Corus Begins Sale Of Aluminum Assets

By Agence France-Presse Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus Group PLC said Aug. 16 it had sold the first chunk of its aluminum operations. Corus said it had agreed to sell its 20% stake in the Canadian Aluminerie Alouette smelter in Sept-Iles, Quebec, to aluminum giant Alcan Inc., Montreal, for US$165 million in cash. Alcan already owns 20% of the smelter. Corus will also receive a payment for working capital. "The sale of our interest in Alouette represents the first step in the divestment process of our aluminum businesses as announced in March this year, which will enable the group to focus its activities on carbon steels," Corus Chief Executive Tony Pedder said. "We expect to sell our remaining aluminum interests before the end of 2002 as scheduled." London-based Corus, formed from the 1999 merger of British Steel and Hoogovens of the Netherlands, put its aluminum operation up for sale in March, selling one of the few profitable parts of its business as part of efforts to stem losses. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2002