GFG Alliance has escalated the battle for control of the company after announcing that it will take legal action to prevent US private equity fund AIP from acquiring control of the French smelter Aluminium Dunkerque.
An announcement made last Friday stated that the private equity fund acquired the smelter through the foreclosure of shares pledged to AIP affiliates pursuant to the terms of a financing agreement.
Following the publication of a press release on Tuesday, the GFG Alliance, which purchased the smelter from Rio Tinto for $500 million and integrated it into its Alvance aluminum business in 2018, announced that it would oppose the acquisition.
GFG stated that it had begun the process of settling its debt obligations. In July, aluminium plate manufacturer it was widely reported that GFG had formed a partnership with a trader in order to acquire the majority of the outstanding debt for Aluminium Dunkerque and Belgian rolling mill Duffel over a six-year period. According to the company, GFG announced a fully commercial arrangement between Advance and a company involved in the international metal market.
Secondary aluminum alloys prices in the United States have reached new highs as a result of the increase in silicon content in aluminum.
Prices for secondary aluminum alloys in the United States have risen dramatically as a result of sharp increases in the price of silicon, as well as a scarcity of the metal required for alloy production in the country.
We are already feeling the effects of climate change, according to one US alloy manufacturer. As a result of the tightness in the silicon markets, the price of alloys in Europe has already increased significantly.
Price increases are driving up costs, but they also have the potential to significantly increase demand in the future. It is possible that Mexican alloy producers will begin purchasing finished products from the United States in order to make up for the shortfall in silicon supply that has been reported.
