Rio Tinto sells Alcan Composites to Swiss company for $381m

RIO Tinto, which is divesting divisions of Alcan, has sold Alcan Composites to Swiss-based machinery maker Schweiter Technologies for $US349 million ($381m). The mining major has been selling assets to address the debt burden it was saddled with after the ill-timed $US37 billion acquisition of aluminium maker Alcan in 2007. The global miner said today that since February 2008, it has announced asset sales of $US8.3bn. During 2008, Rio Tinto completed divestments totalling $US3.1bn. During 2009, Rio Tinto has agreed asset sales of $US5.2bn. In addition, Rio Tinto received a binding offer from Amcor in August 2009 for $US2bn for Alcan Packaging and its pharmaceuticals, tobacco and European and Asian food divisions. Separately, the miner said the proposed sale of 56 per cent of the Alcan Engineered Products Cable division for an undisclosed sum to Platinum Equity, announced on September 14, would not be completed as the sale had been terminated.