Jul 15 2003
To defend itself against the $3.8 billion hostile takeover bid launched by Alcan, Pechiney have added Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to Rothschild and BNP Paribas to come up with alternative strategies to fend off the bid.
It is believed that other aluminium producers such as Norsk Hydro, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton may also be interested in purchasing Pechiney. However, analysts believe that if Pechiney is bought, Alcan will prevail as they have the most to offer.
There is also talk of Pechiney revisiting their bid to purchase Corus Group’s aluminium assets. These talk were abandoned earlier this year after the Corus supervisory board blocked the deal. If Pechiney were to buy Corus, they would become a more difficult take over target for Alcan.
With regards to this deal, Pechiney still has exclusive rights to buy Corus’ aluminium assets until October 23. Corus’ new chief executive is also ex-Pechiney which may play to their advantage.
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