Rio Tinto completes sale of Alcan Cable US arm

Mining giant Rio Tinto has completed the sale of the North American portion of its Alcan Cable business to General Cable.

The sale of the wire and cable manufacturer, designer and supplier netted Rio around $151m in cash. The disposal of the North American business as well as an Alcan Cable operation in Tianjin, China, was agreed in May.

Rio added the sale of the Tianjin operation is expected to close later in the year, once regulatory approvals are received, for about $34m in cash.

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In a separate statement General Cable said the North American portion of Alcan Cable represented approximately 85% to 90% of overall revenues of Alcan Cable.

"The company estimates that the overall Alcan Cable business will contribute approximately $650-$700m in annual revenues at current aluminum prices, and over a cycle, the operating margin profile is expected to be consistent with the company's existing North American businesses," General said.

Last year Rio announced plans to sell 13 aluminium facilities in Australia, Europe and the US, in a bid to trim its Alcan business.

At the time Rio said the 13 businesses were "no longer aligned with our strategy", having bought Alcan for $38bn in 2007, at the top of the market.