Kaiser Aluminum Files for Bankruptcy Protection

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. and its operating subsidiary Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., as well as certain wholly owned subsidiaries, have filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

In conjunction with the filing, the company expects to enter into definitive documentation today for $300 million in Debtor-in-Possession financing from Bank of America, subject to court approval. The DIP financing, in combination with the company's current invested cash, should provide sufficient liquidity to meet its ongoing operating needs. Kaiser's production and shipment of bauxite, alumina, primary aluminum products, and fabricated aluminum products will continue without interruption.

Although the filing includes certain U.S. subsidiaries through which the company holds an interest in foreign operations, it does not include the operations of the following entities: the 65 percent-owned Alpart alumina refinery and the 49 percent-owned Kaiser Jamaica Bauxite Company in Jamaica; the 20 percent-owned QAL alumina refinery in Australia; the 90 percent-owned Valco aluminum smelter in Ghana; the 49 percent-owned Anglesey aluminum smelter in Wales, or the 100 percent-owned extrusion plant in Ontario, Canada.