Corporate development
On November 1, 2016, Alcoa Inc. spun off its bauxite, alumina, and aluminium operations to a new company called Alcoa Corp.[6][7][8][9][10][11] After that, Alcoa Inc. was renamed Arconic Inc., keeping operations in aluminium rolling (excluding the Warrick operations), aluminium plate, precision castings, and aerospace and industrial fasteners.[9][10][11][12][13]
Klaus Kleinfeld, Arconic's CEO at the time of the Alcoa split, stepped down in April 2017. Arconic's board said he had displayed poor judgment in unauthorised interactions with activist shareholder Elliott Management[14][15] (he sent a letter to Elliott founder Paul Singer making threatening insinuations about an incident involving "a Native American feather headdress and a rendition of 'Singin’ in the Rain' performed in a fountain" during a trip to the 2006 World Cup).[16][17] After what the New York Times called a "Bruising and Public Dispute", Elliott was subsequently given three seats on Arconic's main board.[18]
The company focuses on turning aluminium and other lightweight metals into engineered products such as turbine blades for sectors including aerospace and automotive.[19][20][21] It traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ARNC ticker.[22][23][24]
In July 2018, Arconic announced a two-year joint development agreement with aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin, focused on technologies like metal 3D printing to produce new lightweight structures and systems,[25] and a new long-term contract to supply aluminium products to Boeing.[26]
On February 6, 2019, Arconic replaced CEO Chip Blankenship. His departure came two weeks after Arconic announced it was backed out of a sale to Apollo Global Management, a decision that sent Arconic shares tumbling,[27] and put pressure on Arconic to make internal improvements.[15] Two days later, on February 8, 2019, Arconic Inc. announced that it would split into two separate businesses.[28] Arconic Inc. would be renamed Howmet Aerospace Inc. and a new company, Arconic Corporation, would be set up and spun out tax free from Arconic Inc.[29] The new Arconic Corporation would be focused on rolled aluminium products and Howmet Aerospace on engineered products.[30] The separation was completed effective April 1, 2020.[31][32]
In April 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, Arconic announced actions to mitigate the impacts of the disease, including director, senior manager and salaried employee pay cuts, restructuring of the salaried workforce, temporary closure of facilities in Tennessee and New York and decreased production at other US facilities, and similar measures at rolling mill facilities in Europe, China and Russia.[33]
In November 2022, to comply with sanctions on Moscow over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Arconic sold its operations in Russia to the owner of state-backed metals company VSMPO-AVISMA for $230 million.[34][35]
In May 2023, Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire Arconic in an all-cash deal worth $5.2 billion, including debt.[36] The purchase was completed in August 2023,[4] when Chris Ayers was named as the new CEO of Arconic from September 11, 2023.[37]
In January 2024, Arconic announced it was selling its China-based manufacturing operations in Qinhuangdao and Kunshan, employing about 860 people, in a deal worth up to $300 million. The China business was said to be subscale in comparison to other parts of Arconic, and had no sensitive intellectual property.[38]
