Ara Partners announced the closing of a $335 million non-recourse financing of a permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Sumter County, South Carolina.
The facility is owned by e-VAC Magnetics, LLC, a recently formed U.S. entity wholly owned by Ara Partners.
The financing follows the announcement in January 2023 of an agreement between e-VAC and General Motors for e-VAC to build a North American factory to make rare earth permanent magnets to be used in a wide range of GM's electric vehicles.
The facility will use locally sourced raw materials and will support GM for a minimum of 10 years.
In September of 2023, VAC received a Defense Production Act Title III grant from the Department of Defense in October of 2023. The funding was awarded via the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization organization in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.
In March 2024, VAC was also awarded a $111.9 million Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit to advance the construction on the Facility. VAC also previously applied to the DOE's Loan Programs Office.
