Irvine, California, May 14, 2026, 10:03 PDT
Mobix Labs shares surged, climbing almost 100% during regular U.S. trading on Thursday after word came down about a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Special Project Delivery LLC. That’s a private American platform with a focus on rare earths, critical minerals, and energy storage. Mobix said the planned deal would push its defense and aerospace supply business deeper into the supply chain, reaching into the raw materials side of weapons, aircraft, and AI infrastructure.
Timing is everything here. Rare earths—17 metals essential for powerful magnets and advanced electronics—are at the center of U.S.-China trade tensions. Chinese exports of key heavy rare earths, including yttrium, dysprosium and terbium, have stayed roughly 50% lower since the April 2025 controls, Reuters said Wednesday.
Mobix is making its move right as U.S. defense sourcing regulations grow stricter. Under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, China falls under the list of “covered countries,” and starting Jan. 1, 2027, the tightened rules will hit the mining, refining, separation, melting, and production of certain materials—including every link in the neodymium-iron-boron magnet supply chain. Acquisition.gov
The company kept the purchase price under wraps. The letter lays out terms for due diligence and final agreements. Still, Mobix warned there’s no guarantee a deal will get signed or close.
Mobix shares surged to $3.24, jumping roughly 86% from their $1.74 finish on Wednesday. The stock swung between $2.78 and $4.25 during the session, according to Investing.com data. Two days earlier, Mobix announced it had received another order for technology incorporated in a certified onboard system for Boeing 737NG jets.
SPD, a privately held infrastructure group out of Newport Beach, California, launched in 2019, holds assets across critical minerals, energy storage, and water infrastructure in the Western U.S. According to Mobix, SPD focuses on pulling rare earth elements from old U.S. coal ash with extraction tech that’s already been vetted by defense-research partners in the country.
James Peterson, chairman of Mobix and former CEO at Microsemi, called rare earths “one of the defining competitive battlegrounds” over the next ten years. Mobix’s tie-up with SPD, according to founder and CEO Paul Singarella, would link the platform to a public defense and dual-use tech company. Mobix Labs, Inc
The deal on the table would see Mobix stepping into a sector where bigger U.S.-backed players already benefit from supportive government policy. Back in February, Reuters highlighted that MP Materials owns the only rare-earths mine across North America and operates a magnet facility in Texas. Over in January, Energy Fuels struck a $300.9 million agreement to purchase Australian Strategic Materials. And in March, USA Rare Earth moved to take full ownership of the Round Top deposit.
Market conditions are still squeezed. “Headline export volumes can be misleading,” Arthur D. Little’s Ilya Epikhin said to Reuters. Project Blue’s David Merriman pointed out that a complete shift away from China isn’t coming any time soon—years off, by his estimate. Reuters
Prediction markets hinted at the same skepticism: relief isn’t close to a sure thing. On Thursday, Polymarket’s Trump-Xi summit contracts gave “Rare Earth Export Relief” just a 33% chance, while odds for a Boeing aircraft purchase announcement by May 22 stood at 86%. Polymarket
The deal hasn’t closed yet, and funding remains unresolved. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Mobix posted net revenue of $1.875 million with a net loss of $10.125 million, finishing the period with just $268,000 in cash. In a May prospectus, management flagged “substantial doubt” about Mobix’s ability to keep operating without raising more debt or equity.
Mobix, according to the same prospectus, signed off on a $3 million convertible promissory note at 10% annual interest on March 31, with repayment scheduled for July 2026. Back in January, the company netted roughly $5.135 million from a public stock sale.
So far, the acquisition aims to shift Mobix from a niche components supplier into a business more closely linked to Washington’s critical-minerals agenda. The real challenge: Can Mobix pull off funding, sealing, and folding in SPD before policy-driven demand actually shows up as revenue on its books?
