U.S. Silica To Buy EP Minerals For $750 Mln - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (SLCA) Friday announced a definitive agreement to acquire EP Minerals for $750 million in cash.

The transaction is expected to be accretive in the fourth quarter of 2018 and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018.

EP Minerals, with sales of over $200 million, produces engineered materials derived from industrial minerals including diatomaceous earth or DE, clay (calcium bentonite) and perlite. The company's industrial minerals are used as filter aids, absorbents and functional additives for a variety of industries. The company's facilities are located in Nevada, Oregon, Nebraska, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

U.S. Silica said its ISP business remains on track for substantial growth through expansion of base business pricing and volume, acquiring bolt-ons in attractive, adjacent markets, and by developing and marketing new, value-added, higher margin products.

U.S. Silica will finance the transaction and refinance its current debt through a new seven year, $1.280 billion committed Term Loan B credit facility and an expanded $100 million revolving credit facility.

Bryan Shinn, U.S. Silica president and chief executive officer, said, "EP Minerals checks all of the boxes in terms of what we've been looking for in an attractive, adjacent business to our ISP segment. .. It has strong IP protection and leverages our core competencies as a premier surface mining and logistics company. EP Minerals' reliable cash flow also complements our Oil & Gas segment while providing a robust platform for expansion and growth through organic opportunities and strategic bolt-on acquisitions."