Premier American Uranium to Acquire Nuclear Fuels

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Premier American Uranium Inc. (PUR:CA; PAUIF:OTCQB) agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Nuclear Fuels Inc (NF:CSE; NFUNF:OTCMKTS) in an all-stock transaction, the company's second major acquisition in the last 12 months, a news release announced. The transaction is expected to close in Q3/25.

"The added critical mass should help Premier continue to add value for shareholders by continuing its strategy of acquire–explore–develop within key producing or past-producing uranium districts in the U.S.," wrote David Talbot, managing director and head of equity research at Red Cloud Securities, in a June 6 research report.

Pursuant to the agreement, all of the issued and outstanding Nuclear Fuels shares will be exchanged for Premier American shares based on the exchange ratio. Nuclear Fuels shareholders will receive 0.33 of a common share of Premier American Uranium for each Nuclear Fuels share held. When the deal closes, Premier shareholders will own about 59% of the new company's shares, and Nuclear Fuels shareholders will own about 41%.

"We believe this transaction offers numerous merits for Nuclear Fuels shareholders," the company's chief executive officer (CEO), president and director Greg Huffman said in the release. "Primarily, we welcome the diversification and depth of the expanded asset portfolio across the key U.S. uranium jurisdictions."

The transaction represents a 54% premium to the closing price of the Nuclear Fuels shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and a 46% premium to the VWAP20 of Nuclear Fuels shares on the CSE, for the period ended June 4, 2025.

Benefits of the Acquisition

The transaction makes sense for Premier American Uranium for many reasons, the release noted and presented them. The acquisition will create America's leading uranium explorer with a combined equity value of about CA$102 million (CA$102M). Premier's executive team will lead the company with CEO Colin Healey at the helm, Talbot noted.

The newco will own a portfolio of 12 projects, from early-stage exploration to near-term development, spanning a total of 104,000 acres in several renowned U.S. uranium districts.

With the acquisition, Premier American will gain Nuclear Fuels' Kaycee uranium project in Wyoming’s prolific Powder River Basin. This property spans a 35-mile trend of altered and mineralized sandstones, supported by more than 4,200 drill holes and 430 miles of mapped roll fronts. Also, Premier will gain Nuclear Fuels' five exploration-stage projects: TenSleep in the Powder River Basin, Boothill and Bobcat in the Shirley Basin, Wyoming; Moonshine in Arizona; and Lisbon Valley in the Lisbon Valley Mining District in Utah.

Premier's existing uranium projects are Cebolleta in the Laguna Mining District in New Mexico; Cyclone (in situ recovery) in the Great Divide Basin in Wyoming; and Monogram Mesa, Atkinson Mesa, Outlaw Mesa and Slick Rock (conventional), in the Uravan Mining District in Colorado. Cebolleta, in the prolific Grants Mineral Belt, has produced more than 347,000,000 pounds (347 Mlb) of U3O8. It is has an estimated mineral resource of 18.6 Mlb of U3O8 in the Indicated category and 4.9 Mlb in the Inferred category, reported Haywood Securities Analyst Marcus Giannini in a June 5 research report. The project is strategically positioned for potential future development.

"With existing resources anticipated to grow beyond 25 Mlb in the short term and over 40 Mlb in mid to longer term, the combination essentially places the expanded Premier American Uranium in a class of its own, between the handful of tiny uranium explorers and the few uranium developers and producers in the U.S.," wrote Talbot.

The acquisition will expand Premier's footprint in Wyoming, where it will stand out as one of the most active uranium explorers. At its Kaycee project, Nuclear Fuels has identified exploration targets of 11.5–30 Mlb of U3O8, and recent drilling showed the potential to exceed the low end of this range, Giannini pointed out. At Cyclone, Premier has laid out targets of 7.9–12.6 Mlb of U3O8.

"An exploration focus is too rare amongst U.S. uranium miners, and the combined company will seek to fill that gap," Huffman said.

The newco will have strong strategic ownership. Post transaction, Sachem Cove Partners LLC will own 23.2%, enCore Energy Corp. (EU:TSX.V; ENCUF:OTCQX) will have 9.5%, IsoEnergy Ltd. (ISOU:NYSE.American) will hold 5.4% and Mega Uranium Ltd. (MGA:TSX) will have 2.3%. The new Premier American will have CA$14M in cash and the financial flexibility to advance its portfolio assets and consider additional mergers and acquisitions (M&A) opportunities.

The acquisition will afford Premier American a stronger capital markets profile, a more diversified shareholder base and a larger market capitalization, according to the release. As such, it is expected to capture broader interest among institutional, retail and exchange-traded investors and better visibility among research analysts.

Fundamentals Support Higher Prices

Structural trends support a favorable outlook for the U.S. and global uranium markets in the longer term, Fundamental Research Corp. (FRC) analysts purported in a March 31 report.

In the U.S., demand for uranium is surging, fueled in large part by mega tech companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft, needing and looking to nuclear power for massive quantities of energy for their data centers, Reuters wrote recently. Just this month, Meta Platforms Inc. signed a 20-year deal to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy Group (CEG:NYSE) starting in 2027, reported MarketWatch on June 3.

"With current uranium consumption of approximately 50 Mlb annually and goals to potentially triple nuclear capacity, the U.S. could require an additional 75 Mlb of uranium supply, even accounting for increased domestic production from a current base of essentially zero," explained Crux Investor in a May 30 article.

Domestic production is about 150,000 pounds per month, but this addresses less than 5% of demand, reported Discovery Alert on June 2. Production comes from a few key states, including Utah, Wyoming and Arizona. Reuters wrote that Trump's orders regarding domestic nuclear energy could reinvigorate uranium production at home to meet the burgeoning demand.

In the States, the market's fundamentals indicate long-term strength, Talbot wrote in a May research report.

The rest of the world is several years into a uranium undersupply, FRC analysts reported. Because nuclear energy is one of the cheapest and cleanest sources of energy, it is vital for decarbonization and the clean energy transition, thus demand for it around the globe continues to rise. The phenomenon of tech giants securing energy to support generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology is happening in other parts of the world as well as in the U.S. Governments are looking to nuclear to meet climate goals. Countries, such as France and Japan, are extending the life spans of their existing nuclear reactors and planning to build new ones.

"We believe geopolitical risks and China's ambitious nuclear expansion plans, targeting dozens of new reactors by 2035, further tighten demand-supply dynamics," added FRC. "Growing M&A activity in the sector also signals investor confidence in uranium's recovery potential."

The world needs new uranium mines. However, the current uranium spot price (US$70.50 per pound when the market last closed) is below the required US$80/lb threshold for mining to be economically viable, FRC pointed out.

Perhaps the U.S., "a catalyst for renewed global interest in nuclear energy," described Crux Investor, will boost the global market. "The U.S. policy shift is creating permission structures for other nations to embrace nuclear energy more openly."

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at quadrupling domestic nuclear energy output, to 400 gigawatts from 100, by 2050, noted Michael Kratsios, assistant to the president for science & technology. The White House added four uranium projects in New Mexico to the federal permitting dashboard for streamlined permitting, the Permitting Council reported. The Trump Administration recently approved Anfield Energy Inc.'s (AEC:TSX.V; ANLDF:OTCQB) Velvet-Wood uranium mining project in Utah after an accelerated 14-day environmental review, noted Crux.

"We anticipate uranium stocks, both large and small, to benefit from changing U.S. nuclear policy," Talbot wrote in a Uranium Sector Update last month.

As for where the uranium price is headed, according to Reuters, "Analysts see further upside, with incentive prices for new uranium production estimated above US$100/lb."

The Catalysts: Drilling and Derisking

The combined company has several key catalysts on the horizon, according to the June 2025 Joint Presentation. Next is the phase 3 drill campaign at Kaycee, to commence this quarter. An update to the mineral resource estimate and a preliminary economic assessment of Cebolleta are slated for completion this summer. In Q3/25, the company will launch a phase 2 drill campaign at Cyclone. M&A activities could take place, too, at any time.

Analysts Bullish on Merger

On news of the acquisition, Red Cloud's Talbot went from no target price on Premier American to assigning it one that implies 38% return potential. He considers the transaction positive, transformational and accretive, he wrote.

The company's status as a new premium U.S. uranium explorer "should help attract investors, coming at a particularly good time when U.S. uranium companies are garnering attention due to President Trump's support for the domestic nuclear power industry, with the added backdrop of growing AI demand for energy," Talbot purported.

Haywood's Giannini views the acquisition as "aptly timed, given accelerating momentum in the U.S. nuclear space, as we recognize significant value in the combined company, given its leverage to a robust exploration profile, with increased exposure to in situ recovery assets in Wyoming," he wrote.

Given its expanding resource base, the combined company warrants a valuation comparable to that of larger U.S. uranium peers, asserted Giannini. With its exposure to the U.S. nuclear sector, currently in the spotlight, the company should gain additional investor interest as it keeps expanding its project portfolio.

As one of the few pure-play uranium explorers in the U.S. and with nuclear in the country in the  spotlight, the new Premier American should benefit from enhanced capital markets visibility.

Beacon Securities Analyst Michael Curran also views the acquisition as positive for Premier, particularly as it adds to the junior mining company assets in a "jurisdiction we favor," Wyoming, he wrote in a June 6 research report.

"We see above average potential for successful uranium resource development/expansion at Premier's property portfolio in the western USA," the analyst added. "We also see the pro forma company's $100M-plus market capitalization as potentially making the stock more attractive to investors."

Curran has a Speculative Buy rating on Beacon's "preferred exploration play for uranium in the U.S." and a target price suggesting 114% uplift from the current share price. "Our fair value for the combined company suggests Premier shares remain an attractive investment opportunity for a U.S.-focused uranium explorer and developer," wrote the analyst.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Refinitiv, six strategic entities, including insiders, own 24.16% of Premier American Uranium. IsoEnergy Ltd. holds 12.22%, and Consolidated Uranium Inc. owns 11.16%.

Three institutions hold 36.7%. They are Alps Advisors Inc. with 18.83%, Sachem Cove Partners LLC with 15.36% and Vident Investment Advisory LLC with 2.52%. The rest is in retail.

Premier American has 34.73 million (34.73M) shares outstanding and 26.34M free float traded shares. Its market cap is CA$35.52. Its 52-week range is CA$0.80–2.25 per share.