Searles Valley Minerals Initiates Court-Supervised Sale of its Critical Minerals Platform

Company will continue normal operations throughout the case

Company receives new financing via a supply and liquidity agreement from Tata Chemicals and a junior DIP facility from its parent Karnavati Holdings, Inc.

Company to initiate competitive sale and marketing process under Section 363

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. and TRONA, Calif., June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Searles Valley Minerals Inc. ("Searles Valley Minerals") today announced that it, together with its affiliates Trona Railway Company LLC and Searles Domestic Water Company LLC (collectively, the "Debtors" or the "Company"), has filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Company intends to use the Chapter 11 process to conduct a competitive, court-supervised sale of substantially all its assets under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

The filing is intended to facilitate the sale of the Company's assets and position the business for a new owner. These assets include Westend, a leading boron supplier; the Trona Railway; Searles Domestic Water Company; and the critical mineral reserves at Searles Lake.

"For more than 150 years, Searles Valley Minerals has produced critical minerals from one of the world's few water-soluble borate deposits," said Dennis Cruise, President of Searles Valley Minerals. "As the soda ash market changed, we repositioned the business around borates — a mineral with no synthetic substitute and growing strategic importance. A court-supervised sale is the most orderly and transparent way to place this rare resource base, and the people who run it, with an owner who can invest in its next chapter."

To fund operations during the case, a long-standing strategic supplier, Tata Chemicals North America Inc., has agreed to provide an unsecured, interest-free liquidity advance of up to $20 million while continuing to supply soda ash to the Company's customers. In addition, the Company's parent, Karnavati Holdings, Inc., is providing a $20 million junior debtor-in-possession ("DIP") financing facility. Subject to Court approval, these arrangements are expected to provide sufficient liquidity to operate the business in the ordinary course and fund the sale process through closing.

The Company has filed customary first-day motions seeking authority to operate normally throughout the Chapter 11 process, including continuing paying wages and benefits to active employees in the ordinary course. Westend will continue to produce boron, sodium sulfate, salt and other products for customers. Trona Railway will continue to operate. Searles Domestic Water Company will continue to provide potable water service to its customers in Trona without interruption.

The Section 363 sale process will be conducted by Lazard, the Company's investment banker. Building on a marketing process begun in 2025 in which more than 140 parties were contacted and 50 entered into confidentiality agreements, the Company remains in active discussions with a number of interested parties. The Company intends to conduct a competitive, open auction under bid procedures to be approved by the Court. These bid procedures will permit the Company to designate a stalking horse bidder to establish a floor for the auction. The Company believes that an open auction, following the extensive prepetition marketing efforts already undertaken, is the path most likely to deliver the highest and best outcome for the estate and its stakeholders.  

Additional information on the Company's Chapter 11 case can be found at https://cases.stretto.com/SVM. Stakeholders can also contact Stretto, Inc., the Company's noticing and claims agent, at (855) 296-3324 (toll-free) / (626) 746-1263 (international) or [email protected].

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is acting as general bankruptcy counsel, Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones, LLP is acting as bankruptcy co-counsel, Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is acting as financial advisor, and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and Lazard & Co., Limited are serving as investment banker for the 363 process.

About Searles Valley Minerals

Searles Valley Minerals Inc., headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, with operations in Trona, California, is one of the largest and lowest cost producers of borates in the United States and a producer of specialty minerals from the Searles Lake brine deposit. Its operations include the Westend plant, the Trona and Argus facilities, Trona Railway Company, and Searles Domestic Water Company. The Company has operated continuously at Searles Lake since the 19th century. The Company is an indirect subsidiary of Nirma Limited through Karnavati Holdings, Inc.

Contacts

Media: Greg Lewis, [email protected]

SOURCE Searles Valley Minerals