[SMM News: USAR Acquires UK Rare Earth Producer LCM] Ohio-based US Rare Earth (USAR) has reached an agreement to acquire UK rare earth metals and alloys producer Less Common Metals (LCM) in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $125 million, accelerating its integrated strategy from mine to magnet.

According to the two companies, LCM is the only enterprise outside China capable of large-scale production of light and heavy rare earth permanent magnet metals and cast alloys. Its plant in Cheshire, UK, primarily produces rare earth products such as samarium, samarium cobalt, neodymium praseodymium, terbium, yttrium, and gadolinium. USAR stated that it plans to expand LCM's production scale in the UK and integrate the rare earth metal production capacity of its plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma, thereby providing strong support for the construction of a magnet plant with an annual capacity of 5,000 mt. The two companies also revealed that LCM has a solid network of customer relationships, with a client base covering defense, automotive manufacturers, and top magnet producers in the US and Europe. Through this acquisition, USAR has achieved closed-loop integration, extending its business scope from rare earth deposit mining in Texas to metal alloy production and recycling of rare earth oxides.