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California-based BFI Group to go ahead with the acquisition of Alscon
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
California-based BFI Group Corp. will go ahead with the acquisition of the Aluminium Smelter Co. of Nigeria, known as Alscon, BFI Group's chief executive officer said Thursday, following a directive of the country's National Council on Privatization that it should be sent an offer letter and share purchase agreement for the smelter.
"We are going forward with the purchase of the aluminium plant. Our U.S. investors and other partners are interested," CEO Reuben Jaja told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.
The sale of the plant to UC Co. Rusal PLC (0486.HK) of Russia in 2007 was revoked by the Nigerian Supreme Court in July.
The court ordered the agency in charge of the privatization in Nigeria to complete the sale of the 193,000-metric-ton-a-year smelter to BFI Group while setting aside the sale of Alscon to Rusal.
Mr. Jaja said BFI Group had received a draft of the share purchase agreement from Nigeria's Bureau of Public Enterprises, or BPE, adding "our legal counsel is looking at it."
The SPA according to the BPE stipulates that BFI Group is to pay the agreed 10% of the accepted bid price of $410 million within 15 working days from the date of the execution of the SPA, in accordance with the agreement dated May 20, 2004, and the 90% balance of bid price shall be paid within 90 calendar days.
"We will go into negotiations with the BPE in pursuant of the Supreme Court order. We haven't been to the plant yet but we are moving forward with the plan to buy the plant," Mr. Jaja said.
BFI Group had said it was the original preferred bidder at the smelter's privatization in 2004 before the BPE offered the smelter to Rusal.
Alscon, located in Nigeria's southeast Akwa Ibom state, produced just 15,000 tons of aluminium in 2011 after problems with gas supplies.
"We are going forward with the purchase of the aluminium plant. Our U.S. investors and other partners are interested," CEO Reuben Jaja told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview.
The sale of the plant to UC Co. Rusal PLC (0486.HK) of Russia in 2007 was revoked by the Nigerian Supreme Court in July.
The court ordered the agency in charge of the privatization in Nigeria to complete the sale of the 193,000-metric-ton-a-year smelter to BFI Group while setting aside the sale of Alscon to Rusal.
Mr. Jaja said BFI Group had received a draft of the share purchase agreement from Nigeria's Bureau of Public Enterprises, or BPE, adding "our legal counsel is looking at it."
The SPA according to the BPE stipulates that BFI Group is to pay the agreed 10% of the accepted bid price of $410 million within 15 working days from the date of the execution of the SPA, in accordance with the agreement dated May 20, 2004, and the 90% balance of bid price shall be paid within 90 calendar days.
"We will go into negotiations with the BPE in pursuant of the Supreme Court order. We haven't been to the plant yet but we are moving forward with the plan to buy the plant," Mr. Jaja said.
BFI Group had said it was the original preferred bidder at the smelter's privatization in 2004 before the BPE offered the smelter to Rusal.
Alscon, located in Nigeria's southeast Akwa Ibom state, produced just 15,000 tons of aluminium in 2011 after problems with gas supplies.
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