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Alcoa Buys Out Minority Partners at Smelters by Staff Pittsburgh Business Times, June 30, 2006

Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. said it's buying out the interests of the minority owners of two smelters.

Alcoa said it bought out the minority interests of affiliates of both Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and YKK Corp. in smelters in Ferndale in Washington state, and Frederick, Md., for "undisclosed cash consideration."

The Intalco smelter in Ferndale is operating at one-third its capacity as Alcoa wrestles with higher costs for power.

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) recently agreed to provide some financial incentives to Alcoa, which also operates the Wenatchee smelter in the BPA region. The Wenatchee smelter is operating at one half of its capacity, New York-based Alcoa (NYSE: AA) said.

Alcoa officials said they're concerned about future costs of power.

"Even with the incentives, our energy costs in the Northwest will increase significantly," said Alan Cransberg, president, global manufacturing Alcoa primary products, in a statement.

Alcoa has significant operations in Pittsburgh.