Responding to market rumours that it was about to acquire the Paranapanema group, Brazil’s Vale (formerly CVRD) said on Tuesday that it was only evaluating two of the diversified group’s divisions.
Vale said in a statement that it “is not involved in any negotiation to acquire Paranapanema, as mentioned by the Brazilian media.” On the other hand, “as part of Vale’s normal course of business of evaluating investment opportunities, Vale is analyzing the possibility of acquiring Caraíba Metais and Cibrafértil,” the statement said.
Caraíba and Cibrafértil are respectively the copper smelting and fertilizers divisions of the Paranapanema group. Vale is apparently not interested in the Taboca-Mamore (tin) and Eluma (copper fabricated products) parts of the business. The major shareholder in Paranapanema is the Previ pension fund, with a 49% stake which it has indicated it wishes to dispose of. Previ also has a stake in Vale. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale is the world’s largest iron ore producer and also has interests in copper, nickel, coal, manganese, aluminum and logistics, among others
Paranapanema’s tin division produced 2,237 tonnes of tin-in-concentrate in January-April, down 4.5% on the same period of 2008, although output should increase in the second half of this year as the expansion of ore treatment facilities at its Pitinga mine is completed.
