Alcoa sells Latin American PET business to Amcor

The acquisition agreed between Australian packaging company Amcor Ltd. and Alcoa Inc. of Alcoa?s Latin American polyethylene terraphthallate plastic (PET) business for US$75 million was closed on October 2nd 2003, effective October 1st 2003.

Alcoa?s interest in the business is held through Alcoa Latin American Holdings Corporation and Alcoa Alumínio SA. Alcoa?s PET business in Latin America has annual sales of US$130 million.

The Alcoa subsidiaries involved in the deal were: Alusud Argenina SA and Vinisa Fuegina SA in Argentina; Alcoa Alumínio SA and Tamboré Embalagens SA in Brazil; Torrenoble SA and Uruguay Preform SA in Uruguay; Alusud Embalagens Chile SA in Chile; Alusud Peru SA in Peru; Alusud Embalagens Colombia SA in Colombia; and Alusud Venzuela SA in Venezuela.

The deal was structured as a sale of shares or assets, depending on the country.

The sale is part of Alcoa?s current strategy of divesting its non-core assets, and proceeds from the deal will be used to pay some of its debt.

The acquisition is still pending of approval from the Antitrust Commission of Argentina, where Amcor Ltd. acquired (i) the shares representing one hundred per cent (100%) of the capital stock and voting rights in Vinisa Fueguina S.R.L.; and (ii) all of the assets directly or indirectly comprising the PET business. Approval of the Brazilian Antitrust Commission is also still pending.

Alcoa Aluminio was assisted in Brazil by its in-house counsel Carlos Eduardo Mahfuz.

Marval, O?Farrell & Mairal was Argentine counsel to Alcoa through a team led by partners Marcos José Benegas Lynch and Alejandro Fiuza and associates Pablo Gayol, María Cecilia Roude and Francisco Juan Cornejo.

Demarest e Almeida - Advogados gave Brazilian counsel to Amcor and coordinated the regional legal teams, through a group led by partner Mário Roberto Villanova Nogueira and associate Juliana Teixeira da Cunha. Of counsel Isabel Mestre and associate Tânia Falbo gave advice on the antitrust side.

Amcor was advised in Argentina by Basílico, Santurio, Cainzos & Fernández, through partner Hernán Andrada and associates Moira Frehner, Pedro Mazer, Valeria Rademacher and Agustina Lynch.