The ISAL plant in Iceland.
Norwegian aluminium company Hydro has dropped its offer to buy Rio Tinto’s ISAL aluminium plant, in Iceland.
The $345-million offer, announced in February and initially expected to close in the second quarter, also entailed a 53.3% share in Rio Tinto’s Aluchemie anode plant, in the Netherlands, as well as its 50% share in the aluminium fluoride plant in Sweden.
The offer was terminated after a longer-than-anticipated European Commission (EC) competition approval process, Hydro said in a statement on Friday.
“After considering alternative timelines, outcomes and developments, Hydro requested to terminate the transaction and the parties have signed a termination agreement,” the Norwegian firm said.
Bringing the ISAL plant into Hydro's fold would have increase the group's total primary aluminium production to 2.4-million tons in 2018. The renewable energy-based plant produces 210 000 t/y of liquid primary aluminium and 230 000 t/y of extrusion ingot.
Hydro continues to own 46.7% of Aluchemie.