Alcoa Inc, its top spot in the world aluminium trade under threat as a result of the merger of Canadian, French and Swiss firms, hit back yesterday with the acquisition of Reynolds Metals. In a joint statement the companies announced the all-share offer valued at $4.4 billion (€4.1 billion), whereby Reynolds shareholders will receive 1.06 shares of Alcoa common stock for each share they hold.

While Alcoa first proposed a deal with Reynolds last March, the recent push came in the wake of a three-way trans-national combination that will link Pechiney of France, Alcan of Canada and the Swiss Alusuisse Lonza Group.