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Rio Tinto, in Major Shift, To Sell Aluminum Business
October 17, 2011

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Global miner Rio Tinto signaled a major retreat from its aluminum business on Monday, putting an estimated $8 billion worth of assets up for sale across six countries.

Rio Tinto, the world’s second biggest miner, will sell 13 of its aluminum assets, including refineries, smelters, power stations and a mine.

The company said that the move would allow Rio Tinto Alcan to grow the value of its tier-one assets and improve the product group’s financial performance.

“The assets identified for divestment are sound businesses that are well-managed with productive work forces,” Rio Tinto chief executive officer Tom Albanese said in a statement. “But they are no longer aligned with our strategy and we believe they have a bright future under new ownership.”

Rio Tinto bought the Canadian aluminum company Alcan for $38 billion in 2007.

Rio Tinto’s interests in six Australian and New Zealand assets will transfer into a new business unit, to be called Pacific Aluminium, which will report separately from the Rio Tinto Alcan product group before they are sold. A second group of seven non-core assets will continue to be managed by Rio Tinto Alcan while it further investigates divestment options.

Shares in Anglo-Australian company gained 2.4 percent in Australia. 

Reuters, AP