Stock Markets February 17, 2026

John Paulson Sells Entire Stake in Trilogy Metals After More Than a Decade

Hedge-fund manager exits his 8.7% holding as the White House moves to take a 10% position in the Alaska-focused miner

By Leila Farooq TMQ
John Paulson Sells Entire Stake in Trilogy Metals After More Than a Decade
TMQ

Billionaire investor John Paulson has disposed of his full shareholding in Trilogy Metals Inc., selling 14.3 million shares through Paulson & Co. in the fourth quarter of 2025. The sale ends an investment that spanned more than ten years and comes as the U.S. government advances plans to acquire a 10% stake in the Vancouver-based company, which is developing a copper and zinc project in Alaska with partner South32 Ltd. The government investment was announced in October but has not yet closed.

Key Points

  • John Paulson's Paulson & Co. sold 14.3 million shares of Trilogy Metals in Q4 2025, ending an investment that lasted over a decade.
  • Prior to the disposal, Paulson held an 8.7% stake, making him the fourth-largest investor in the Vancouver-based miner.
  • The White House has announced plans to take a 10% stake in Trilogy Metals; that government investment was disclosed in October but has not yet closed. Sectors affected include mining, government policy on domestic resources, and investment markets.

Billionaire hedge-fund manager John Paulson has liquidated his complete position in Trilogy Metals Inc., according to a quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The filing shows Paulson & Co. sold 14.3 million Trilogy shares in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Prior to the disposal, Paulson held an 8.7% stake in the Vancouver-based mining company, making him the fourth-largest investor in Trilogy. The sale ends an ownership period that lasted more than a decade.

The timing of Paulson's exit aligns with a separate development involving the U.S. government. The White House has announced plans to acquire a 10% stake in Trilogy, part of broader efforts to support domestic mineral projects. That government investment plan was first disclosed in October but, according to the filing and related disclosures, the transaction is not yet complete.

Trilogy Metals is engaged in developing a major copper and zinc mine in Alaska in partnership with Australia-based South32 Ltd. The companies continue to pursue that project while the proposed government stake remains pending.

Paulson has long been associated with sustained interest in precious metals and related investments. The filing and reporting note that he also holds positions in Perpetua Resources Corp. and Novagold Resources Inc., both of which are active in Alaska. Perpetua was designated a priority project under the Trump administration, and Novagold operates in a jurisdiction where the government has been promoting expanded resource extraction.


Context and implications

The SEC filing provides the concrete details of the share disposal and the size of Paulson's former stake. It also highlights how his investment activity intersects with federal initiatives to bolster domestic mining projects. While the White House's 10% acquisition was announced months earlier, the paperwork indicates that the transaction had not been finalized at the time of the filing.

The Trilogy project in Alaska and its joint work with South32 remain central to the company's trajectory. The company's status as a development-stage miner focused on copper and zinc in Alaska is unchanged in the filing; the government announcement and Paulson's sale are two notable developments affecting the company's shareholder base and public profile.


What the filings show

  • Paulson & Co. sold 14.3 million Trilogy Metals shares in Q4 2025.
  • Before the sale, Paulson owned 8.7% of Trilogy and ranked as the fourth-largest investor.
  • The White House has announced an intention to acquire a 10% stake in Trilogy, a deal not yet completed.

The filings provide a clear accounting of the sale and the scale of Paulson's prior holding, while public statements outline the government's intended investment in the company.

Risks

  • Uncertainty over completion of the White House's planned 10% acquisition - the deal has been announced but was not completed at the time of the filing. This creates ambiguity for Trilogy's future ownership structure and government involvement.
  • Change in shareholder composition following Paulson's full exit - selling an 8.7% stake removes a long-standing institutional investor and may alter investor dynamics for Trilogy Metals.
  • Project development and partnership continuity - Trilogy is developing a major copper and zinc mine in Alaska with South32 Ltd., and those development efforts will continue amid changes to the company's investor base and pending government participation.

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