Liberty will soon acquire more aluminium assets; aims to be ‘major player’ – sources

Liberty House is on the verge of securing further assets in the aluminium sector, with the growing industrial group – led by entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta – continuing its speedy expansion in the metals sector, Metal Bulletin understands.

“Liberty is looking to become a major player in aluminium – it’s already huge in nickel and steel and wants to make a similar foray in the aluminium industry,” one source close to the company said.

“It is already involved along the supply chain, from green energy and hydro power to smelting aluminium and making value-added products. Now it wants to complete the cycle and acquire raw material sites including bauxite and alumina, like it has done in steel,” the source added.

The group is in advanced discussions to buy more aluminium assets around the world, including one in Africa and some more in Europe, another source with knowledge of the matter told Metal Bulletin.

“I know of two at least and one is looking like it will happen soon,” the source added.

Liberty has gone on a £1 billion-plus spending spree over the past two years, mainly targeting steel mills and aluminium sites. It bought Rio Tinto’s aluminium smelter and hydro power plant in Scotland’s Fort William in 2016 for $410 million and relaunched the Liberty British Aluminium brand under the helm of executive Matt Powell.

In addition to serving the international market with semi-finished aluminium, Liberty is investing £120 million ($159 million) to upgrade the Fort William smelter and add value through the development of downstream manufacturing of alloy wheels for the UK and European automotive industry, it said on its website.

Some in the market have questioned how sustainable Liberty’s rapid acquisition strategy was, with one source telling Metal Bulletin that “at this rhythm of acquisitions, Liberty will blow up before too long.”

But sources close to the firm have defended their strategy and pointed out that assets purchased all have working capitals attached to them, bringing immediate returns – for instance, a power supply contract with Scotland’s national grid at Fort William.

Liberty House declined to comment.

What to read next
European energy analysts’ “what if” questions have turned into “what now” questions in the wake of Russia’s stalled war efforts against Ukraine
Despite the metal being classed as “strategic” in the European Union’s proposed Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), questions remain about the future of magnesium supply in Europe, market participants have told Fastmarkets
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessment of the Southeast Asia copper premium for Tuesday March 28 was delayed due to a scheduling error.
Recycling is increasingly being considered the best way to reduce carbon emissions from metals production, and huge investment in recycling facilities has been seen in recent years, with robust merger and acquisitions activity
As the world moves toward a shared goal of net-zero emissions, Claire Patel-Campbell talks to Outokumpu’s head of group sustainability, excellence and reliability about the place of the energy-intensive and high emissions ferro-chrome industry in a greener economy
Energy has been at the top of the agenda for the ferro-chrome market over the last couple of years, as prices fluctuate and access to steady supplies becomes more uncertain
We use cookies to provide a personalized site experience.
By continuing to use & browse the site you agree to our Privacy Policy.
Proceed