Alcoa to buy RTI Intl in $1.5B deal, expand aerospace push

Alcoa is taking another step to bolster its stake in the aerospace industry with a $1.5 billion deal to buy titanium supplier RTI International Metals.

The New York-based company said Monday that it will buy the specialty metal products company in an all-stock deal. Alcoa said the aerospace and defense industries accounted for 80 percent of Pittsburgh-based RTI’s revenues last year.

Alcoa has been shifting from its traditional role of mining and smelting aluminum to becoming a more diversified maker of lightweight metal and alloy products for aerospace, autos and other industries. It has benefited from demand for aluminum and other lightweight materials used to make planes more fuel-efficient.

Last week, Alcoa said it completed its acquisition of the German titanium and aluminum structural castings company Tital. That company’s titanium castings are used in aircraft engines and frames. It also completed in the fourth quarter the purchase of Firth Rixson, which makes alloy parts for jet engines.

For its latest deal, Alcoa plans to trade slightly more than 2.8 Alcoa shares for each RTI share. That equals a value of $41 per RTI share and represents a premium of 50 percent to RTI’s Friday closing price of $27.28.

The $1.5 billion deal value includes $330 million in RTI cash and up to $517 million in the company’s convertible notes.

Alcoa also said Friday that it will review 14 percent of its global smelting capacity and 16 percent of its refining capacity for possible curtailment or divestiture. The company has curtailed, closed or sold 31 percent of its smelting capacity since 2007.

Shares of RTI International Markets Inc. jumped 42 percent, or $11.41, to $38,69 in premarket trading about 20 minutes before the market open on Monday. Alcoa shares fell 55 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $13.93.