Apollo Global Management Inc. agreed to acquire aluminum products company Arconic Corp. for about $3 billion.
The buyout firm will pay $30 a share for the Pittsburgh-based company, according to a statement. That’s a premium of 36 percent to the closing price on Feb. 27, before the Apollo interest was reported.
Founded in 1888, Arconic manufactures aluminum sheets and plates for companies across the aerospace, automotive and commercial transportation markets.
In first-quarter financial results also released on Thursday, Arconic reported sales of $1.93 billion, down 12 percent from a year earlier but ahead of the average analyst estimate of $1.85 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Arconic said in a statement that its sales were helped by strength in aerospace, packaging and ground transportation. Rolled products sales were $1.5 billion in the period, down 17 percent from $1.8 billion a year earlier, while building and construction systems revenue was $308 million, up 5.8 percent from $291 million in last year’s first quarter.
“Apollo’s interest in ARNC likely focuses on the recovering end-markets in aerospace and automotive,” said Benchmark Co. analyst Josh Sullivan in a research note. He expects that will be seen as a positive for the valuation of peers such as Kaiser Aluminum Corp. and Constellium SE.
The deal has an enterprise value of about $5.2 billion, according to the statement. The transaction includes a minority investment from funds managed by affiliates of Irenic Capital Management.
