Story Photos
 Photo Daily News file photo Longview Aluminum's pier and crane, photographed earlier this year, were not a part of the recent auction. |
Importer picks smelter site
Wednesday, June 23, 2004 8:05 AM PDT
By Eric Apalategui
Printable version
E-mail this articleA deal that could bring a mineral-importing company and new jobs to the idle Longview Aluminum LLC site could be worked out within a week.
Bill Brandt, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the liquidation of the bankrupt smelter's assets, confirmed Tuesday that he has accepted earnest money from the company as part of the purchase process.
Brandt, a Chicago businessman, said he has a confidentiality agreement with the company while negotiations are in progress. That pact prohibits him from releasing the company's name or discussing specifics of its plans, pending an upcoming filing of the proposal in bankruptcy court.
"I am pleased as punch to see that some jobs are coming to Cowlitz County," Brandt said last week, when he estimated that the company could employ a few hundred people on a couple shifts. The new company wouldn't replace the more than 900 well-paid workers that Reynolds Metals Co. once boasted, Brandt said, but it would be one of the biggest recent job boosts to the region's struggling economy.
The company wants Longview Aluminum's pier, ship-unloading equipment and storage facilities along the Columbia River to import the mineral product and perhaps do some basic processing of the material, Brandt previously said. In April, the trustee removed those items from the list of property auctioned off to help pay the smelter's creditors.
Brandt said the deal looks strong, in part because the company put up 10 percent of the undisclosed purchase price. Also, Brandt said, the company hired Bruce Wald, one of Chicago's best bankruptcy lawyers, to handle the case.
Wald, also reached Tuesday, confirmed that he represents a client interested in the Longview Aluminum property but couldn't yet divulge details pending formal release of the proposal or an OK from his client.
The actual 700 acres the plant occupies still belongs to Alcoa Inc. and is not part of the current proposal.
Alcoa granted a 99-year lease when selling the plant's assets to Chicago-based businessman Michael Lynch and associates for $155 million in 2001. Lynch promptly shut down the plant, sold its electricity contract back to the Bonneville Power Administration for $226 million and never smelted an ounce of aluminum before the company filed bankruptcy in March 2003.
Brandt said he may have to strike the deal for Longview Aluminum's assets -- including about 96 years left on the land lease -- without Alcoa, which he said has put up "roadblocks" to halt the deal. For example, Brandt said last week, Alcoa wants the new company to post a large bond for removal of the plant's smelting pots and also wants a share of money generated from selling leftover aluminum. Brandt said the value of the metal likely would just cover removal costs.
Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowry said late last week that he didn't know about negotiations involving the Longview plant, but he believes there may be clauses in the original deal with Lynch that could thwart the plant's purchase if it's not favorable to the company.
Alcoa's Pittsburgh offices were closed by the time Brandt confirmed progress with the proposed sale late Tuesday afternoon, but earlier Lowry said, "We have always been in a position where we are doing what we can to make sure we are protecting our interests as well as the interests of the community at large."
Daily News City Editor Andre Stepankowsky contributed to this report.
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