Latest news with #SteveFeinberg
Bloomberg
17-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Feinberg Brings Wall Street Drive to Rare-Earth Minerals Push
Just four months into his tenure at the Pentagon, private equity billionaire Steve Feinberg has landed his first big deal: a $400 million bet on the US's only miner of rare-earth elements, a key commodity in the rivalry with China. The equity investment in MP Materials Corp. - the first in modern Pentagon history - was a priority for the Cerberus Capital Management co-founder, who took over as deputy secretary of defense in March, according to people familiar with the efforts. The deal, which comes alongside $1 billion in financing from JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is to be the first of several aimed at leveraging Pentagon support and Wall Street cash to jump-start efforts to break China's lock on global supplies of rare earth minerals, the people said.
American Military News
16-06-2025
- Business
- American Military News
Trump mulls using defense powers to fund rare-Earth projects
The Trump administration is developing a plan to use Cold War-era powers to prioritize and fund rare earth projects it deems critical to national security, people familiar with the matter said. Officials are discussing using the Defense Production Act to tap financing, loans and other means for rare earths element-related projects, including mining, processing and other downstream technologies to bolster the U.S.'s capability to build a domestic supply chain, the people said. A specific course of action or a timeline have yet to be finalized, the people said. MP Materials Corp., the sole domestic producer of rare earths, would be a prime beneficiary. Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg is working to line up funding for the company, people familiar with that matter said. The Nevada-based mineral processor has received millions in funding from the Defense Department. MP Materials rose as much as 17% to $29.96 at 3:45 pm in New York, the highest on an intraday level since March 14. A spokesman for MP Materials declined to comment. Representatives for the White House and the Pentagon didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a congressional hearing this week said that MP Materials 'is a great example of a place where we can partner with industry' and that Feinberg is focused on sourcing rare earth supply. The U.S. currently lacks the so-called mine-to-magnet capability at scale, and invoking the emergency authority will give the Defense Department and other agencies tools to speed up sourcing that severely lags China's dominance in the industry. The urgency has only increased since Beijing flexed its rare earths capacity as leverage in trade talks with Washington over the past month. Beijing's decision to block exports of rare earths focused Trump administration attention on China's dominance in processing the materials used in semiconductors, jet engines and other technology, and it's stoked a surge of interest in rapidly developing U.S. supply chains. 'This is a wake-up call for America,' Interior Secretary and National Energy Dominance Council Chairman Doug Burgum told Bloomberg News in a June 1 interview. 'We are so exposed, right now — precariously exposed — to China's grip on not just the mining, but the processing. They're mining all over the world, but they control 85% of the processing.' An existing U.S. stockpile is 'massively insufficient' Burgum said, adding that billions of dollars could be needed to build a bigger mineral reserve. The latest discussions come more than two months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost production of critical minerals that encouraged faster permitting for mining and processing projects. White House Efforts While that order encompassed rare earths, one of the people familiar with the matter said issuing a new directive is essentially a chance for Trump to publicly message that he's countering Beijing on a U.S. vulnerability that's inflamed trade tensions between the world's largest economies. At the National Energy Dominance Council, David Copley is leading work on the rare-earths issue and has been tasked with coordinating most efforts related to critical minerals, people familiar with the matter said. Copley, a former executive with the mining company Newmont Corp., has been receiving proposals for how the U.S. can quickly build out its own critical minerals supply chains and lists of potential shovel-ready projects the government can quickly invest in through DPA and other funding avenues. Copley's role has taken on new prominence as a result of Elon Musk's efforts to downsize the federal bureaucracy that have led to a wave of buyouts, resignations and retirements at key federal offices working on supply chain issues. The Trump administration revived Biden-era efforts to create a domestic supply chain for rare-earth magnets after China in April clamped down on exports of the materials, Bloomberg News reported last week. As part of the effort, officials solicited proposals to bolster domestic supplies of the magnets within the next six to 12 months as pressure mounted that China's recent retaliation was putting serious pressure on the Pentagon's stockpiles, as well as the inventories of U.S. automakers and some aerospace-related companies. ___ © 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Mulls Using Defense Powers to Fund Rare-Earth Projects
(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration is developing a plan to use Cold War-era powers to prioritize and fund rare earth projects it deems critical to national security, people familiar with the matter said. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire Officials are discussing using the Defense Production Act to tap financing, loans and other means for rare earths element-related projects, including mining, processing and other downstream technologies to bolster the US's capability to build a domestic supply chain, the people said. A specific course of action or a timeline have yet to be finalized, the people said. MP Materials Corp., the sole domestic producer of rare earths, would be a prime beneficiary. Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg is working to line up funding for the company, people familiar with that matter said. The Nevada-based mineral processor has received millions in funding from the Defense Department. MP Materials rose as much as 17% to $29.96 at 3:45 pm in New York, the highest on an intraday level since March 14. A spokesman for MP Materials declined to comment. Representatives for the White House and the Pentagon didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a congressional hearing this week said that MP Materials 'is a great example of a place where we can partner with industry' and that Feinberg is focused on sourcing rare earth supply. The US currently lacks the so-called mine-to-magnet capability at scale, and invoking the emergency authority will give the Defense Department and other agencies tools to speed up sourcing that severely lags China's dominance in the industry. The urgency has only increased since Beijing flexed its rare earths capacity as leverage in trade talks with Washington over the past month. Beijing's decision to block exports of rare earths focused Trump administration attention on China's dominance in processing the materials used in semiconductors, jet engines and other technology, and it's stoked a surge of interest in rapidly developing US supply chains. 'This is a wake-up call for America,' Interior Secretary and National Energy Dominance Council Chairman Doug Burgum told Bloomberg News in a June 1 interview. 'We are so exposed, right now — precariously exposed — to China's grip on not just the mining, but the processing. They're mining all over the world, but they control 85% of the processing.' An existing US stockpile is 'massively insufficient' Burgum said, adding that billions of dollars could be needed to build a bigger mineral reserve. The latest discussions come more than two months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost production of critical minerals that encouraged faster permitting for mining and processing projects. White House Efforts While that order encompassed rare earths, one of the people familiar with the matter said issuing a new directive is essentially a chance for Trump to publicly message that he's countering Beijing on a US vulnerability that's inflamed trade tensions between the world's largest economies. At the National Energy Dominance Council, David Copley is leading work on the rare-earths issue and has been tasked with coordinating most efforts related to critical minerals, people familiar with the matter said. Copley, a former executive with the mining company Newmont Corp., has been receiving proposals for how the US can quickly build out its own critical minerals supply chains and lists of potential shovel-ready projects the government can quickly invest in through DPA and other funding avenues. Copley's role has taken on new prominence as a result of Elon Musk's efforts to downsize the federal bureaucracy that have led to a wave of buyouts, resignations and retirements at key federal offices working on supply chain issues. The Trump administration revived Biden-era efforts to create a domestic supply chain for rare-earth magnets after China in April clamped down on exports of the materials, Bloomberg News reported last week. As part of the effort, officials solicited proposals to bolster domestic supplies of the magnets within the next six to 12 months as pressure mounted that China's recent retaliation was putting serious pressure on the Pentagon's stockpiles, as well as the inventories of US automakers and some aerospace-related companies. --With assistance from Courtney McBride, Yvonne Yue Li and Jeran Wittenstein. (Updates to add share moves in the fourth paragraph) American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
ABC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
US company linked to Trump administration in talks over Darwin Port lease
An American investment firm linked to US President Donald Trump's administration has shown interest in the Port of Darwin, which is currently leased by a Chinese-owned company. Last month the federal Labor government made an election pledge to bring the port lease "back into Australian hands", but it remains unclear if they would support a bid from another foreign-owned entity. The strategically important northern Australian port has been a hotly debated national security issue since it was leased to Chinese firm Landbridge by the NT government for 99 years in 2015. A representative of New York-based Cerberus Capital Management held meetings in the Northern Territory capital earlier this month, port operator Landbridge has confirmed. Cerberus was co-founded by billionaire Steve Feinberg, who stepped aside from his role as the company's chief executive earlier this year to become the Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Trump White House. Landbridge's non-executive director for Australia, Terry O'Connor, told the ABC that a Cerberus representative had met with Darwin Port's management, but had not put in an offer for the asset. "There's certainly been no prices negotiated [for the port], no prices even discussed or raised. "We would see Cerberus's interest as the same level of interest as we've received from multiple other companies who have talked to the port [management] over the past couple of months." Cerberus's website describes the firm as an "established alternative investment advisor with approximately $65 billion in assets" across the globe, including in the military, automotive, real estate and aviation sectors. Cerberus did not respond to requests for comment by time of publication. The ABC has been told by federal sources that negotiations between Cerberus and Darwin Port management were not being facilitated by the Australian government. A spokesperson for the prime minister's office only reaffirmed that the Commonwealth was "working closely with the Northern Territory government on the next steps" for the port. Solomon MP and Special Envoy for Defence and Northern Australia Luke Gosling was asked whether the government would support a US bid and he commented only that it was committed to getting the port back "into Australian hands". NT Treasurer Bill Yan's office did not confirm whether he met with Cerberus representatives while they were in the territory. Mr O'Connor said Landbridge had not had any clear indication of an impending offer from Cerberus. "I just see this as another part of the political football game that we seem to have post-elections and around election time, to be honest," Mr O'Connor said. "Having spoken to the Landbridge representatives in China in the last couple of days, there's been no engagement with them, at all. "They just think it's an Australian political media storm and it will wash over." On Sunday, Australia's Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian posted a statement describing the federal government's pledge for the Darwin Port lease as "ethically questionable" and urged them to reconsider. After the port was leased to Landbridge in 2015, former US president Barack Obama voiced his concern over the deal to then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Business Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Cerberus eyes Chinese firm's Darwin port: report
[CANBERRA] US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is preparing a bid for the strategically important Port of Darwin, currently owned by Chinese firm Landbridge Group, The Australian newspaper reported. Cerberus is readying a proposal to buy the 99-year lease from Landbridge at a price slightly above the A$506 million (S$421 million) the Chinese company paid for it in 2015, the newspaper said late Monday (May 26). Landbridge is possibly open to offers around A$1 billion, The Australian cited an unidentified official as saying. The New York-based company has links to the Trump administration, with co-founder Steve Feinberg appointed to be US deputy defence secretary in March, The Australian reported. It said Cerberus declined to comment on Monday. The decision to lease the Port of Darwin to Landbridge in 2015 was controversial at the time, with then-US president Barack Obama expressing concern. Moves by the centre-left Labor government to bring the port back into Australian hands have ramped up in recent months, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledging during the recent election campaign to potentially nationalise the important asset if a buyer could not be found. China's Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian warned Canberra in a statement released on Sunday to tread carefully in its decision-making around the Port of Darwin lease. BLOOMBERG
