Tsinghua University to buy aluminum smelter for $3.7b

A unit of Beijing’s Tsinghua University on Tuesday said it would buy aluminum smelter Xinjiang Tianshan for an estimated 23.6 billion yuan ($3.69 billion), in the second major deal in China’s aluminum industry in just over two weeks.

Xiamen Unigroup Xue Co Ltd, a Shenzhen-listed education services provider controlled by Tsinghua, said in a statement it would pay in cash and shares to acquire 100 percent of Tianshan over an unspecified time frame, with the final price undetermined. It did not detail reasons behind the acquisition.

“Right now, the overall plan is still being discussed,” a Unigroup official told Reuters by phone on condition of anonymity as details are still private. “After the plan is finalized, it will be handed over to the board of directors.”

The latest acquisition comes in an industry which, in May, saw Stateowned Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) enter a cooperation deal with Yunnan Metallurgical Group Co.

Xiamen Unigroup, whose shares are currently suspended from trade pending asset restructuring, said in May it planned to buy an aluminum firm in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, without disclosing the target or deal value.

Tianshan has an annual aluminum smelting capacity of 1.4 million tons, according to Zhang Rufeng, a manager at consultancy Baiinfo. In agreeing to the transaction, it is likely aiming for a “backdoor listing”, making the company publicly tradable via Xiamen Unigroup, Zhang said.

Neither Unigroup nor Tianshan had responded to emailed requests for comment as of press time.