Energy Fuels to acquire rare earth magnet maker VAC for $1.9 billion

US critical materials producer Energy Fuels has signed a definitive agreement to acquire permanent magnet maker Vacuumschmelze (VAC) in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $1.9 billion. Energy Fuels says the acquisition combines its rare earth mining and processing assets with VAC’s magnet manufacturing to create a fully integrated “mine-to-magnet” platform spanning North America and Europe.

VAC, headquartered in Hanau, Germany, has been producing magnets for more than 100 years and holds over 400 patents. Its portfolio covers sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) and samarium-cobalt (SmCo) permanent magnets, along with soft magnetic alloys such as amorphous and nanocrystalline materials. Its newest plant, in Sumter, South Carolina, can produce 2,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of NdFeB magnet block and has a pathway to scale to 12,000 tpa.

NdFeB magnets are essential to EV traction motors, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects demand for them in North America and Europe to grow by more than 50% over the next decade. Energy Fuels says the combination will provide a secure and diversified Western source of the critical materials used in permanent magnets. Combined with Energy Fuels’ planned acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials (ASM), which would add rare earth metals and alloys capacity in South Korea, Energy Fuels says it would become the first Western producer with commercial capability at every step of the rare earth value chain, from mining and separation through metals, alloys and finished magnets.

“Joining forces with Energy Fuels gives our team, our technology, and our customers something that no other Western platform can offer today: a fully integrated supply chain platform from mine to finished magnet,” said Erik Eschen, VAC’s President and CEO.

Source: Energy Fuels