Case Name :      Alcan (A): Anticipating Industry Change

Authors :           Johnny Boghossian, Karl Moore, Amrita Nain, Gregory Vit

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            909M71

Discipline :        General Management

Case Length :    18 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

In December 2006, Alcan was the second largest producer of aluminum in the world, but the industry was consolidating. The case traces the development of the aluminum industry since World War II to the recent emergence of China as an economic power and the accompanying rise in commodity prices. Alcan had to decide between two offers: to be acquired or to go it alone. The first offer was from Alcoa and the other from Rio Tinto. Alcoa was the world leader in the production of aluminum and, like Alcan, was engaged in significant technological research and development. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto was one of the largest mining companies in the world, but had minor aluminum operations and, in general, few downstream processing plants or technologies. Students are asked to identify Alcan’s key resources and consider which strategy would make best use of them.