EU Clears Alcoa Buy Of Elkem

The European Commission Tuesday cleared a plan by U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. (AA) to buy all of Elkem, a Norwegian aluminum company.

Alcoa established a presence in Norway through a 1962 partnership with Elkem ASA to operate two smelters, in Lisa and Mosjoen. As the result of an agreement signed in December 2008, Alcoa is expected to receive 100 percent ownership of Elkem ANS, which includes the two smelters, with a combined output of 282,000 metric tons per year (mtpy). Included in the transaction is Elkem’s stake in a newly opened anode plant in Mosjoen in which Alcoa already holds an approximate 82 percent stake.