Alcoa’s cash boosted by US$1B on back of 25% JV sale to Saudi owner

Aluminium heavyweight Alcoa (ASX:AAI) has revealed to the market on Monday it’s about to see a $1B boost – after selling just over 25% of its JV interest in a Saudi Arabian project, back to its owners.

This, the company says, will help simplify its portfolio. For Australian readers, US$1B is A$1.6B.

The owners of the Ma’aden JV Project is Ma’aden itself – a Saudi Arabian industrial giant. Since 2009, the two players have been operating the Ma’aden Bauxite and Alumina Company in the Saudi kingdom.

“We deeply value our partnership with Ma’aden [and we’re] are confident that under the new arrangement, MBAC and MAC are well-positioned for success,” said William F. Oplinger, Alcoa’s President and CEO.

“The transaction simplifies our portfolio, enhances visibility in the value of our investment in Saudi Arabia and provides greater financial flexibility for Alcoa.”

It’s the latest move regarding Saudi Arabia to come from ASX-listed companies, where a number of juniors have recently been moving to.

The Kingdom’s trajectory towards being a more ESG-friendly player – which necessitates repositioning away from being an oil-based economy – is currently asking for help to establish a massive domestic mining industry.

“We look forward to future opportunities to collaborate as we continue to build the mining sector into the third pillar of the Saudi economy.

Alcoa Corp was formerly listed as ‘Alumina’ on the ASX; that was removed from the index earlier this year.

AAI last traded at $48.48/sh.