Key transactions & industry newsWeekly Update 09/25/2026

What We Found Interesting This Week

Guinea Seeks U.S. Financing for CBG Alumina Rrefinery as Bauxite Processing Accelerates


Guinea’s push for U.S. financing for CBG’s planned alumina refinery highlights a broader shift in the country’s strategy from simply exporting bauxite to processing more of it domestically. That shift is becoming increasingly important as Guinea’s bauxite production has grown from 100 million tonnes in 2022 to 178 million tonnes in 2025, while the government is targeting five to six domestic refineries with roughly 7 million tonnes of annual alumina capacity by 2030. The potential involvement of U.S. financing also adds a geopolitical angle, as Chinese companies have already committed significant capital to new refining projects in the country. If these projects move forward, Guinea could capture more of the value from its large bauxite reserves at home, while aluminum producers gain another major source of alumina outside the existing global refining hubs.

Recent M&A Transactions

Metals & Mining

Sep 24, 2026 – Can Art Aluminum Extrusions, the Brampton, Ontario-based aluminum extruder, acquired BRT Extrusions, the Niles, Ohio-based supplier of extruded aluminum products serving the Mahoning Valley manufacturing base, creating a combined organization with more than 1,000 employees, 15 extrusion presses, and 10 locations offering value-added capabilities including wet paint, powder coating, fabrication, and anodizing. (ALCircle)

Sep 22, 2026 – Titan Lithium Group, the UAE-based battery materials firm, agreed to acquire Global Lithium Resources (ASX:GL1), the Western Australia lithium developer behind the Manna hard-rock lithium project, through its Australian unit Titan Australia Mining in a scheme of arrangement valued at approximately $237M. (MiningWeekly)

Transportation & Logistics

Sep 23, 2026 – DACHSER, the Kempten, Germany-based family-owned global logistics provider, agreed to acquire its long-standing Scottish partner Drummond Distribution, the family-owned groupage and distribution company founded in 1927 operating five locations across Scotland’s Central Belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh with approximately $27M in 2025 revenue. (DACHSER)

Sep 23, 2026 – Alvys, the AI-powered transportation management system provider whose platform moves approximately $9B in freight annually across 60,000 carrier drivers, acquired the LoadOps customer base from Optym, transitioning the carriers and brokers running Optym’s TMS onto the Alvys platform while Optym concentrates on its LoadAi load planning and driver assignment business. (FreightWaves)

Building Products & Materials

Sep 23, 2026 – RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM), the Medina, Ohio-based manufacturer of specialty coatings, sealants, and building materials, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Volteco S.p.A., the Ponzano Veneto, Italy-based leading supplier of below-grade waterproofing solutions, joining RPM’s Tremco Construction Products Group with closing expected in RPM’s fiscal second quarter of 2027. (CoatingsWorld)

Energy

Sep 22, 2026 – Superior Energy Services, the Houston-based oilfield services company, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Welltec International, the Allerød, Denmark-based global provider of proprietary robotic wireline-conveyed well intervention solutions and metal expandable packer technologies, from Exor and 7-Industries Holding, in a transaction valued at approximately $1.26B. (GlobeNewswire)

Sep 21, 2026 – ESENTIA Energy Development (BMV:ESENTIA), the Mexico City-based natural gas pipeline operator, agreed to acquire 100% of Energía Occidente de México, owner of the 313-kilometer Guadalajara-Manzanillo natural gas pipeline transporting up to 500 MMcf/d to power plants and industrial customers in Jalisco and Colima, from TC Energy (TSX:TRP, NYSE:TRP) for $400M. (YahooFinance)

Sep 18, 2026 – H.I.G. Capital, the global alternative investment firm, entered into a definitive agreement to take MISTRAS Group (NYSE:MG), the Princeton Junction, New Jersey-based provider of non-destructive testing, inspection, and asset integrity solutions serving energy, power, aerospace, and industrial customers with approximately $724M in 2025 revenue, private at $20.35 per share in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $866M, roughly 9.5x 2025 EBITDA. (Mistras)

Others

Sep 21, 2026 – Grünenthal, the Aachen, Germany-based pharmaceutical company, agreed to acquire the global rights to cancer drug Stivarga from Bayer (XTRA:BAYN) for up to $431M, adding the oral multikinase inhibitor with patent protection running through 2029 in the EU and 2030 in the U.S. (WSJ)

Top News Stories

Metals & Mining

Guinea seeks U.S. financing for CBG alumina refinery as bauxite processing push accelerates. Guinea is looking to bring U.S. financing into its growing push to process more bauxite into alumina at home, with its Mines Ministry holding discussions in the United States over possible support for an alumina refinery planned by Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG).

Constellium may halt EU aluminium recycling expansion as scrap shortage deepens. Constellium’s plans to expand aluminium recycling in the European Union could be put on hold if the region fails to secure enough aluminium scrap, with exports to overseas markets contributing to a shortage of raw material for European producers.

Glencore to create U.S. strategic critical minerals reserve with EXIM Bank. Glencore ​received a $500M ‌commitment from Export-Import Bank of the United ​States to ​create a strategic critical ⁠minerals reserve to ​strengthen supply chains ​in the U.S..

EGA to pilot technology upgrades at Al Taweelah, further improving productivity and efficiency. Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, announced a technology upgrade pilot at the company’s Al Taweelah smelter, which will further improve productivity and efficiency.

Transportation & Logistics

Hapag-Lloyd revises Zim offer as Israeli approval concerns persist. Hapag-Lloyd and Israeli private-equity firm FIMI submitted revised terms for their planned $4.2B acquisition of Zim Integrated Shipping Services, seeking to resolve Israeli government concerns over maritime security, strategic assets and the country’s access to international shipping routes.

Greenbrier racks up $600M in new railcar orders. Freight car builder Greenbrier received orders for 3,400 new railcars worth about $600 million during its fiscal fourth quarter, including a 780-car order from Saudi Railway Company that expands the manufacturer’s relationship with the state-owned rail operator into intermodal equipment.

New $100M inland rail terminal will handle 60,000 TEUs a year. Construction of the Alabama Port Authority’s Montgomery Intermodal Container Transfer Facility remains on schedule for an early 2027 opening, with site grading and underground utility work completed and rail-infrastructure construction now underway.

Regulators turn down requests for summary denial of UP-NS merger. The Surface Transportation Board has turned down the long-shot efforts of opponents to bring a quick end to Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger plans.

Energy

Talk of U.S. export ban on diesel deepens U.S. crude futures’ discount to global benchmark. Washington’s talk of a possible ban on diesel exports is widening the gap between U.S. crude oil futures and the global Brent benchmark, a signal that markets expect U.S. refiners to ​process less crude oil if their diesel output gets stuck at home.

BP eyes Devon Energy asset amid renewed U.S. M&A ambitions. BP is ​weighing a potential acquisition of Devon Energy’s operations in South Texas as part of renewed efforts by the British supermajor to grow its shale ‌asset base in the U.S..

Senate inches closer to U.S. infrastructure permitting reform bill. The U.S. Senate is nearing a deal to reform laws ‌to speed up permitting of large infrastructure projects after the White House compromised on how renewable energy is treated, though a vote is uncertain before the midterm elections.

Russia cuts natural gas output, export forecasts. Russia’s economy ministry expects the country to ​produce and export less natural gas this year than previously forecast, according to ‌a draft government document seen by Reuters, as Europe prepares to wind up its final Russian gas purchases.

U.S. will either reform IEA on climate issues or leave the group. The U.S. might consider leaving the International Energy Agency ​if there is no alignment on climate issues. The Paris-based IEA ​has provided research and data to industrialized governments for ​more than half a century to help guide policy around energy security, supply and investment. The United States provides around ​a quarter of the group’s funding.

Others

The robust U.S. economy powers through rate hikes and rising bond yields. The U.S. economy keeps powering through inflation, tariffs and higher borrowing costs, defying a run-up in Treasury yields and a Fed rate increase.

Global bond selloff rolls on, U.S. 30-year yield at highest since 2004. U.S. long-dated Treasury yields rose to their highest in more than 20 years, extending a global selloff that has accelerated on worries that high energy costs, resilient economic growth and increased government spending will ‌keep inflation elevated.

About RJM

RJM & Company is a specialized M&A and capital markets advisory investment bank. We provide boards and management teams of public and private companies with independent advice and expertise in a variety of sectors including road, rail and marine transportation, infrastructure, chemicals, energy, metals and mining, manufacturing, building materials, and other coverage areas of the industrial complex. RJM advises clients on all aspects of transactions including timing, structure, and pricing. RJM originates opportunities and helps negotiate and execute transactions already under evaluation.

BACK TO NEWS