One Equity Seeks To Divest Stake In Austrian Aluminium Company AMAG

JP Morgan’s PE offspring, One Equity, has found a buyer for its 34.5 percent stake in Austrian aluminium and aluminium products supply company, Austria Metall (AMAG). Private investor Ronny Pecik has shown interest in the EUR 220 mln share currently owned by One Equity. In possibly related news, the supervisory board of AMAG has sanctioned a EUR 220 mln extension of the production centre in Ranshofen. One of the largest extensions in the region’s aluminium industry, the move will see the creation of more than 200 jobs, and a heavier focus on supply to the automobile and aircraft industries.

Austria Metall AG (www.amag.at)
Austria Metall AG supplies aluminium, as well as partially finished aluminium products to select markets across Europe. Material that is secured from Canadian smelter Alouette (in which AMAG holds a 20 percent stake) and scrap metal sources finds its way to the company’s production centre in Ranshofen, from where it is shipped out to clients. Founded in 1939, the company was taken over by the state in 1948, and was once again privatized in 1996. Currently headed by CEO Gerhard Falch, the company successfully floated its IPO on April 8, 2011. With the recent sanctioning of the extension of facilities in Ranshofen, the company will see an increase in 50 percent in production – from the current 150,000 tonnes per annum to 225,000 tonnes per annum – by the year 2015; a fund sanction of EUR 220 mln has been allocated for the project.