Norsk Hydro ASA hefur hætt við kaupin á álveri Rio Tinto í Straumsvík. Tilkynnt var um kaup Norsky Hydro á öllu hlutafé í álverinu í Straumsvík í febrúar síðastliðinum . Hljóðaði kaupverðið upp á 345 milljónir dollara, sem á þeim tíma voru um 35 milljarðar króna. Samningarnir voru síðan formlega undirritaður í byrjun júní með ýmsum fyrirvörum. Í tilkynningu sem norska fyrirtækið sendi frá sér í hádeginu í dag kemur fram að það hafi nú hætt við kaupin.

Í tilkynningunni segir að ástæðan fyrir því að Norsk Hydro sé nú hætt við sé hversu lengi hefur dregist á fá samþykki fyrir þeim hjá samkeppnisyfirvöldum Evrópusambandsins. Einn af fyrirvörunum í samningunum snéri einmitt að samþykki samkeppnisyfirvalda.

Tilkynningin í heild á ensku:

Hydro and Rio Tinto end acquisition process for Icelandic aluminium plant ISAL

Hydro and Rio Tinto have signed an agreement to end the acquisition process for Rio Tinto s Icelandic aluminium plant ISAL , including its interests in Dutch anode facility Aluchemie and Swedish aluminium fluoride plant Alufluor .

In February 2018, Hydro made a binding offer to acquire Rio Tinto s Icelandic aluminium plant Rio Tinto Iceland Ltd (“ ISAL ”), its 53% share in Dutch anode facility Aluminium & Chemie Rotterdam B.V . (“ Aluchemie ”), and 50% of the shares in Swedish aluminium fluoride plant Alufluor AB (“ Alufluor ”) for an enterprise value of USD 345 million .

A Sale and Purchase Agreement ( SPA ) was signed on 8 June 2018, following successful consultations with Rio Tinto employees in France and the Netherlands.

The transaction remained subject to a number of conditions , including approval by competition authorities , Icelandic governmental authorities and commercial parties . The transaction was initially expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2018.

The European Commission ( EC ) competition approval process has taken longer than anticipated and remains outstanding . After considering alternative timelines , outcomes and developments , Hydro requested to terminate the transaction and the parties have signed a termination agreement . Hydro has withdrawn its EC competition filing .

Hydro will continue to own 46.7 percent in Aluchemie .