Dutch Firm Agrees to Buy Kaiser Aluminum Unit

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical said Friday that it has “reached an understanding” with Hoogovens Groep BV, a large Dutch steel and aluminum company, for the sale of Kaiser’s aluminum subsidiary in Europe.

Terms of the possible sale of Kaiser Aluminium Europe were not disclosed, but the transaction would be a profitable one for Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical, a spokesman for the Oakland-based company said. Proceeds will be used to reduce debt and for other corporate purposes, he said.

Kaiser Aluminum was able to reduce its debt by about $135 million last year to a total of slightly more than $1.3 billion, the spokesman said.

Kaiser Aluminium Europe, which is based in Dusseldorf, West Germany, recorded sales of $354 million in 1986. It employs 2,700 people. A letter of intent will be signed within 30 days, and then the transaction must be approved by the boards of both companies and by certain government agencies, the Kaiser spokesman said.

The purchase will make Hoogovens Groep the fourth-largest producer of rolled and extruded aluminum products in Western Europe. The final agreement to sell the Kaiser subsidiary probably will include some technology and supply contracts, the Kaiser spokesman said.

The sale does not include Kaiser Aluminum’s 49% interest in Anglesey Aluminium Ltd., an aluminum producer in Holyhead, Wales.