across Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Its fleet comprises 384 power units and 455 drivers. (FreightWaves)
Dec. 11, 2024 – Cart.com, a Houston-based startup providing end-to-end e-commerce services, acquired OceanX, the wholly owned fulfillment operations arm of Guthy-Renker. The acquisition will increase the Company’s fulfillment warehouse network and expand the e-commerce firm into new market segments. (FreightWaves)
Building Products & Materials
Dec. 18, 2024 – ASSA ABLOY (OM: ASSA B) acquired Norshield Security Products, a US manufacturer of high-security openings and enclosures that generated ~$16M in revenue in 2023. (ASSA ABLOY)
Dec. 16, 2024 – S.T. Wooten Corp. acquired Capital Ready Mix Concrete, strengthening its position in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park market. (Concrete Products)
Dec. 14, 2024 – Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE: IBP), an industry-leading installer of insulation and complementary building products, acquired Houston, TX-based Capital Insulation. Capital Insulation serves the single-family, multifamily, and commercial end markets, focusing on installation opportunities in new construction projects, primarily using fiberglass and spray foam insulation. (Business Wire)
Energy
Dec. 16, 2024 – Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) has entered into a definitive agreement to sell DCP GCX Pipeline LLC, which owns a 25% non-operated equity interest in Gulf Coast Express Pipeline LLC, to ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC for $865M. (Business Wire)
Dec. 12, 2024 – Gravity Oilfield Services Inc., a growth-oriented water and power infrastructure company backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., will sell its Gravity Water Midstream division to Delek Logistics Partners, LP (NYSE: DKL). Gravity Water Midstream provides gathering, transportation, recycling, storage, and disposal solutions for produced water in the Midland Basin in Texas and the Williston Basin in North Dakota. (Clearlake Capital)
Others
Dec. 19, 2024 – Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) and Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. have entered into an merger agreement whereby Tripadvisor will acquire Liberty TripAdvisor for $435M. (Tripadvisor)
Top News Stories
Metals & Mining
Major exit: Sumitomo Chemical pulls out of aluminum smelting and resale businesses. Japanese industry giant Sumitomo Chemical has announced its decision to sell its 2.97% stake in Nippon Amazon Aluminium Co., Ltd. to YKK AP Inc. This move, coupled with the previously announced sale of shares in two overseas aluminum smelting companies in May 2024, marks its complete withdrawal from the resale business of imported aluminum ingots.
Pioneering technology advancements and sustainability initiatives, EGA continues to be a global aluminum leader in 2024. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the world’s leading premium aluminum producer, is the first company in the Middle East to have joined the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative and the first one in the UAE to have sold its own industrial technology internationally. Among the many firsts, EGA is also the first company in the UAE to implement the digital tracking system, the first in the world to connect metal quality analysis to LME digitally, and the first to ship bauxite cargo using LNG-fuelled ship, achieved in 2024.
Transportation & Logistics
A stand-alone FedEx Freight gives LTL investors another pure play. Investors are getting more optionality when it comes to playing the less-than-truckload market. FedEx will move forward with a plan to spin off FedEx Freight, the nation’s largest LTL carrier, which could be worth as much as $30B. FedEx said separating into two publicly listed companies – a domestic and international package and freight business generating $78B in annual revenue, and a domestic LTL carrier with a nearly $10B top line – is the best path to unlock “significant value” for shareholders.
Judge OKs sale of Yellow terminals to Estes, R+L Carriers. Two separate purchase agreements representing $192.5M of Yellow Corp.’s real estate were blessed by a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware. Estes is buying 11 terminals, four of which are leased, from defunct Yellow for $142.5M. The larger properties in the sale include a 216-door terminal in Cincinnati, 198 doors near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and 167 doors in Tracy, California. R+L Carriers is buying one location – a 304-door terminal in Maybrook, New York – for $50M.
Energy
Trump threatens EU with tariffs over oil and gas imports. US President-elect Donald Trump said the European Union should step up US oil and gas imports or face tariffs on the bloc’s exports that include goods such as cars and machinery. The EU already buys the lion’s share of US oil and gas exports. No extra volumes are currently available as the United States is exporting at capacity, but Trump has pledged to further grow the country’s oil and gas production.
Others
December 2024 Fed meeting: Fed cuts rates by 25 basis points to bolster labor market, triggering market shifts. The Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates by 25 basis points, signaling progress toward its dual goals of maximum employment and price stability. Markets dropped ~3% on news of the cut, but were showing signs of recovery by Thursday. While the Fed’s statement showed minimal changes, it introduced a new qualifier on the “extent and timing” of future rate cuts, suggesting a slower pace in 2025 than previously anticipated.
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