Nabaltec AG: Agreement on the acquisition of all membership interests of the US subsidiary Nashtec LLC

Nabaltec AG has concluded an agreement to acquire the 49% membership interest in the Nashtec LLC joint venture held by Allied Alumina LLC, an affiliate of Sherwin Alumina Company LLC. Sherwin Alumina Company LLC filed for bankruptcy in January 2016 and subsequently wound down its operations and sold substantially all of its assets to Corpus Christi Alumina LLC under a chapter 11 plan of liquidation, which chapter 11 plan was approved by the bankruptcy court on February 17, 2017.

Sherwin Alumina Company LLC was the raw materials supplier for Nashtec LLC and held certain claims arising from loans which were provided to Nashtec LLC. These claims will now be acquired by Nabaltec AG from Corpus Christi Alumina LLC. In addition, Nashtec LLC will acquire (i) from Corpus Christi Alumina LLC an adjacent parcel of land with production buildings and technical equipment, and (ii) from Glencore Ltd. a stock of aluminum hydroxide for the supply of raw material following the completion of the stand-alone solution.

The agreements were signed on 17 March 2017 and will take effect immediately.

With this arrangement, Nabaltec AG can begin retooling its production site in Corpus Christi, Texas and ensuring the survival of Nashtec LLC and its operations. Nabaltec AG anticipates a time frame through the end of 2017 for the realization of this stand-alone solution.

It is expected that Nashtec LLC will resume deliveries to US customers at the beginning of 2018. In the meantime, the American market will be supplied from Schwandorf. Nabaltec AG has refrained from issuing a revenue and earnings forecast for 2016 due to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedure of Sherwin Alumina Company LLC.