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The Canadian mining company Sherritt International Corporation announced on Wednesday that it has signed a non-binding preliminary agreement with Gillon Capital, LLC, the family office of Texas entrepreneur Ray Washburne, a former official of the first Trump administration, for a private placement that would grant that firm control of 55% of the common shares of the company.
The proposed mechanism consists of the issuance of a warrant exercisable for nine months from the closing date of the agreement, at a price expected to be lower than the closing price of C$0.11 recorded on May 15, 2026.
The most relevant piece of information from the announcement is the position of the U.S. government: the State Department and the Department of the Treasury confirmed that they "do not oppose Gillon Capital's engagement in negotiations with the Corporation and, based on the information provided to date, do not consider those negotiations to be in violation of U.S. law."
Any definitive transaction will, however, require formal approval from both agencies and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Washburne was nominated by Donald Trump in June 2017 to chair the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the federal agency for U.S. development financing, and was confirmed by the Senate in July of that year.
His knowledge of the regulatory framework and his ties to the Trump administration are considered crucial for navigating the complex sanctions environment that has brought Sherritt to the brink of extinction.
The timeline of the crisis has been rapid. It all began with the Executive Order by Trump on May 1, 2026, which expanded sanctions against Cuba and introduced secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that operate with blocked Cuban entities.
On May 6, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated GAESA, its president, and Moa Nickel S.A. —the joint venture between Sherritt and the Cuban government— under that order, accusing the mining company of having "exploited Cuba's natural resources to benefit the regime at the expense of the Cuban people."
After that designation, Sherritt suspended operations in Cuba on May 7 and repatriated its expatriate employees.
On May 12, its external auditor, Deloitte LLP, resigned with immediate effect, and on May 15, the company announced the formal dissolution of its interests on the island.
However, on May 19, Sherritt halted that dissolution upon perceiving what it described as an "opportunity for value preservation," which is now revealed to be the agreement with Gillon Capital.
The company acknowledged in that statement that it "faces a series of acute operational, financial, and legal difficulties, including the ability to meet its debt agreements."
The financial context is equally critical: the Cuban state has accumulated a debt of at least 344 million dollars with Sherritt, of which 277 million are directly owed to General Nickel Company S.A.
Additionally, foreign companies have until June 5, 2026 to conclude operations with GAESA before facing secondary sanctions, which adds extreme urgency to finalizing the agreement with Gillon Capital.
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