Pinheiro Neto advises Alcoa on South32 assets acquisition
Pinheiro Neto advised Alcoa Corporation on the acquisition of aluminium value chain assets from South32 Limited, while Mattos Filho advised South32 on the Brazilian law aspects of the sale, in a transaction valued at up to $5.6 billion.
The transaction covers the Boddington bauxite mine and the Worsley alumina refinery in Western Australia, the Hillside aluminium smelter and the Bayside smelter facilities in South Africa, and, in Brazil, South32’s 33% interest in Mineração Rio do Norte (MRN), which operates a bauxite mine in the municipality of Oriximiná, in the Porto Trombetas district, State of Pará, together with its 36% interest in the Alumar alumina refinery and its 40% interest in the Alumar aluminium smelter, both located in São Luís, State of Maranhão.
The acquisition expands Alcoa’s global portfolio and production capacity while strengthening its presence in Brazil and Western Australia. South32, an Australian mining company, is divesting the assets as part of a broader portfolio review. Closing remains subject to customary conditions precedent, including antitrust clearance from Brazil’s antitrust authority, CADE, and the potential exercise of pre-emption rights by the other shareholders of MRN
Pinheiro Neto Advogados, acting as Brazilian counsel to Alcoa, fielded a team led by Vânia Marques Ribeiro (pictured left), partner in the corporate/M&A practice, together with associates Marina Bertucci Ferreira, Amanda Della Togna Torres and João Vitor Leitão de Godoy. Tax matters were handled by Tiago Moreira Vieira Rocha (pictured right), partner in the tax practice, and Pedro Augusto A. Asseis, associate.
Ashurst Perkins Coie also advised the buyer, with Kylie Lane, Eliza Blandford and Ian Kellock, all partners, joined by Jonathan Bisset and Huiling Mah on the deal team.
Mattos Filho advised South32 on the Brazilian law aspects of the transaction. The team included partners Rodrigo Nascimento (São Paulo), Adriano Drummond Cançado Trindade (Brasília), João Vicente Pereira de Assis (São Paulo), Eduardo Frade and Thais Rezende Bandeira de Mello Rodrigues (Rio de Janeiro), together with Lucas Ruggero (São Paulo), David Gandelman Kelman, Rafael Bessa and Igor Gantos (Rio de Janeiro), and Mariana Fontoura da Rosa (Brasília).
