SUMMARY
This summary highlights selected information from this Prospectus and does not contain all of the information that may be important to you.
You should read carefully the entire Prospectus and the additional documents referred to in this Prospectus to fully understand the Transaction, the Transfer of Corporate Seat and the Transfer of Corporate Seat Proposal that shareholders will be
asked to consider at the Transfer EGM.
The Company
We are a global leader in the design and manufacture of a broad range of innovative rolled and extruded aluminium products, serving primarily
the packaging, aerospace and automotive end-markets. Our business model is to add value by converting aluminium into semi-fabricated and in some instances fabricated products. We supply numerous blue-chip
customers with many value-added products for performance-critical applications. Our product portfolio generally commands higher margins as compared to less differentiated, more commoditized fabricated aluminium products, such as common alloy coils,
paintstock, foilstock and soft alloys for construction and distribution.
As of December 31, 2018, we operated 26 production
facilities, including a joint venture with our partner, UACJ (Note: in January 2019, we acquired our partners share in this entity, see Recent Developments), we had three administrative centers in Baltimore, Paris and
Zürich, and had three research and development (R&D) centers. Additionally, we are building new facilities in Spain, China and Slovakia to serve our automotive structures customers. We believe our portfolio of flexible,
integrated and strategically located facilities is among the most technologically advanced in the industry and that the significant growth investments we have made now position us well to capture expected demand growth in each of our end markets. It
is our view that our established presence in North America, Europe and China combined with more than 50 years of manufacturing experience, quality and innovation, strategically position us to be a leading supplier to our global customer base. The
Company had approximately 13,000 employees as of December 31, 2018.
We seek to sell to
end-markets that have attractive characteristics for aluminium, including (i) stability through economic cycles as seen in our North American and European packaging businesses, (ii) rigorous and
complex technical requirements as seen in global aerospace and automotive businesses, and (iii) favorable growth fundamentals supported by the vehicle lightweighting trend seen in global automotive business, and the growth in electric vehicles.
We have invested capital in a number of attractive growth opportunities including: (i) Auto Body Sheet capabilities in Muscle
Shoals, Alabama, Bowling Green, Kentucky, in Neuf-Brisach, France, and in Singen, Germany (ii) a pusher furnace in Ravenswood, West Virginia, (iii) Automotive Structures operations in Van Buren, Michigan, White, Georgia and San Luis
Potosí, Mexico, two production lines for battery enclosures for electric vehicles in Gottmadingen, Germany, advanced body structure capabilities in Dahenfeld, Germany, new cast houses and additional extrusion capability in
Děčĺn, Czech Republic and a number of growth initiatives through R&D and debottlenecking efforts.
Our unique platform
has enabled us to develop a stable and diversified customer base and to enjoy long-standing relationships with our largest customers. Our customer base includes market leading firms in packaging, aerospace, and automotive, such as AB InBev, Ball
Corporation, Crown Holdings, Inc., Airbus, Boeing, and several premium automotive original equipment manufacturers, including BMW AG, Daimler AG and Ford Motor Company. We believe that we are a critical supplier to many of our customers due to our
technological and R&D capabilities as well as the long and complex qualification process required for many of our products. Our core products require close collaboration and, in many instances, joint development with our customers. We believe
that this integrated collaboration with our customers for high value-added products reduces substitution risk, supports our competitive position, which is difficult to replicate.