Alba to buy French aluminum smelter in $2.2 billion deal

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has agreed to acquire Aluminium Dunkerque, the European Union’s largest aluminum smelter, in a deal valued at about $2.2 billion, the company said on Tuesday.

The transaction would give Alba full ownership of the French smelter, located near Dunkirk. At the same time, French state-backed investment bank Bpifrance is set to take a 6% stake for €100 million ($116.5 million).

Alba said the acquisition would be fully financed by a consortium of its banking partners.

Bpifrance will hold a seat on the board of Aluminium Dunkerque’s holding company.

Aluminium Dunkerque produces around 300,000 metric tons of aluminum a year.

The agreement was unveiled alongside a memorandum of understanding with Bpifrance signed in Paris on the sidelines of the Choose France Summit.

Alba entered exclusive talks earlier this year to acquire the smelter from US investment fund American Industrial Partners.

($1 = 0.8587 euros)

(By Hugo Lhomedet and Gus Trompiz; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)