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Ma’aden and Aluminum Bahrain line up a merger: Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) and Aluminum Bahrain (Alba) have signed a non-binding Heads of Terms agreement to explore the possibility of a merger, according to a statement on Tadawul (pdf). The agreement would involve Ma’aden swapping its full share capital of subsidiaries Ma’aden Aluminum and Ma’aden Bauxite and Alumina for new shares in Alba, Ma’aden said in a filing to Tadawul.
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There’s more: Under the agreement, Ma’aden and Alba will also explore a cross-listing of Alba’s shares on Tadawul, the statement notes.
Advisors: Ma’aden has tapped Merrill Lynch as its financial advisor and AS&H Clifford Chance serving as its legal advisor, and Moelis & Company UK is advising Alba on the transaction.
Lining up acquisitions: Ma’aden signed a share purchase agreement to acquire Sabic’s entire 20.6% stake in Alba, according to disclosures to Tadawul here and here. The acquisition involves the purchase of 292.8k ordinary shares for a total cost ranging between SAR 3.62 bn to SAR 3.97 bn, depending on the mechanism determined in the share purchase agreement.
What happens next? After the transaction, Ma’aden will become Alba’s second-largest shareholder and secure two board seats. The company will fund the purchase through its own resources and existing facilities.
Alba is working on sustainable aluminum production: Alba and Japanese aluminum product manufacturer Daiki Aluminium partnered in August to establish a sustainable aluminum dross — a byproduct of the aluminum melting process — recycling facility in Bahrain.The collaboration aims to leverage Alba’s industry expertise and Daiki Aluminium’s technologies to recover valuable aluminum metal and significantly reduce waste.
And the company has been upping its green efforts: Alba is installing a new 680.9 MW turbine — which will be the first of its kind in the world — that will be compatible to run on green hydrogen in the company’s fifth power plant. The company is also working with Mitsubishi to capture CO2 from its aluminum smelter and flue gas plants which could together help capture 500k to 1 mn metric tons per year by 2030.
