Hydro and Rio Tinto have signed an agreement to end the acquisition process for Rio Tinto's Icelandic aluminium plant ISAL, including its interests in Dutch anode facility Aluchemie and Swedish aluminium fluoride plant Alufluor.
In February 2018, Hydro made a binding offer to acquire Rio Tinto's Icelandic aluminium plant Rio Tinto Iceland Ltd ("ISAL"), its 53% share in Dutch anode facility Aluminium & Chemie Rotterdam B.V. ("Aluchemie"), and 50% of the shares in Swedish aluminium fluoride plant Alufluor AB ("Alufluor") for an enterprise value of USD 345 million.
A Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) was signed on 8 June 2018, following successful consultations with Rio Tinto employees in France and the Netherlands.
The transaction remained subject to a number of conditions, including approval by competition authorities, Icelandic governmental authorities and commercial parties. The transaction was initially expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2018.
The European Commission (EC) competition approval process has taken longer than anticipated and remains outstanding. After considering alternative timelines, outcomes and developments, Hydro requested to terminate the transaction and the parties have signed a termination agreement. Hydro has withdrawn its EC competition filing.
Hydro will continue to own 46.7 percent in Aluchemie.