German Alumina Business to be Sold
29 June 2004 - 1:10AM
PR Newswire (US)
German Alumina Business to be Sold OSLO, Norway, June 28
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hydro has entered into an agreement to
sell its German based alumina business. This consists of a 50 per
cent share in Aluminium Oxid Stade GmbH (AOS), the related chemical
grade alumina business and the dedicated bauxite supply source
represented by Hydro's 10 per cent share in Halco (Mining) Inc. The
Dadco Group, which owns the remaining 50 per cent of AOS, has
purchased these operations for a consideration of approximately NOK
750 million. In addition, Dadco will assume all financial,
commercial and all other obligations related to the business. The
transaction will not result in any significant gain or loss for
Hydro. Dadco is a privately owned investment, manufacturing and
trading group; its founding company was established in 1915. AOS is
an alumina refinery located in Stade, near Hamburg in Northern
Germany with a total capacity of 850,000 tonnes of alumina. About
half of Hydro's share of alumina is chemical grade alumina used in
a variety of applications in the chemical and other industries,
which are non-core to Hydro's aluminium activities. Halco (Mining)
Inc. owns 51 per cent of CBG, one of the largest bauxite mines in
the world located in Guinea. Other shareholders in Halco are Alcoa
and Alcan. AOS will continue to produce alumina to supply Hydro's
wholly owned primary aluminium unit in Stade and Hamburger
Aluminium-Werk, in which Hydro has a 33 per cent shareholding,
through a long term supply agreement with Dadco, thereby securing a
long-term industrial solution for all parties. Certain statements
in this press release are or may constitute "forward- looking"
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not in the nature of
historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and
may contain identifying words such as "believes," "anticipates,"
"plans," "expects" and similar expressions. These forward looking
statements are based on Hydro's current expectations, assumptions,
estimates and projections about the company and the industries in
which it engages in business. All forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties. For a detailed description of
factors that could cause Hydro's actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements,
please refer to its annual report on Form 20-F for the year-ended
December 31, 2002 and subsequent filings on Form 6-K with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. With respect to each non- GAAP
financial measure Hydro uses in connection with its financial
reporting and other public communications, Hydro provides a
presentation of what Hydro believes to be the most directly
comparable GAAP financial measure and a reconciliation between the
non-GAAP and GAAP measures. This information can be found in
Hydro's earnings press releases, quarterly reports and other
written communications, all of which have been posted to Hydro's
website (http://www.hydro.com/). Contact Idar Eikrem Tor Steinum
Telephone (+47) 22 53 32 73 (+47) 22 53 27 31 Cellular (+47) 95 02
83 63 (+47) 95 08 39 33 E-mail DATASOURCE: Norsk Hydro CONTACT:
Idar Eikrem, +47-22-53-32-73, Cellular, +47-95-02-83-63, , or Tor
Steinum, +1-+47-22-53-27-31, Cellular, +47-95-08-39-33, , both of
Norsk Hydro Web site: http://www.hydro.com/
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