Novelis, a provider of aluminum rolled products and aluminum can recycling services, has signed an agreement with American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) to divest its three aluminum foil manufacturing facilities in Europe.
The sale includes foil rolling operations located in Berlin, Germany; Dudelange, Luxembourg; and Rugles, France.
Philip Martens, Novelis’ President and CEO, stated that though the aluminum foil manufacturing facilities have strong customer bases, they do not contribute to the company’s growth. Hence, they believe that the foil operations will have a good future with AIAC, added Martens. The divestment will help Novelis to reinforce its strategic focus on developing premium products in automobile, beverage can and specialty products markets. The sale of the plants is expected to be completed in the spring 2012 with necessary regulatory and other approvals.
The total employee population in the foil operations is about 850. Once the sale is completed, the number of employee in Novelis' European operations will be nearly 4,400.
Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries and supplies high-quality aluminum foil and sheet products to printing, electronics, industrial, construction, packaging, transportation and automotive sectors. The company serves customers in South America, Asia, Europe and North America.