Rio Tinto said yesterday it had completed the sale of Alcan’s packaging, pharmaceuticals, tobacco and food divisions to Amcor for $US1.9 billion ($A2.1 billion).
The sale, announced last August, continues Rio’s sale of assets, which now totals $US5.6 billion since the start of last year.
Rio has also secured agreements to sell Alcan Packaging Food Americas and the Maules Creek coal mine in NSW.
The sale of Alcan Packaging Medical Flexibles operations in the US is subject of an ongoing market review by the US Department of Justice.
Rio bought Alcan in 2007 but was forced to ditch assets in order to reduce its heavy debt burden.
Guy Elliott, Rio’s chief financial officer, said in a statement that the finalised sale would strengthen the miner’s cash position to take advantage of future investment opportunities.
"The completion of this complex transaction is another significant step in the recapitalisation of our balance sheet," he said. ”These proceeds, together with the proceeds from our successful rights issues and strong underlying cash flows, provide us with the flexibility to pursue value adding investment opportunities as they arise.”
Rio shares jumped more than 5%, or $3.60, to $71.01.
Amcor shares however edged up by 2.4% to $6.
Amcor said that coinciding with the acquisition of the Alcan Packaging assets, a new global brand would be launched for the new company.
"It represents the beginning of a new era for Amcor.
"Our new brand enables customers, employees and suppliers globally to recognise and connect with Amcor.
"Housed inside the Amcor ‘pod’ are the five core values – safety, integrity, teamwork, social responsibility and innovation – which lie at the heart of defining who we are and how we behave, and the five pillars of sustainability – environment, community, workplace, marketplace and economy – which guide our commitment to responsible packaging."
Amcor’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr Ken MacKenzie, said “The brandmark and other symbols of our new identity reflect a new and progressive organisation of people dedicated to innovation and committed to sustainability.
"With more than 300 sites across 43 countries, a strong, unified brand across all our operations and geographies is an important part of our future.
"As we grow and create industry leading benchmarks in packaging, our brand will represent and support our messages, relationships and reputation.
"The new brand will be rolled out progressively over the coming months."
And Westfield has its best day for five months yesterday when it reaffirmed its final 2009 payout.
The group said yesterday that it would pay out 47 cents on each stapled security, which would take the full year payment to 94c a security and in line with its forecast a year ago.
The company’s securities jumped 4.50% to $12.90, the highest level since last October. They hit a high of $12.98 during trading.
Westfield’s full year results for calendar 2009 will be released on February 17.
