New #1 in Aluminum
Russian company Rusal apparently has made a deal to acquire Russian rival Sual as well as the aluminum asserts of Glencore International, a Swiss-based holding company. It's not 100% certain, but the deal will make Rusal the world' #1 producer of aluminum, both as a miner of aluminum ore and a producer of aluminum metal. The combined entity will be worth around $30 billion.
The move will displace US-based #1 Alcoa and Canada-based #2 Alcan. Those two companies had been the price setter s of aluminum worldwide. Now the Russians are in the game.
We are told that Rusal to extend its mining operations to other metals and ores. In that way, it hopes to tie in with the hot international consolidation in metals. Aluminum itself is expected by some to double over the next 20 years.
This deal will create a monopoly inside Russia, which apparently has the green light from the Russian government. Similarly Russia-based Gazprom is the leading natural gas company in the world. Some analysts see this move (along with Severstal's recent attempt to buy Arcelor) as part of a pattern where Russia is using large industry leading companies as a way to getting more international; influence.
9:00:09 PM 
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