Hindalco Industries will acquire US-based specialty alumina manufacturer AluChem Companies for an enterprise value of $125 million, as it looks to scale its high-value, technology-led materials portfolio.
“This acquisition is an important step in our global strategy to build a leadership position in value-added, high-tech materials,” Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group said on Tuesday.
The buyout is expected to be completed over the next two-four months, and will be funded through cash. The acquisition will be carried out through Aditya Holdings LLC, a stepdown wholly owned subsidiary of Hindalco.
Hindalco-the world’s largest aluminium company by revenue-is eyeing up to two-fifth of its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation from downstream operations over the next three-four years, chief executive officer Satish Pai had said in March. The Aditya Birla Group company currently gets 10% of its Ebitda from downstream operations.
“We had said that we are going to focus on our specialty alumina business that’s been growing at double digits for the last five years, so this acquisition is a part of that strategy, especially for the technology part,” Pai told ET exclusively on Tuesday.
Hindalco has specialty alumina capacity of 500,000 tonne, and it plans to get to 1 million tonne over the next few years, Pai said. Specialty alumina finds application across electric mobility, semiconductors, and precision ceramics, and this buyout is expected to be highly value-accretive for the company.AluChem had an Ebitda of $381 per tonne in calendar year 2024 as compared to Hindalco’s specialty alumina Ebitda of a little under $200 per tonne in fiscal 2025, Pai said. Total Ebitda from the specialty Alumina business was ₹835 crore last fiscal.
Source: Economic Times