USA Rare Earth to Acquire Carester Assets in France Processing Deal
The asset purchase deepens USA Rare Earth's April stake in the French separation specialist into full ownership of its processing platform, tying Carester's output to feedstock from Round Top and Serra Verde.
USA Rare Earth, Inc. (USAR) agreed to acquire the assets of Carester SAS, the French rare earth processing and separation company, in a deal structured as an asset purchase. Funding is expected in the third quarter of 2026, subject to remaining customary conditions.
The agreement extends a relationship USAR began in April, when it and InfraVia struck a term sheet for minority stakes of roughly 12.5% each in Carester, giving USAR's subsidiary Less Common Metals (LCM) Europe rights to purchase oxide output from Carester's Caremag facility in Lacq, France. The new transaction folds Carester's processing and separation capabilities directly into USAR's global platform, supporting its mining, metal-making and magnet manufacturing businesses, while giving Carester long-term access to heavy rare earth feedstock from USAR's Serra Verde and Round Top deposits.
"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.
Carester, founded in 2019, is a French specialist in rare earth processing and separation technologies and is building its Caremag magnet-recycling and heavy rare earth separation facility in Lacq, scheduled for commissioning in late 2026. The facility is designed to handle Round Top's mixed rare earth carbonate output, giving USAR a dedicated separation line in Europe once Round Top begins commercial production, targeted for 2028.
The deal fits a pattern of rapid consolidation at USAR. In April, the company agreed to acquire Serra Verde Group for roughly $2.8 billion in cash and stock, a transaction billed as creating the only scaled producer of all four magnetic rare earths outside Asia. In June, USAR finalized definitive agreements with the U.S. Department of Commerce granting access to up to $1.6 billion in CHIPS Act funding, bringing total committed capital behind its mine-to-magnet strategy to roughly $3.5 billion. Carester's assets extend that value chain into midstream processing on European soil, complementing LCM's existing metal-making capacity in Cheshire, U.K., and Lacq, France.
The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, with USAR expecting the funding window in the third quarter of 2026. No purchase price was disclosed.