Aluminum-maker acquires Ohio firm

A unit of aluminum maker China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd Monday agreed to acquire US-based Aleris Corp in a deal valued at about $2.33 billion.

Aleris is based in the Cleveland suburb of Beachwood, Ohio, and employs about 2,400 in the US and about 2,600 in Europe and Asia, including China. Aleris supplies fabricated aluminum products to the aerospace, construction, and automotive industries. Zhongwang International is the world’s second-largest producer of aluminum extrusions.

Terms of the transaction call for Zhongwang to pay $1.11 billion in cash for Aleris and assume about $1.22 billion in debt.

Sean Stack, president and CEO of Aleris, said lightweighting or using aluminum to replace steel is one of the main factors driving the deal.

“Clearly lightweighting is a continuing and growing trend, especially with the North American automotive industry’s growing demand for aluminum auto body sheet,” Stacks told China Daily.

Auto manufacturers like Ford Motor Co are replacing steel with aluminum to make their vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient.

Ford reportedly shaved 700 pounds off of its top-selling F150 pickup by using aluminum instead of steel in some sections.

Stack said airplane manufacturers have been utilizing aluminum for years. “That is a very important market for Aleris and there is a big order backlog for planes,” he said.

Stack said this is not a consolidation acquisition by the Zhongwang unit, which is majority owned by Liu Zhongtian, the founder of China Zhongwang Holdings.

“We will continue to be headquartered in Cleveland and will be operated as an independent entity. The Aleris management team will remain in place, providing continuity for our employees and customers,” he said.

Aleris will retain its name and continue to serve its customers with no changes to current operations, contracts or commitments. Stack said the company will continue all expansion projects, including a major one in Lewisport, Kentucky, to serve the automotive industry.

Stack said Aleris has yearly revenue of about $2.7 billion.

In 2010, Aleris filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after growing quickly through a series of acquisitions. Then came the downturn from the financial crisis and between 2008 and 2009, volume declined 40 percent while the company carried a heavy debt load.

Aleris has been owned by a group of private-equity funds, including Oaktree Capital Management LP and Apollo Management LP, since it emerged from bankruptcy.

“We have been lucky that our owners have been generous with funding,” said Stack. “They have been good stewards of the business.”

He said that Aleris operates a state-of-the-art aerospace plate mill that was constructed in China a few years ago.

Aleris also makes gutters and downspouts for the construction industry.