Uranium Royalty's US$1.1 Billion Sweetwater Deal Fuels Nuclear Growth

Uranium Royalty Corp. (TSX:UROY) has agreed to acquire privately held Sweetwater Royalties in a US$1.1 billion transaction, absorbing a vast portfolio of Wyoming soda ash assets to fund its expansion in the nuclear fuel sector.

Under the terms announced Thursday (April 16), Vancouver-based Uranium Royalty will pay Sweetwater’s majority owners US$330 million in cash and US$813 million in newly issued stock valued at US$3.64 per share.

The transaction values Sweetwater at US$1.9 billion, a figure that includes US$625 million in outstanding debt. Following the close, majority owners Orion and Ontario Teachers will hold a 43 percent and 16 percent stake respectively.

The acquisition is a strategic pivot for Uranium Royalty, currently the only pure-play nuclear fuel royalty firm listed on a major exchange.

By acquiring Sweetwater, the company secures exposure to the Green River Basin, which hosts the world's largest known deposit of natural trona. Trona is refined into soda ash, a widely consumed industrial material essential for manufacturing glass, chemicals, and energy transition infrastructure.

Sweetwater collects production revenue royalties from five operating soda ash mines and two advanced greenfield projects run by major global operators. These assets generated an average adjusted EBITDA of roughly US$74 million in each of the last two fiscal years.

"We welcome this transformational combination that will accelerate near term cash flows from competitive and reliable, long-life assets located in a top-tier jurisdiction," Uranium Royalty CEO Scott Melbye said in the press release.

The transaction also transforms Uranium Royalty into a major US real estate holder. The company will become the largest private landowner in Wyoming, holding 850,000 acres of fee surface rights and 4.5 million acres of mineral rights.

Beyond soda ash, this extensive footprint provides immediate optionality for domestic uranium exploration in the top US state for nuclear fuel production.

Ontario Teachers’, which managed US$204 billion in net assets at the end of 2025, originally acquired a 25 percent stake in Sweetwater in 2023 for roughly US$222 million.

Uranium Royalty expects to fund the US$330 million cash portion of the deal using existing liquidity, though it stated it will pursue external financing before the transaction closes.

The company held more than 2.3 million pounds of physical uranium concentrate as of the end of 2025.

The acquisition is subject to a two-thirds approval threshold from Uranium Royalty shareholders at a meeting slated for July, pending customary court and regulatory clearances.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.