Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) and Luxfer Holdings plc announced today that they have reached an agreement under which Alcoa will acquire the aluminum plate, sheet and soft-alloy extrusion manufacturing operations and distribution businesses of British Aluminium Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Luxfer.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The manufacturing operations are located in England and Wales and the distribution businesses, operating under the names Aluminium Supply Aerospace and Baco Metal Centres, are located in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Also included in the purchase is the British Aluminium sales office in St. Louis, Missouri. Operations based in the UK will become part of the Alcoa Europe business unit.

These businesses generated approximately 220 million pounds sterling (US$360 million) in revenue in 1999 and have about 1550 employees.

The transaction is subject to clearance by antitrust authorities in Europe. Alcoa indicated that it would submit its application for clearance in September. The transaction does not require U.S. regulatory approval.

Ricardo E. Belda, Alcoa vice president and president Alcoa Europe, commented, "The acquisition of the British Aluminium businesses further demonstrates Alcoa's commitment to the European markets. In particular, this transaction will enable us to offer an extensive line of Alcoa products to the aerospace and plate customers from these European-based facilities."

Ian McKinnon, Luxfer's Chief Executive, noted, "This represents an important milestone for the Luxfer Group. Although we have made five acquisitions and divested of two small operations, this sale represents the first major reshaping of the Group since it was formed in 1996. It will provide Luxfer with funds to reinvest in its retained businesses, which are strong businesses with many growth opportunities."

Other British Aluminium manufacturing operations -- for aluminum tube products and hard-alloy extrusions, as well as Luxfer Gas Cylinders, Superform Aluminium, Magnesium Elektron and MEL Chemicals -- are not involved in the sale and will continue under Luxfer ownership.

Founded in 1888, Alcoa is the world's leading producer of aluminum and alumina and a major participant in all segments of the industry: mining, refining, smelting, fabricating and recycling. Alcoa serves customers worldwide in the packaging, automotive, aerospace, construction and other markets with a great variety of fabricated and finished products. The company has over 300 operating locations in 36 countries, out of which over 80 are located in 12 European countries.

The Luxfer Group is an international group of businesses that specialize in the design, manufacture and supply of high performance engineering materials, alloys and semi-fabricated components to manufacturing industry worldwide.