USA Rare Earth正式签署入股法国Carester的战略投资协议

USA Rare Earth Enters Definitive Agreements for Strategic Investment in Carester, Strengthening its European Rare Earth Partnership
Formalizes the Strategic Investment and Commercial Framework Between the Companies Announced in April 2026
Strengthens USA Rare Earth's Midstream Rare Earth Platform in Europe and the Integrated Industrial Ecosystem Forming in Lacq, France
Carester’s Caremag Facility to Commence Operations in Q4 2026
Provides LCM Europe and USA Rare Earth Access to Carester’s Rare Earth Oxides; Gives Carester Access to USA Rare Earth Feedstock from Serra Verde and Round Top
STILLWATER, Okla., July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR) (the “Company”) today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire strategic minority stakes representing approximately 13.6 percent each in Carester SAS (“Carester”), a French leader in rare earth processing and separation. InfraVia, acting through its Critical Metals Fund, seeded by the French State as an anchor investor alongside private institutional capital, is acquiring a similar stake in Carester alongside USA Rare Earth.
The agreements finalize the strategic investment and commercial framework the parties announced in April 2026. In addition to targeting healthy returns, USA Rare Earth and its subsidiary Less Common Metals (“LCM”) Europe will have the ability to purchase a portion of Carester’s oxide output from its Caremag facility. USA Rare Earth will have access to Carester’s engineering capabilities and related intellectual property for separation, processing, and recycling. In turn, Carester will have access to USA Rare Earth feedstock sources, including Serra Verde and the Round Top deposit in Texas.
"Integrating Carester’s capabilities into our global platform brings additional advanced processing optionality into our integrated value chain, further supporting our mining, metal making and magnet manufacturing businesses," said Barbara Humpton, Chief Executive Officer of USA Rare Earth. "This is also a highly strategic financial investment, as Carester’s position as one of the few facilities outside of China capable of separating heavy rare earths beginning in 2027 can provide a distinct competitive advantage. We anticipate that this scarcity, coupled with accelerating demand for secure critical materials, can drive sustainable, long-term value for our shareholders."
Founded in 2019, Carester is a French specialist in rare earth processing and separation technologies, with decades of technical expertise across the value chain from raw material sourcing through high-purity rare earth oxides. Carester is currently building its Caremag magnet recycling and heavy rare earth separation facility in Lacq, France, scheduled for commissioning in late 2026 with an anticipated annual production when fully ramped of 800 tonnes per annum (tpa) of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide, 500 tpa of dysprosium (Dy) oxide and 100 tpa of terbium (Tb) oxide. The facility’s Dy and Tb oxide production is expected to represent approximately 15% of current world production of these magnetic heavy rare earth oxides.
Proceeds will primarily fund Carester’s next phase of growth, including expansion of its rare earth processing and separation platform (Caremag), research and development, and working capital. As a condition to completion of the strategic investment, a portion of the joint investment will fund the acquisition of minority shareholders’ interest, resulting in their full exit. Funding is expected in the third quarter of 2026, subject to remaining customary conditions.
The investment is part of a broader partnership between USA Rare Earth, LCM Europe, and Carester to build an integrated rare earth industrial platform in Lacq, France, spanning processing, separation, metal and alloy production, and potentially magnet manufacturing. In parallel, USA Rare Earth, through LCM Europe, is developing a 3,750 mtpa metal and alloy production facility at the same location. Together, these projects are intended to form one of Europe’s most complete rare earth industrial ecosystems and to advance a secure, Western-aligned value chain across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
The Lacq platform builds on the French government’s previously announced support for the LCM Europe metallization and alloy project, including direct credits under the C3IV program of up to 45 percent of eligible equipment and real estate, up to €130 million, and Bpifrance Assurance Export’s readiness to consider a state guarantee (Garantie des Projets Stratégiques) covering 50 percent of commercial debt financing for project capital expenditures.
Transaction Advisors
Moelis & Company LLC acted as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to USA Rare Earth.
About USA Rare Earth
USA Rare Earth, Inc. (Nasdaq: USAR) is building a fully integrated rare earth and permanent magnet value chain across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Through its ownership of Less Common Metals Ltd. (LCM) and development of magnet manufacturing capacity in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA Rare Earth operates across the entire value chain, from heavy rare earth processing to metal-making, alloy production, and neodymium magnet manufacturing. By combining domestic feedstock from the Round Top deposit with advanced processing technologies, recycling capabilities, and an expanding European industrial footprint, USA Rare Earth is establishing a secure, Western-aligned supply of materials essential to defense, electrification, robotics, energy, and advanced manufacturing.
About Carester
Founded in 2019 by Frédéric Carencotte and a team of international experts, Carester is a French company specializing in the refining of rare earth elements, critical materials for advanced technologies. The company is a leader in the separation and production of highly valuable heavy rare earth oxides including praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), terbium (Tb), and dysprosium (Dy), all critical components of permanent magnets. Carester processes both mined and recycled material, and its proprietary software intellectual property enables customers to optimize oxide formulations for specific use cases.
About InfraVia Capital Partners
Founded in 2008, InfraVia is a leading independent private capital firm specialized in real assets (infrastructure, critical metals, real estate) and technology investments. InfraVia is a conviction-driven investor focusing on resilient assets and long-term value creation through active, hands-on asset management. Headquartered in Paris, InfraVia is 100 percent partner-owned. InfraVia manages more than EUR 20 billion of capital and has invested in more than 60 companies across Europe.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements regarding the Company’s investment in Carester and the timing and completion of that investment, the development of Carester’s Caremag facility and LCM Europe’s planned metal and alloy production facility in Lacq, France, the Company’s role in establishing a midstream and downstream rare earth and magnet value chain in Europe, and USAR’s expectations for future development, operations, strategies, transactions and financial performance. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Words such as “anticipate,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “growth,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “propose,” “should,” “target,” “vision,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to diff