Hindalco Industries has terminated its proposed $125 million acquisition of US specialty alumina maker AluChem Companies after waiting more than a year for regulatory clearance, ending a transaction that had been repeatedly delayed by disruptions to the US foreign-investment review process.
The Aditya Birla Group company had announced the proposed acquisition in June 2025. The cash transaction was expected to be completed within two to four months and would have given Hindalco ownership of 100 per cent of AluChem at an enterprise value of $125 million, or about ₹1,200 crore.
AluChem manufactures specialty calcined and tabular alumina, products used across the specialty alumina value chain. Hindalco had planned the acquisition as part of its effort to expand its global footprint in specialty alumina and related products, particularly in the United States.
The transaction remained pending through 2026 while it underwent review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS. The committee examines foreign investments in US businesses on national security grounds.
According to Hindalco’s earlier updates, the review timeline was affected by partial shutdowns of the US federal government, which paused the statutory clock for CFIUS reviews. After the first shutdown ended on November 12, 2025, the company said the 43-day shutdown period would be added to the 105-day review timeline. A second three-day shutdown added further time, while another partial shutdown had temporarily halted the review by February 2026.
Hindalco subsequently extended the expected completion date to July 2, 2026, and later indicated that the matter was expected to reach finality by September 2, subject to final clearance. The transaction, however, remained unresolved into October, leading to its termination.
The decision illustrates how a cross-border acquisition in an industrial materials segment can remain subject to extended regulatory uncertainty even after commercial terms have been agreed. In this case, the delay did not arise from a reported change to the acquisition’s financial structure but from the prolonged review process and interruptions to the US government’s administrative timetable.
Hindalco said ending the AluChem transaction would not change its broader strategy of expanding its high-value, technology-led value-added products business in specialty alumina. The company added that it would continue to evaluate opportunities, including in the US, in line with that strategy.
The termination leaves Hindalco’s specialty alumina expansion strategy intact while ending the specific acquisition announced in 2025. The company’s next steps will involve evaluating other opportunities in the segment, including potential investments in the United States.