Shareholders of algroup approve merger with Alcan

Algroup chairman Martin Ebner addressing the crucial meeting of shareholders Keystone

Shareholders of one of Switzerland's biggest corporations, the algroup, have voted in favour of the financial terms of a merger with Canada's Alcan company.

Around 500 shareholders attended the algroup extraordinary general meeting on Monday in Zurich and, as expected, accepted the recommendations of the company’s board.

The vote paves the way for a share exchange set for August and the creation in October of the world’s second largest aluminium producer with annual revenues of SFr20.5 billion. Only Alcoa of the United States with sales of almost SFr35 billion is larger.

The new company will employ 53,000 people.

Under the terms of the merger, Alcan is offering 17.1 shares for every algroup share plus a cash distribution of SFr225 per share to algroup’s shareholders. The distribution includes a special dividend of SFR135 and a cash repayment.

For the deal to be successfully completed 67 per cent of algroup’s shares must be tendered.

Algroup chairman, Martin Ebner, said that upon completion algroup shareholders would hold 34 per cent and Alcan sharehoders 66 per cent of the new company.

Plans for the merger were announced in June but do not go as far as the algroup’s management had originally foreseen.

Plans for a three-way merger to include the French company Pechiney fell through after it fell foul of a European Commission inquiry last March. Alcan was not prepared to give up a 50 per cent stake in the German aluminium producer, Norf.

by Michael Hollingdale