Gränges bids on Noranda assets

The Sweden-based aluminum company Gränges AB has entered into an asset purchase agreement with a subsidiary of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp., under which Gränges will serve as the “stalking horse” bidder for Noranda’s downstream aluminum rolling business in the United States. The transaction is expected to be carried out through a U.S. bankruptcy court. The bid is valued at around $300 million.

A stalking horse bidder is a move by a bankrupt company to test the market for some of its assets prior to auctioning them off. The intent is to maximize the value of a company’s assets and avoid low bids.

If approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the agreement between Gränges and Noranda will set the floor for other qualified bidder. A court supervised auction is currently scheduled for July 7, 2016. Should Gränges win the auction and receive final approval as buyer an announcement will likely be made by the middle of July. The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of this year.

Granges says the acquisition of Noranda’s aluminum rolling business would be in line with its strategy to establish production capacity in North America and grow into adjacent market segments in the aluminum rolling industry. The acquisition also would significantly strengthen Gränges’ offering and position within HVAC&R and serve as a platform to expand the company’s business within heat exchanger materials for the automotive industry in the Americas.

Noranda’s downstream aluminum rolling business, operating via its subsidiary Norandal USA Inc., manufactures foil and other light gauge aluminum products for stationary and automotive heat exchangers, packaging and transformers. The rolling mills, with net sales of about $550 million, are in the southeastern United States.

Noranda filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this past February. As part of its restructuring the company is seeking to sell its downstream aluminum rolling business.

Gränges supplies rolled products for brazed aluminum heat exchangers. The company has production facilities in Finspång, Sweden, and in Shanghai.