Alcoa will accept the offer to tender its 46.5 percent stake in Elkem ASA to Orkla ASA for a total of approximately $87 million in cash and an after-tax gain of approximately $180 million.

Alcoa (headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa.; http://www.alcoa.com) will accept the offer to tender its 46.5 percent stake in Elkem ASA to Orkla ASA for a total of approximately $87 million in cash and an after-tax gain of approximately $180 million. Settlement of the transaction is expected to occur on April 5, 2005. Following the completion of this transaction, Alcoa will continue to hold a 50% stake in two aluminum smelters in Lista and Mosjoen, Norway with a combined production capacity of 282,000 metric tons per year. Alcoa will use the proceeds of the sale to pay down debt, fund its upstream capital expansions and for certain restructuring expenses of its existing operations.