M&A move

Katy-based US Silica agrees to go private in $1.85B acquisition by asset management firm

Once the deal closes, U.S. Silica's stock will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Photo via ussilica.com

U.S. Silica has agreed to go private in an all-cash acquisition by Apollo Global Management, a New York asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. The deal values the industrial minerals company at about $1.85 billion.

In a Friday announcement, U.S. Silica said that shareholders would receive $15.50 in cash for each share owned as of the deal's closing. Once the deal closes, U.S. Silica's stock will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Founded in the late 1800s, U.S. Silica produces commercial silica used in the oil and gas industry and other industrial applications. It operates 26 mines and processing facilities and two additional exploration stage properties.

The Katy, Texas-based company is still set to operate under the U.S. Silica name and brand, and will continue to be led by its current CEO Bryan Shinn. In a prepared statement, Shinn said that partnering with Apollo will give U.S. Silica “significant resources, deep industry expertise and enhanced flexibility as a private company."

U.S. Silica said that the transaction — which has been unanimously approved by its board of directors — is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions.

The agreement also includes a 45-day “go-shop” period that allows U.S. Silica to seek out other proposals until June 10.

Shares of U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. climbed nearly 20 percent Friday morning, shortly after the company reported net income of $13.7 million for its first quarter. The commercial silica producer posted revenue of $325.9 million in the period.

Apollo Global Management's stock was up about 0.18 percent.

Trending News

A View From HETI

20-plus companies will pitch at Energy Tech Nexus' Pilotathon during Houston Energy & Climate Startup Week. Photo via Getty Images.

Energy Tech Nexus will host its Pilotathon and Showcase as part of Houston Energy & Climate Startup Week next Tuesday, Sept. 16, featuring insightful talks from industry leaders and pitches from an international group of companies in the clean energy space.

This year's event will center around the theme "Energy Access and Resilience." Attendees will hear pitches from nine Pilotathon pitch companies, as well as the 14 companies that were named to Energy Tech Nexus' COPILOT accelerator earlier this year.

COPILOT partners with Browning the Green Space, a nonprofit that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the clean energy and climatetech sectors. The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory backs the COPILOT accelerator, where companies are tasked with developing pilot projects for their innovations.

The nine Pilotathon pitch companies include:

  • Ontario-based AlumaPower, which has developed a breakthrough technology that converts the aluminum-air battery into a "galvanic generator," a long-duration energy source that runs on aluminum as a fuel
  • Calgary-based BioOilSolv, a chemical manufacturing company that has developed cutting-edge biomass-derived solvents
  • Atlanta-based Cultiv8 Fuels, which creates high-quality renewable fuel products derived from hemp
  • Newfoundland-based eDNAtec Inc., a leader in environmental genomics that analyzes biodiversity and ecological health
  • Oregon-based Espiku Inc., which designs and develops water treatment and mineral extraction technologies that rely on low-pressure evaporative cycles
  • New York-based Fast Metals Inc., which has developed a chemical process to extract valuable metals from complex toxic mine tailings that is capable of producing iron, aluminum, scandium, titanium and other rare earth elements using industrial waste and waste CO2 as inputs
  • New Jersey-based Metal Light Inc., which is building a circular, solid metal fuel that will serve as a replacement for diesel fuel
  • Glasgow-based Novosound, which designs and manufactures innovative ultrasound sensors using a thin-film technique to address the limitations of traditional ultrasound with applications in industrial, medical and wearable markets
  • Calgary-based Serenity Power, which has developed a cutting-edge solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology

The COPILOT accelerator companies include:

  • Accelerate Wind
  • Aquora Biosystems Inc.
  • EarthEn
  • Electromaim
  • EnKoat
  • GeoFuels
  • Harber Coatings Inc.
  • Janta Power
  • NanoSieve
  • PolyQor Inc.
  • Popper Power
  • Siva Powers America
  • ThermoShade
  • V-Glass Inc.

Read more about them here.

The Pilotathon will also include a keynote from Taylor Chapman, investment manager at New Climate Ventures; Deanna Zhang, CEO at V1 Climate Solutions; and Jolene Gurevich, director of fellowship experience at Breakthrough Energy. The Texas Climate Tech Collective will present its latest study on the Houston climate tech and innovation ecosystem.

CEOs Moji Karimi of Cemvita, Laureen Meroueh of Hertha Metals and others will also participate in a panel on successful pilots. Investors from NetZero Ventures, Halliburton Labs, Chevron, Saudi Aramco, Prithvi VC and other organizations will also be on-site. Find registration information here.

Trending News