Apollo Management, the US private equity company currently weighing up bids for J Sainsbury and Countrywide, has bought aluminium assets worth $1.2bn (€890m) from Xstrata, the Anglo-Swiss mining company.
Xstrata, which bought Canadian rival Falconbridge for C$41bn (€28.5bn) in June announced the sale of Xstrata Aluminium in a regulatory news statement this morning.