Norwegian Hydro to Expand Business by Acquisitions

Norwegian aluminum group Norsk Hydro will seek to expand business by acquisitions, as aluminum market is more powerful than expectation and aluminum price is likely to rise rather than fall, said the company’s chief executive officer Eivind Reiten yesterday. Reiten said in an interview that strong demand from China offsets U.S. weak economy, and he predicted global aluminum demand would rise between 8% and 9%. Hydro enjoys a great sum of cash but little debt, which sets a good base for purchasing industrial assets. Reiten also noted Hydro owns subsequent funds to carry out acquisitions. 43.8-percent-state-owned Hydro lags behind aluminum leaders such as Alcoa and Rio Tinto Alcan in size, but Reiten said the company will not blindly expand its size, as Hydro is more concentrated on high qualified assets, not the production size. COPYRIGHT All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of WAM News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of WAM.