Resumen de Imerys to divest La Bathie fused alumina business
As part of the conditions set out by the EU for Imerys' takeover of Alteo's fused alumina assets in France, the minerals producer has to spin off one of the recently purchased operations.
France-headquartered industrial minerals producer Imerys SA will divest its newly-acquired fused alumina operations in La Bathie into an independent business as part of the asset acquisition conditions set by the European Commission (EC).
Under the divestment, La Bathie will be renamed ARC Fused Alumina and its core business will be fused alumina, including white fused aluminas, bubble aluminas, spherical white fused aluminas and surface-treated white fused aluminas. The fused minerals will be mainly used in abrasives, refractories and ceramics applications.
"Imerys has committed, as a condition agreed upon in its discussions with the European Commission, to divest the business of La Bathie. As a result, although La Bathie will be owned by Imerys for a transition period until this divestment has taken place, this business will be managed independently from Imerys," ARC Fused Alumina said in a statement.
ARC Fused Alumina will continue to produce via the three existing plants located near Albertville in France, about 100km from Geneva, the company said.
The operations at Beyrede were integrated into Imerys Fused Minerals with effect from 1 January 2017.
European authorities approved Imerys' proposed buyout of fellow France-based fused and tabular alumina producer Alteo on 28 October.
