Centrus Energy adds Westerman in US$116M cash and stock purchase

An Oct. 16 purchase worth about US$116 million brought centrifuge supplier Westerman Holdings, LLC under Centrus Energy Corp. NYSELEU, according to its acquisition filing. Centrus paid about US$95 million from cash on hand and US$21 million in shares. The seller was Ventura Trust, acting as trustee of the Westerman Employee Stock Ownership Trust.

Centrus shares NYSELEU traded at US$110.89 in New York at 12:12 p.m. EDT on Monday, down 3.4 per cent.

The nuclear fuel supplier's Monday announcement says Westerman brings about 400 employees and four manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Westerman already manufactures centrifuge casings and other major components for Centrus.

Centrus expects the acquisition to increase adjusted earnings per share in the first year after closing. Its next manufacturing target is completion of the first new centrifuge at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, by the end of 2026, as outlined in its Aug. 5 results.

The cash payment reduces funds available for the enrichment expansion, while the equity consideration adds common shares. The filing says the stock was priced using the Oct. 15 closing share price but does not specify the number issued.

Within the purchase price, approximately US$31.5 million repaid Westerman's subordinated notes at the Oct. 16 closing. Another US$12.7 million retired its term loan, while about US$10.5 million covered seller and target transaction expenses. All were included in the purchase price.

The transaction has closed, with the final price subject to a customary cash adjustment for closing net working capital. Centrus agreed, as soon as reasonably practicable after closing, to use reasonable best efforts to file a registration statement to register the sale of all or a portion of the consideration shares.

Westerman Already Supplies Centrifuge Components

Centrus said on Monday that ownership of Westerman should lower expansion costs through an integrated supply chain. It did not quantify savings, additional annual component output or available factory capacity.

Westerman is now a wholly owned subsidiary and will retain its name and customer relationships. The acquisition includes all business lines, adding oil and gas equipment manufacturing alongside nuclear-grade products such as uranium hexafluoride cylinders.

"Bringing Westerman in-house demonstrates our commitment to securing our supply chain to support our build-out while adding to our capabilities and expanding our customer base," Centrus chief executive Amir Vexler said in the release.

The manufacturing investment supports an enrichment expansion whose sales remain partly conditional. At June 30, Centrus reported about US$3 billion in contingent low-enriched uranium and high-assay, low-enriched uranium sales commitments, generally tied to operational milestones.

For the three months ended June 30, 2026, the average price of separative work units (SWU) sold rose 3 per cent compared with the corresponding 2025 period. SWU sales volume fell 23 per cent over the same comparison, Centrus said in its Aug. 5 report. Delivery prices reflect market conditions when the contracts were signed.

A Canadian-listed participant in enrichment is Cameco Corporation TSECCO NYSECCJ. Its business overview, checked on Monday, lists a 49 per cent interest in privately held Global Laser Enrichment, whose commercial deployment depends on technology development and funding.

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Centrus' next dated manufacturing checkpoint is the Oak Ridge centrifuge targeted for completion by year-end 2026. The Westerman announcement sets no separate deadline for expanding the acquired factories.