Atlanta’s rolled and recycled aluminium firm Novelis Inc. announced on Friday the receipt of approval from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) for its US$2.6 billion buy-out of Aleris Corporation.
Per the firm, this is the final approval required for the purchase, as it has already received a sign-off on the transaction from the appropriate United States and European Union regulatory agencies.
Contingent upon the European Commission’s approval is Novelis’s sale of its plant in Duffel, Belgium. Earlier this month the firm announced that Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance has already come forward to buy the plant, allaying the Commission’s fears of an anti-competitive scenario had Novelis retained the plant.
Novelis’s President and CEO Steve Fisher noted the importance of last week’s approval from SAMR.
“This is a significant step forward in uniting these two world-class manufacturing companies. The approval we have received from China will allow us to further enhance our strategic position in Asia and diversify our overall product portfolio.”
The press release went on to say that the acquisition of Aleris will enhance its ability to compete in the global aluminium markets against steel. The acquisition will also help Aleris meet customers’ needs and accomplish its recycling goals going forward as well.
Novelis indicated that final closure of the sale is expected within the next 30 days.
Novelis is a subsidiary of Mumbai’s Hindalco Industries Ltd. Based in Atlanta, the firm accounts for almost half of Hindalco’s consolidated revenue. The world’s largest recycler of aluminium, Novelis conducts operations in ten different countries, employs around eleven thousand people, and reported US$10 billion in revenue for the most recent fiscal year.