Hudbay’s $1.5B Arizona Sonoran Deal Will Create North America’s Third-Largest Copper Mining Company

TUCSON, AZ (March 5, 2026) — Hudbay Minerals Inc. (NYSE: HBM) is moving to expand its U.S. copper pipeline with a proposed $1.5 billion acquisition of Tempe-based Arizona Sonoran Copper Company, a deal that would add the Cactus mine development in Casa Grande and position Hudbay as one of North America’s largest copper producers over the next decade.

Hudbay executives said the all-share transaction could close by the end of June, pending customary approvals and a shareholder vote scheduled for May. If completed, Arizona Sonoran shares would be delisted.

“This acquisition positions Hudbay to be the third-largest copper mining company in North America,” the company said, behind Grupo Mexico’s Sonora operations and Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), based on the combined scale of Hudbay’s producing mines and large U.S. development portfolio.

Under the agreement, each Arizona Sonoran shareholder would receive 0.242 of a Hudbay common share for each Arizona Sonoran share held, implying approximately $6.83 per share and a total equity value of about $1.48 billion based on Hudbay’s Feb. 27 closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Hudbay said the offer represented roughly a 30% premium to that closing price.

Hudbay currently owns about 20.8 million Arizona Sonoran common shares, representing approximately 10% of outstanding basic shares. Following the closing, existing Hudbay shareholders would own about 89% of the combined company, with Arizona Sonoran shareholders holding the remaining 11%, executives said.

For Southern Arizona, the transaction adds momentum to Hudbay’s fast-growing U.S. copper footprint. Hudbay already has two U.S. mines in development — Copper World in Pima County, about 28 miles southeast of Tucson, and the Mason project in Nevada. Adding Arizona Sonoran would bring the Cactus project near Casa Grande into the portfolio as Hudbay pushes toward major production growth.

Hudbay President and CEO Peter Kukielski told analysts the combined development track could lift Hudbay’s copper output to approximately 250,000 tons per year by 2030, up from roughly 125,000 tons today. Kukielski said the longer-term potential could reach 500,000 tons annually as projects advance.

“With the advancement of both Copper World and Cactus, Hudbay would become the second largest copper cathode producer in the United States,” Kukielski said on a March 2 conference call, as the company outlined the strategic case for pairing two large-scale, long-life projects in Arizona.

Hudbay currently operates the Copper Mountain mine in British Columbia and the Snow Lake operations in Manitoba, as well as the Constancia mine in Cusco, Peru.

Arizona Sonoran’s flagship Cactus project is located on private land in a “tier one jurisdiction,” with an expected mine life of about 20 years, the company said. Management described the project as a long-life, low-cost copper development with existing infrastructure, including water, power, roads, and an industrial area.

Arizona Sonoran President, CEO, and Director George Ogilvie said proven and probable reserves at Cactus total 465 million tons at a 0.52% copper grade, based on a $4.25-per-pound copper price assumption. He said the project carries an estimated after-tax net present value of $2.3 billion under that framework.

Copper World, meanwhile, remains one of the largest mine development stories in Pima County. Hudbay has described the project as a fully permitted open-pit copper development with an expected 20-year mine life. In January, Mitsubishi announced plans to invest $600 million to become a joint venture partner alongside Hudbay at Copper World, providing a major capital signal for the project’s next phase.

Hudbay said the Arizona Sonoran acquisition would give shareholders “immediate exposure to strong cash flow generation from a larger, diversified and well-capitalized operating platform of long-life, producing assets in tier one jurisdictions in the Americas,” a message echoed by Ogilvie, who emphasized the benefit of pairing Arizona Sonoran’s development-stage asset with Hudbay’s operating base and project execution capacity.

Arizona Sonoran shares, which trade in the U.S. on the over-the-counter market under ticker ACSUF, have been volatile since the deal was announced, reflecting broader market swings this week.

Both companies’ boards have approved the transaction. The timeline now turns to shareholder and regulatory approvals, with Arizona Sonoran shareholders expected to vote in May and Hudbay indicating an end-of-June closing target if conditions are met.