Liberty Group looks to buy Alcoa's Portland Aluminium Smelter

Sydney Morning Herald reported that British billionaire Mr Sanjeev Gupta is considering buying the Portland aluminium smelter in Victoria as part of a global expansion that could save the Australian facility from likely closure. Gupta's Liberty House Group has been in preliminary discussions with Alcoa and other stakeholders, including the Victorian government, over recent weeks about purchasing the plant as part of the steel giant's growing push into the aluminium sector. The negotiations between Liberty House Group and Alcoa are continuing but it is understood a deal is not guaranteed.

The fate of one of Alcoa's worst-performing operations has been under a cloud for months amid warnings a shutdown would threaten hundreds of jobs and have major flow-on effects for the power grid given the facility uses about 10 per cent of the state's electricity. The US based Alcoa unveiled plans in October to sell up to USD 1 billion of assets as well as closures of facilities around the world in a drive to boost its bottom line and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The Liberty House Group already owns two smelters: one in Fort William in Scotland and the other in Dunkirk in France.

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