Hydro opens subscriptions for Alumetal share sales with effect from May 26

Hydro has announced that existing shareholders of Alumetal can now submit subscriptions for selling their shares in a tender offer relaunched by Hydro, a Norway-based global aluminium and energy group. Subscriptions submission is open till June 30, 2023.

As per the report, Hydro is offering PLN 78.69 in cash for each share in Alumetal, which represents a premium of 15 per cent over the price offered in the initial tender in April 2022.

Alumetal's existing shareholders will receive the full dividend from Hydro's record high net profit of 2022, i.e. a total of PLN 13.82 per share, of which PLN 3.30 per share has already been paid, and the remaining will be paid on July 27, 2023, after the completion of Hydro's acquisition of Alumetal. Considering this, the economic benefit given to Alumetal's existing shareholders, including the new tender offer price and the total dividend of 2022, is more than 35 per cent higher than the price offered in the first tender by Hydro in April 2022.

Executive Vice President Eivind Kallevik, Head of Hydro Aluminium Metal, said: "Hydro is making a transparent offer to all shareholders of Alumetal for 100 percent of the shares in accordance with Polish regulations. All shareholders, including retail and institutional investors, will be offered the same terms and conditions. It's also worth noting that Hydro received unconditional approval from the European Commission for the proposed acquisition of Alumetal in early May, so there are no outstanding regulatory conditions to complete the transaction."

As per Hydro's report, the tender offer will come into effect once all the conditions are met and the subscription submission for sale reaches at least 50 per cent of the shares, i.e.  7,817,143 shares.

Hydro has already signed an agreement with two members of Alumetal's Supervisory Board and all members of Alumetal's Management Board who have unconditionally agreed to submit subscriptions in the tender offer to sell all their shares at the offered price. They collectively hold 39 per cent of Alumetal's shares.