According to a press update from Norsk Hydro it has signed and an agreement with Rio Tinto to terminate the acquisition process for Rio Tinto's Icelandic aluminium plant ISAL. The takeover process also included its interests in Dutch anode facility Aluchemie and Swedish aluminium fluoride plant Alufluor.
Hydro made a binding offer to acquire Rio Tinto's Icelandic aluminium plant Rio Tinto Iceland Ltd in February 2018 for a value of USD 345 million. The offer also included, Rio’s 53% share in Dutch anode facility Aluminium & Chemie Rotterdam B.V. (Aluchemie), and 50% share in Swedish aluminium fluoride plant Alufluor AB. The Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) was signed on 8 June 2018, after consultations with Rio Tinto employees in France and the Netherlands.
The acquisition was subjected to a number of conditions, including approval by competition authorities, Icelandic governmental authorities and commercial parties. The transaction was initially expected to be completed in Q2 2018.
Approval process for The European Commission (EC) competition still remains outstanding due to some unexpected delay. Hydro finally requested to terminate the transaction after considering alternatives timelines, outcomes and developments. Both the parties have signed a termination agreement and Hydro has withdrawn its EC competition filing.
It is to be noted that EU Competition policy is about applying rules to make sure companies compete fairly with each other. This encourages enterprise and efficiency, creates a wider choice for consumers and monitors price and quality. EU reviews mergers and acquisitions for this purpose.
Hydro will continue to own 46.7 per cent in Aluchemie.
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