USA Rare Earth buys Brazil's Serra Verde for $2.8 billion, extending takeover spree

Serra Verde is mostly the only rare earth miner in Brazil. Brazil has the second largest rare earth deposit on earth. Serra Verde’s Pela Ema mine in Brazil. Credit: Serra Verde USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) plans to acquire Brazilian rare earths producer Serra Verde Group for a total value of about $2.8 billion, a move that could position the new company among the few Western producers of heavy rare earths outside China. The agreement, announced Monday, includes $300 million in cash and 126.849 million newly issued USA Rare Earth shares at $19.95 apiece, implying an equity value of $2.8 billion for Serra Verde. The company operates the Pela Ema project in Goiás state, Latin America’s only producing rare earths mine.