Novelis to sell foil plants in Europe

NEW DELHI: Aditya Birla Group firm Novelis today said it is selling three aluminium foil manufacturing plants in Europe to American Industrial Acquisition Corp (AIAC) for an undisclosed sum.

The three plants assets are based in France, Luxembourg and Berlin, Novelis, a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group flagship firm Hindalco Industries said.

"These foil operations are well-established businesses with strong customer bases; however, they are not aligned with the Novelis growth strategy and therefore we believe they will have a better future with AIAC," President and CEO of Novelis Philip Martens said in a statement.

Novelis is focussed on growing the higher-volume, premium markets of beverage cans, automobiles and speciality products, Martens added.

The company expects the sale of the foil plants to conclude this spring, the statement said adding "the combined employee population of the foil plants included in the transaction is approximately 850."

Following the asset sale, Novelis' total European employee headcount will be approximately 4,400.

Novelis is the global leader in aluminium rolled products and aluminium can recycling and the company operates in 11 countries, having a revenue of USD 10.6 billion in the last fiscal.

It provides premium aluminium sheet and foil products to automotive, transportation, packaging, construction, industrial, electronics and printing markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America.