The US Department of Justice said on Monday that Novelis's proposed US $ 2.6 billion acquisition of Aleris has passed antitrust review. The condition is that Novelis divests its car body business.
The department filed a lawsuit against the acquisition in September last year because it involved two of the four major aluminum producers in North America. Once the acquisition is completed, the two will join forces to manufacture and manufacture car bodies.
The judiciary said: "As a result, Novelis must divest Aleris' entire aluminum body panel business in North America to maintain fair competition in this important industry."
Novelis said the divested business includes Aleris ’Lewisport, Kentucky plant. Headquartered in Atlanta, Novelis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Aluminum Corporation of India (Hindalco).
When talking about this issue, Novelis CEO Steve Fisher said, "This decision ignores the reality of the automotive body panel market and the competition we have faced from the steel industry for so many years."
At the same time, he also stated that Novelis will continue to advance the proposed transaction.