Michigan Ave. Adds to Aluminum Platform –

Michigan Avenue Partners last month agreed to acquire Alcoa Inc.‘s aluminum smelter operation in Longview, Wash. for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter.

Partners at Chicago-based Michigan Avenue were not available for comment at press time.

Alcoa was only required to sell 25% of the Longview operation as a condition of its $5.75 billion acquisition in May of Reynolds Metal Co.. The company was reportedly negotiating to sell Longview for $150 million to McCook Metals LLC, which is a subsidiary of Michigan Avenue.

In addition to selling off parts of Longview, Alcoa was also reportedly required by antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Europe to part ways with 56% of its interest in the Worsley alumina refinery in Australia, another refinery in Sherwin, Texas, and a 50% stake in a German refinery. Alcoa, the number one manufacturer of aluminum-plate in the U.S., was forced to sell their assets because of concerns on the part of antitrust regulators that the combined businesses would control too much of the world market for alumina, which is a key ingredient for aluminum.

Alcoa is an international producer of primary and fabricated aluminum and alumina. The company serves the transportation (aerospace, rail, shipping and automotive), packaging, building and industrial markets. The company reported revenues of $16.54 billion last year. Alcoa was trading at $33.6 at press time.

Michigan Avenue’s McCook Metals is the second largest maker of aluminum-plate in the U.S. used in military aircraft. The firm reportedly opposed the merger of Alcoa and Reynolds and urged that Alcoa sell off its entire stake in Longview charging that the sale would still give Alcoa a dominant market share of the aluminum market. Michigan Avenue has acquired rolling mills operations in Illinois, Indiana and Alabama from Reynolds Metals.