RTI shareholders to vote on Alcoa merger this month

Staff report

NILES

RTI International Inc. shareholders will take a vote July 21 on the future $1.5 billion merger with Alcoa, a leading metals company.

Shareholders will take the vote during their annual meeting in Seven Springs, Pa., according to a June filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In March, RTI – a titanium company that was based in Weathersfield before moving to Pittsburgh in 2008 – reached a definitive merger agreement with Alcoa.

Under the terms of the agreement, Alcoa will acquire all outstanding shares of RTI in a stock-for-stock transaction. RTI shareholders will receive 2.8315 Alcoa shares for each RTI share, representing a value of $41 per RTI share based on Alcoa’s closing price March 6. The transaction has an enterprise value of $1.5 billion, including $330 million of RTI cash on hand and up to $517 million in RTI’s convertible notes.

RTI still has a location in Niles. During a plant tour there in April, the CEO of Alcoa, Klaus Kleinfeld, told the 500 employees to “get ready for more business.” RTI also has three plants in Canton.

In a June 24 filing with the securities and exchange commission, RTI Chief Executive Officer Dawne S. Hickton wrote a letter about how RTI is ready for this move with Alcoa. Hickton will work with Kleinfeld and Olivier Jarrault, executive vice president of Alcoa, for a smooth transition during the merger, but what her position will be after the transition she could not say.

“We are prepared to operate as a valuable contributor within the Alcoa family of businesses,” she wrote. “Our evolution from mill provider to a leading vertically integrated global supplier of advanced titanium and speciality metals products made us a highly attractive acquisition target.”

RTI is expected to increase Alcoa’s non-aluminum downstream revenues by 64 percent and enhance Alcoa’s additive manufacturing capabilities.

The New York-headquartered Alcoa foresees RTI contributing $1.2 billion in revenues in 2019.