Alcoa Sells Avilés And La Coruña Plants To Swiss Investment Firm PARTER

Pittsburgh aluminium pioneer Alcoa Corporation announced yesterday the sale of the Avilés and La Coruña plants in Spain to Swiss private equity investment group PARTER Capital Group AG for an undisclosed sum.

Included in the sale of the subsidiaries is the casthouse and curtailed smelters at both sites and La Coruña’s paste plant. PARTER has agreed to maintain the combined workforce of 630 workers for at least two years and has reindustrialization plans for the smelters at both sites that will see the curtailed capacity brought back online.

Per Alcoa, the sale was conducted according to the collective dismissal agreement signed with labor representatives earlier this year.

Timothy Reyes, Alcoa’s Executive Vice President and President, Aluminum, says the sale is the best outcome for workers at both plants.

“PARTER Capital Group’s acquisition of the Avilés and La Coruña plants provides the workforce with continued employment and the local community with ongoing industrial activity. This is the best outcome we could have expected, and we thank the central government and those of Asturias and Galicia, as well as the workers’ representatives for their support through this process.”

“We are very delighted with this acquisition,” explained Managing Partner at PARTER Capital Group AG Dr. Rüdiger Terhorst. “Together with the extraordinarily engaged teams in Avilés and La Coruña, we intend to build a positive and lasting future that includes great opportunities for the plants in renewable aluminium markets.”

The sale, which took immediate effect, will result in pre- and post-tax charges of about US$135 million in the third quarter. Related cash outlays are expected to total US$115 million, divided equally over 2019 and 2020. Included in the outlays is US$95 million to PARTER for restarting the two curtailed smelters.

source: Aluminum Insider