Vale has sold its 22% interest in Norway-based aluminum producer Norsk Hydro for NOK 11.196 billion, equivalent to approximately $1.822 billion. As a result, Vale no longer holds any Norsk Hydro shares.
Vale acquired its Hydro shares through a transaction announced in May 2010 in exchange for all of its stakes in the Albras aluminum smelter, the Alunorte alumina refinery, and the CAP alumina refinery project in Brazil; a 60% interest initially and 100% ownership by 2015 of the Paragominas bauxite mine; and other considerations, including $1.1 billion in cash. The transaction closed in February 2011 and was valued in total at about $4.9 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vale was obliged to retain its shares in Hydro for at least two years after the transaction closed. Following the transaction, Hydro established a regional headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. In total, around 3,600 Vale employees became part of Hydro as a result of the transaction.
