5E Advanced Materials Completes Searles Valley Acquisition and Sets Shareholder Call
5E Advanced Materials said it has completed the acquisition of Searles Valley Minerals’ assets and operations through a Section 363 sale process, bringing the company’s Fort Cady project together with an operating borate facility in Southern California.
5E Advanced Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:FEAM) has completed its acquisition of the assets and operations of Searles Valley Minerals through a court-supervised sale under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company said the transaction changes its position from a pre-revenue developer to a revenue-generating U.S. producer of boron and critical industrial minerals.
Searles Valley is an industrial and critical minerals operation in Trona, California, with more than 150 years of production history. Its assets include processing facilities, infrastructure and logistics capabilities.
The acquired operation will be combined with 5E’s Fort Cady Boron Project in Southern California. The company described the combined assets as an integrated boron platform with near-term production and long-term growth potential.
Paul Weibel, chief executive officer of 5E Advanced Materials, said the company’s immediate priorities are to optimise the Searles Valley operations, rebuild borate production and position the business to serve demand for domestically produced boron and critical materials.
Management said it plans to address pricing, costs and volumes at Searles Valley. It also intends to examine additional growth opportunities within the acquired asset base and the way the Searles Valley and Fort Cady operations can support a larger integrated U.S. boron and critical minerals platform.
5E describes itself as an emerging producer focused on refined borates and advanced boron materials, alongside calcium-based co-products and potentially other by-products such as lithium carbonate. Its Southern California resource base consists of Fort Cady and the Searles Valley operations.
Fort Cady is designated as Critical Infrastructure by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, while boron was added to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s 2025 Critical Minerals List.
5E will hold a special shareholder conference call on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The session will cover the completed acquisition and the company’s plans for Searles Valley.
Paul Weibel is scheduled to discuss the transaction, the acquired operations and the company’s next phase. Management also plans to address pricing, cost and volume initiatives, further opportunities within the acquired assets, and the relationship between Searles Valley and Fort Cady. A live question-and-answer session with analysts and investors will follow the presentation.
Questions may be submitted in advance by email to [email protected]. The company said its investor presentation will be posted before the call. The webcast replay expires on Wednesday, October 6, 2027, while the teleconference replay expires on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
5E said the transaction and its forward-looking plans remain subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. These include environmental and regulatory obligations tied to the acquired assets, liabilities that may not have been extinguished through the Section 363 process, and the possibility that a Bankruptcy Court sale order could face objection, appeal, modification, stay or reversal.
The company also identified risks related to acquisition financing and indebtedness, including its ability to service, refinance or repay those obligations on acceptable terms. Other risks include the possibility that Searles Valley’s historical operating results may not reflect future performance; delays or failure in rebuilding borate production or implementing pricing, cost and volume initiatives; and the potential that anticipated acquisition benefits, revenue contribution or cost efficiencies may not be achieved on the expected timeline or at all.
Additional risks involve integrating the assets and operations, retaining customers, suppliers and key personnel, and meeting operating, production, environmental, permitting and reclamation obligations. 5E said it may require additional capital to advance Fort Cady, and that funding may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. The company also cited changes in boron and critical minerals demand, pricing, end-use markets, government policy, regulation and incentives.
5E Advanced Materials has completed its acquisition of Searles Valley Minerals’ assets and operations through a Section 363 court-supervised sale process.
The company said the closing moves it from a pre-revenue developer to a revenue-generating U.S. producer of boron and critical industrial minerals.
Searles Valley in Trona, California, will be combined with 5E’s Fort Cady Boron Project.
5E will hold a shareholder update call on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
The company identified financing, regulatory, operational, integration, production and market-related risks connected with the transaction and its plans.
5E Advanced Materials announced that it had completed its previously announced acquisition of the assets and operations of Searles Valley Minerals through a court-supervised sale process under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company said the closing transitions it from a pre-revenue developer to a revenue-generating U.S. producer of boron and critical industrial minerals.
5E Advanced Materials acquired the assets and operations of Searles Valley Minerals, an industrial and critical minerals operation in Trona, California. The company said the operation has more than 150 years of production history and includes processing, infrastructure and logistics assets.
5E Advanced Materials said the acquisition moves it from being a pre-revenue developer to a revenue-generating U.S. producer of boron and critical industrial minerals. It also brings Searles Valley together with the company's Fort Cady Boron Project to create an integrated Southern California boron platform.
5E Advanced Materials said its focus is on optimising the Searles Valley operations, rebuilding borate production and positioning the company to serve demand for domestically produced boron and critical materials. Management also plans to pursue pricing, cost and volume initiatives, although the company cautioned that it may not rebuild production or implement those initiatives on the anticipated timeline or at all.
Paul Weibel, Chief Executive Officer of 5E Advanced Materials, described the closing as a transformational moment and said the company was moving immediately into execution. He said the company would focus on optimising Searles Valley operations, rebuilding borate production and positioning 5E to serve demand for secure, domestically produced boron and critical materials.
5E Advanced Materials will host a special shareholder conference call on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The call will discuss the completed acquisition and the company's plans for Searles Valley.
5E Advanced Materials said Paul Weibel will provide further detail on the Searles Valley acquisition and the next phase of the company. Management plans to discuss the Searles Valley operations, pricing, cost and volume initiatives, additional growth opportunities within the acquired asset base, and how Searles Valley and Fort Cady could support a larger integrated U.S. boron and critical minerals platform.
5E Advanced Materials said a live question-and-answer session with analysts and investors will follow the presentation. Participants may submit questions in advance by emailing [email protected].
5E Advanced Materials said its investor presentation will be posted before the start of the call, with the webcast replay and additional transaction information available in the Investor Relations section of its website at www.5eadvancedmaterials.com. The webcast replay expires on Wednesday, October 6, 2027, and the teleconference replay expires on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
5E Advanced Materials is an emerging producer focused on becoming a vertically integrated global supplier of refined borates and advanced boron materials, complemented by calcium-based co-products and potentially other by-products such as lithium carbonate. Its business is based on two domestic boron resources in Southern California: Fort Cady and the Searles Valley operations.
5E Advanced Materials shares trade on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol FEAM. The company identifies itself as 5E Advanced Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:FEAM).
5E Advanced Materials identified risks including environmental and regulatory obligations, liabilities not extinguished through the Section 363 sale process, and the possibility that a Bankruptcy Court sale order could face objection, appeal, modification, stay or reversal. The company also cited acquisition-related indebtedness and financing, the risk that historical operating results may not indicate future performance, challenges rebuilding production or integrating the assets, customer, supplier and personnel retention risks, operating and reclamation obligations, possible additional capital needs for Fort Cady, and changes in boron and critical minerals demand, pricing, end-use markets, government policy, regulation or incentives.
5E Advanced Materials said its forward-looking plans include advancing, developing and financing Fort Cady and expanding across boron, advanced boron materials, calcium-based co-products, potential by-products such as lithium carbonate and other critical mineral products. The company stated that these plans are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties and that actual outcomes may differ materially from its current expectations, forecasts and assumptions.