M&A moves

Houston private equity firm acquires German magnetic materials producer

In M&A news, a decarbonization-focused firm has acquired only producer in the Western Hemisphere of electric-vehicle-grade permanent magnets. Photo via arapartners.com

Houston-based private equity firm Ara Partners has purchased Germany’s Vacuumschmelze (VAC), a producer of magnetic materials for products such as electric vehicles, from funds overseen by asset manager Apollo. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed.

VAC is the only producer in the Western Hemisphere of electric-vehicle-grade permanent magnets. It also makes magnetic materials for the industrial, aerospace, medical, and renewable energy sectors.

Earlier this year, VAC announced a deal with automotive giant General Motors to build a North American factory for the production of magnets for the electric motors of GM-made EVs. The factory, set to open in 2025, will initially product enough magnets to supply 1 million EVs each year. The magnets will be made of alloys of rare-earth elements.

GM forecasts it will manufacture 1 million EVs per year in North America by 2025.

“We believe the demand for VAC’s differentiated, customized products will continue to grow rapidly as companies around the world decarbonize their industrial processes and the electrification of mobility advances, and we look forward to leveraging our expertise to further enable VAC’s continued success,” Tuan Tran, a partner at Ara Partners, says in a news release.

Ara Partners specializes in investments in the decarbonization sector.

Founded in 1923, VAC was owned by technology conglomerate Siemens for more than 65 years. Ohio’s OM Group acquired VAC in 2011. Four years later, Apollo purchased OM Group for more than $1 billion, putting VAC in the hands of the asset manager.

As of June 30, Ara Partners had about $4.4 billion in assets under management, while Apollo had $617 billion in assets under management.

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A View From HETI

Blackstone Infrastructure, an affiliate of Blackstone Inc., will acquire a major Texas electricity provider. Photo via Shutterstock

Blackstone Infrastructure, an investment giant with $600 million in assets under management, has agreed to buy publicly traded TXNM Energy in a debt-and-stock deal valued at $11.5 billion.

TXNM Energy is the parent company of Lewisville-based Texas New Mexico Power (TNMP), which supplies electricity to more than 270,000 homes and businesses throughout Texas. Its Houston-area service territory includes Alvin, Angleton, Brazoria, Dickinson, Friendswood, La Marque, League City, Sweeny, Texas City and West Columbia.

Once Blackstone Infrastructure wraps up the deal in the second half of 2026, Albuquerque, New Mexico-based TXNM will no longer be a public company. But TNMP’s headquarters will remain in Texas and its rates will continue to be set by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. TNMP was founded in 1934.

Blackstone Infrastructure is affiliated with investment powerhouse Blackstone Inc., which has $1.2 trillion in assets under management and is the world’s largest investment manager.

“TNMP has done an excellent job of meeting its customers’ growing demand for electricity and supporting the communities it serves,” Sean Klimczak, Blackstone’s global head of infrastructure, said in a news release. “We look forward to utilizing our long-term investment commitments to support TNMP as they continue on this path of high-demand growth across Texas.”

During TXNM’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February, Chairwoman and CEO Patricia Vincent-Collawn said the company’s five-year Texas capital investment plan had grown by more than $1 billion.

“Our future is so bright with these increased investment levels that we are now targeting earnings growth of 7 percent to 9 percent through 2029,” Vincent-Collawn said.

“Our financial expectations are driven by the continued expansion of grid infrastructure supporting growth and reliability in our Texas service territory,” she added.

In 2024, TXNM reported revenue of $1.96 billion, up 1.7 percent from the previous year.

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