Hydro says Alumetal acquisition is final

Norsk Hydro ASA has completed its acquisition of Polish recycled-content aluminum producer Alumetal S.A., a move it says widens its product offering in the low-carbon and scrap-based foundry alloy market.

Hydro began its bid to acquire Alumetal in May 2022. It competed with another bid from Luxembourg-based Elemental Holding S.A. before receiving European Commission approval for its offer this May.

The global aluminum producer's tender offer for Alumetal applies to more than 97 percent of the shares of the company.

“With this acquisition, Hydro and Alumetal will together become the leading integrated aluminum recycler in Europe,” says Eivind Kallevik, executive vice president of Hydro Aluminium Metal.

“This will enable us to offer more low-carbon and recycled aluminum products based on postconsumer scrap, further strengthening our commitment to enable our customers to reach their sustainability goals. Bringing Alumetal into the Hydro family will also contribute to increased circularity in the aluminum value chain, fostering an increasingly circular economy in Europe.”

The transaction means Hydro will increase its competence in the recycling of aluminum scrap materials, according to the firm, while Alumetal’s operations will strengthen their competitive position by “entering the structures of one of the largest and leading global aluminum companies in the world."

“The acquisition shows how extraordinary the Alumetal team’s efforts have been over the last 20 years [and] demonstrates our significant growth journey and intensive development within our organization,” says Agnieszka Drzyżdżyk, president and CEO of Alumetal. “I am very proud of our employees and we look forward to an even more exciting future together with Hydro.”

Alumetal will be a standalone company in the Hydro family and will continue to work with its current business, organizational and operational model.

The now will initiate the process of integrating the Polish recycler into Hydro after having marked successfully completing the transaction with a small celebration at Alumetal’s headquarters in Kety, Poland, on July 10.