Informação jurídica inteligente
 Brasil | +55 (11) 31 81 77 29

Analysis: Vale slims down business portfolio

Document Citado por Related
Vincent

Global iron ore mining giant Vale has made several moves over the years as part of its strategy to reduce its portfolio of assets and focus on its core businesses — iron ore, copper, and nickel. The company’s rationale is that the strategy is aligned with a capital allocation discipline.On Thursday, Vale took another step in this direction by announcing the sale of its 40% stake in Mineração Rio do Norte, a bauxite (aluminum ore) producer, to the Norwegian group Hydro, a major European metals producer.MRN was founded in the late 1970s to extract bauxite from deposits near the Trombetas River in the state of Pará. The company became a consortium of producers with Vale, Alcoa, CBA (Votorantim), Rio Tinto, BHP, and Hydro itself.This marks the end of the mining company’s venture in the aluminum business. Earlier in 2011, Vale had already sold its 51% stake in Albrás, a controlling stake in Alunorte (alumina) and Mineração Paragominas (bauxite), all in Pará, to Hydro. The 40% stake in MRN remained.Just Thursday, Hydro sold this stake, in addition to the 5% it already held in MRN and 30% of Alunorte to the Swiss trading company Glencore in a $1.1 billion deal.In aluminum, Vale has also created Valesul in Brazil, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with Billiton. Considered a small-scale smelter — around 100,000 tonnes — it became uncompetitive due to low metal prices compared to energy costs in Brazil, so it was sold.The move to slim down Vale’s portfolio also went through the steel industry. In February, the company completed the sale of a 50% stake in the California Steel Industries rolling mill in the U.S. to Nucor Corp. for $437 million. In July, together with South Korean partners Posco and Dongkuk, it transferred full control of steelmaker CSP to ArcelorMittal for $2.2 billion. Vale held 50%...

Para continuar a ler

PEÇA SUA AVALIAÇÃO

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT