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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, 2013

Registration No. 333-188556

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Amendment No. 3

to

FORM F-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Constellium N.V.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

The Netherlands   3341   Not Applicable

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

Tupolevlaan 41-61

1119 NW Schiphol-Rijk

The Netherlands

+31 20 654 97 80

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Corporation Service Company

80 State Street

Albany, NY 12207-2543

(518) 433-4740

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Andrew J. Nussbaum

Karessa L. Cain

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

51 West 52nd Street

New York, NY 10019

Phone: (212) 403-1000

Fax: (212) 403-2000

 

Keith L. Halverstam

Christopher R. Plaut

Latham & Watkins LLP

885 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10022

Phone: (212) 906-1200

Fax: (212) 751-4864

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public : As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.     ¨

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.     ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.     ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.     ¨

 

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until this registration statement shall become effective on such date as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to such Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject to Completion

Preliminary Prospectus dated May 21, 2013

PROSPECTUS

22,222,222 Class A Ordinary Shares

 

LOGO

Constellium N.V.

(Incorporated in the Netherlands)

 

 

We are offering a total of 11,111,111 of our Class A ordinary shares, nominal value €0.02 per share and the selling shareholders named in this prospectus are offering 11,111,111 of our Class A ordinary shares, nominal value €0.02 per share. Throughout this prospectus, we refer to our Class A ordinary shares, nominal value €0.02 per share, as “ordinary shares.” The underwriters may also purchase up to 3,333,333 Class A ordinary shares from the selling shareholders at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within 30 days to cover over-allotments, if any. This is the first public offering of our Class A ordinary shares. Currently, there is no public market for our Class A ordinary shares.

We currently expect that the initial public offering price will be between $17.00 and $19.00 per ordinary share. We intend to apply to list our ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris under the symbol “CSTM” on each exchange.

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

Investing in our ordinary shares involves risks. See “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 26 of this prospectus.

 

 

 

     Per
Ordinary
Share
   Total

Initial public offering price

   $            $        

Underwriting discount and commissions

   $    $

Proceeds to Constellium N.V. before expenses

   $    $

Proceeds to selling shareholders before expenses

   $    $

We refer you to “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)” beginning on page 183 of this prospectus for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.

Our ordinary shares will be ready for delivery on or about May         , 2013.

 

 

 

Goldman, Sachs & Co.    Deutsche Bank Securities    J.P. Morgan

 

 

 

Barclays

 

BNP PARIBAS

 

 

HSBC

 

Credit Suisse

 

UBS Investment Bank

 

SOCIETE GENERALE

 

 

Morgan Stanley

 

Citigroup

 

Lazard Capital Markets

 

 

 

Apollo Global Securities   Moelis & Company   Rothschild   Davenport & Company LLC

The date of this prospectus is May         , 2013.


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

SUMMARY

     1   

THE OFFERING

     20   

RISK FACTORS

     26   

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     48   

USE OF PROCEEDS

     49   

DIVIDEND POLICY

     50   

CAPITALIZATION

     51   

DILUTION

     54   

OUR HISTORY AND CORPORATE STRUCTURE

     56   

SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

     58   

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

     60   

BUSINESS

     92   

MANAGEMENT

     124   

PRINCIPAL AND SELLING SHAREHOLDERS

     138   

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

     141   

DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN INDEBTEDNESS

     145   

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

     149   

ORDINARY SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

     173   

MATERIAL TAX CONSEQUENCES

     175   

UNDERWRITING (CONFLICTS OF INTEREST)

     185   

EXPENSES OF THE OFFERING

     194   

LEGAL MATTERS

     194   

EXPERTS—SUCCESSOR

     194   

EXPERTS—PREDECESSOR

     194   

ENFORCEMENTS OF JUDGMENTS

     195   

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

     195   

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

     F-1   

 

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We and the selling shareholders and the underwriters have not authorized anyone to provide any information other than that contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we may have referred you. We and the selling shareholders and the underwriters do not take any responsibility for, and cannot provide any assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We and the selling shareholders and the underwriters have not authorized any other person to provide you with different or additional information, and none of us are making an offer to sell the ordinary shares in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. This offering is being made in the United States and elsewhere solely on the basis of the information contained in this prospectus. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of the prospectus or any sale of the ordinary shares. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since the date on the front cover of this prospectus.

For investors outside of the United States, neither we, the selling shareholders nor any of the underwriters have done anything that would permit the offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. You are required to inform yourselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus outside of the United States.

 

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MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA

This prospectus includes estimates of market share and industry data and forecasts that we have obtained from industry publications, surveys and forecasts, as well as from internal company sources. Industry publications, surveys and forecasts generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, we, the selling shareholders, and the underwriters have not independently verified any of the data from third-party sources, nor have we, the selling shareholders, or the underwriters ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied upon therein. In addition, this prospectus includes market share and industry data that we have prepared primarily based on our knowledge of the industry in which we operate. Statements as to our market position relative to our competitors are based on volume (by tons) for the year ended December 31, 2012, and unless otherwise noted, internal analysis and estimates may not have been verified by independent sources. Our estimates, in particular as they relate to market share and our general expectations, involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors.”

All information regarding our market and industry is based on the latest data currently available to us, which in some cases may be several years old. In addition, some of the data and forecasts that we have obtained from industry publications and surveys and/or internal company sources are provided in foreign currencies.

BASIS OF PREPARATION

Unless the context indicates otherwise, when we refer to “we,” “our,” “us,” “Constellium” and “the Company” in this prospectus, we are referring to Constellium N.V. and its subsidiaries.

On January 4, 2011, Omega Holdco B.V., which later changed its name to Constellium Holdco B.V., and then again to Constellium N.V. (the “Successor”), acquired the Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products business unit (the “AEP Business” or the “Predecessor”) from affiliates of Rio Tinto (the “Acquisition”). The Predecessor’s financial information has been derived from the audited combined financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2010 included elsewhere in this prospectus. The Predecessor’s financial information has been prepared on a carve-out basis from the accounting records of Rio Tinto to present the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the combined AEP Business up to the date of the divestment. For more information regarding arrangements between Constellium and Rio Tinto regarding preparation of the financial statements, see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions – Agreement Relating to 2009 and 2010 Financial Statements.”

The financial information of Constellium N.V. and its subsidiaries after the Acquisition has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 included elsewhere in this prospectus.

For comparison purposes, our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 are presented alongside the results of operations of the Predecessor for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010. However, it should be noted that the comparability of our Successor periods to the Predecessor periods are impacted by the application of purchase accounting and the fact that the Predecessor accounts were prepared on a carve-out basis. The financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Predecessor do not necessarily reflect what our financial position or results of operations would have been if we had been operated as a standalone entity during the periods covered by the audited combined financial statements and are not indicative of our future results of operations and financial position.

As of December 30, 2011, we disposed of a number of entities in one of our operating segments, the specialty chemicals and raw materials supply chain services division, Alcan International Network (“AIN”). These operations have been classified as discontinued operations in the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 and also represented as discontinued operations in the audited combined

 

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financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2010. The assets and liabilities of AIN have not been presented as held for sale in the combined financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2010 as AIN did not meet the criteria for such classification as of December 31, 2010.

TRADEMARKS

We have proprietary rights to trademarks used in this prospectus which are important to our business, many of which are registered under applicable intellectual property laws. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the “ ® ” or “ ” symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent possible under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies. Each trademark, trade name or service mark of any other company appearing in this prospectus is the property of its respective holder.

 

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SUMMARY

The following summary highlights certain information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and is qualified in its entirety by the more detailed information and consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Because this is a summary, it may not contain all of the information that is important to you in making a decision to invest in our ordinary shares. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully read the entire prospectus, including the “Risk Factors” and “Important Information and Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” sections, our audited combined and consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, when we refer to “we,” “our,” “us,” “successor” and “the Company” for purposes of this prospectus, we are referring to Constellium N.V. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

On January 4, 2011, Omega Holdco B.V., which later changed its name to Constellium Holdco B.V., and then again to Constellium N.V., acquired the Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products business unit (the “AEP Business” or the “Predecessor”) from affiliates of Rio Tinto (the “Acquisition”). For comparison purposes, our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 are presented alongside the results of operations of the Predecessor for the year ended December 31, 2010. However, our Successor and Predecessor periods are not directly comparable due to the impact of the application of purchase accounting and the preparation of the Predecessor accounts on a carve-out basis. The financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Predecessor do not necessarily reflect what our financial position or results of operations would have been if we had been operated as a stand-alone entity during the periods covered by the Predecessor financial statements and are not indicative of our future results of operations and financial position.

Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are defined and discussed in footnotes (2) and (3) to the “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.” Management Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Performance Indicators.” Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Covenant Compliance and Financial Ratios.”

The Company

Overview

We are a global leader in the design and manufacture of a broad range of innovative specialty rolled and extruded aluminum products, serving primarily the aerospace, packaging and automotive end-markets. We have a strategic footprint of manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Europe and China. Our business model is to add value by converting aluminum into semi-fabricated products. We believe we are the supplier of choice to numerous blue-chip customers for many value-added products with performance-critical applications. Our product portfolio commands higher margins as compared to less differentiated, more commoditized fabricated aluminum products, such as common alloy coils, paintstock, foilstock and soft alloys for construction and distribution.

We operate 26 production facilities, 10 administrative and commercial sites and one research and development (“R&D”) center and have approximately 8,845 employees. We believe our portfolio of flexible and integrated facilities is among the most technologically advanced in the industry. It is our view that our established presence in the United States and Europe and our growing presence in China strategically position us to service our global customer base. For example, based on information available to us as a market participant, we believe we are one of only two suppliers of aluminum products to the aerospace market with facilities in both the United States and Europe. We believe this gives us a key competitive advantage in servicing the needs of our

 

 

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aerospace customers, including Airbus S.A.S. and The Boeing Company. We believe our well-invested facilities combined with more than 50 years of manufacturing experience, quality and innovation and pre-eminent R&D capabilities have put us in a leadership position in our core markets.

We seek to sell to end-markets that have attractive characteristics for aluminum, including (i) higher margin products, (ii) stability through economic cycles and (iii) favorable growth fundamentals, such as customer order backlogs in aerospace and substitution trends in automotive and European can sheet. We are the leading supplier of plates, the leading European supplier of can body stock and a leading global supplier of automotive structures. This has enabled us to develop a stable and diversified leading global supplier of aerospace customer base and to enjoy long-standing relationships with our largest customers. Our relationships with our top 20 customers average over 25 years, with more than 30% of our 2012 volumes governed by contracts valid until 2015 or later. Our customer base includes market leading firms in aerospace, packaging, and automotive including Airbus, Boeing, Rexam PLC, Ball Corporation, Crown Holdings, Inc., and several premium automotive original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, including BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG. We believe that we are a “mission critical” supplier to many of our customers due to our technological and R&D capabilities as well as the lengthy and complex qualification process required for many of our products. Our core products require close collaboration and, in many instances, joint development with our customers.

For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, we shipped approximately 1,033 kt, 1,058 kt and 972 kt of finished products, generated revenues of €3,610 million, €3,556 million and €2,957 million, generated profits of €134 million and incurred losses of €174 million and €207 million for the periods respectively, and generated Adjusted EBITDA of €228 million, €160 million and €48 million, respectively. The financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2012 represented a 2% decrease in shipments, a 2% increase in revenues and a 43% increase in Adjusted EBITDA from the prior year. Please see the reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis—Management Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation” and footnote (3) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

Our Operating Segments

Our business is organized into three operating segments: (i) Aerospace & Transportation, (ii) Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products, and (iii) Automotive Structures & Industry.

 

 

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The following charts present our revenues by operating segment and geography for the year ended December 31, 2012:

 

LOGO

 

1  

Revenue by geographic zone is based on the destination of the shipment.

Aerospace & Transportation Operating Segment (“A&T”)

Our Aerospace & Transportation operating segment has market leadership positions in technologically advanced aluminum and specialty materials products with wide applications across the global aerospace, defense, transportation, and industrial sectors. We offer a wide range of products including plate, sheet, extrusions and precision casting products which allows us to offer tailored solutions to our customers. We seek to differentiate our products and act as a key partner to our customers through our broad product range, advanced R&D capabilities, extensive recycling capabilities and portfolio of plants with an extensive range of capabilities across North America and Europe. In order to reinforce the competitiveness of our metal solutions, we design our processes and alloys with a view to optimizing our customers’ operations and costs. This includes offering services such as customizing alloys to our customers’ processing requirements, processing short lead time orders and providing vendor managed inventories or tolling arrangements. The Aerospace & Transportation operating segment accounted for 33% of our revenues and 45% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Eight of our manufacturing facilities produce products that are sold via our Aerospace & Transportation operating segment. Our aerospace plate manufacturing facilities in Ravenswood (West Virginia, United States), Issoire (France) and Sierre (Switzerland) offer the full spectrum of plate required by the aerospace industries (alloys, temper, dimensions, pre-machined) and have unique capabilities such as producing some wide and very high gauge plates required for some aerospace programs (civil & commercial). Sierre is in the process of becoming a new qualified aerospace heat treat plate mill. A step in this process was successfully achieved with the agreement in February 2013 by one of the largest commercial aircraft manufacturers to authorize Sierre to become a rolling and heat treat subcontractor of Issoire. We expect Sierre to become a fully qualified source for aerospace plate in 2015.

Downstream aluminum products for the aerospace market require relatively high levels of R&D investment and advanced technological capabilities, and therefore tend to command higher margins compared to more

 

 

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commoditized products. We work in close collaboration with our customers to develop highly engineered solutions to fulfill their specific requirements. For example, we developed AIRWARE ® , a lightweight specialty aluminum-lithium alloy, for our aerospace customers to address demand for lighter and more environmentally sound aircraft; it combines optimized density, corrosion resistance and strength in order to achieve up to 25% weight reduction compared to other aluminum products and significantly higher corrosion and fatigue resistance than equivalent composite products. In addition, unlike composite products, any scrap produced in the AIRWARE ® manufacturing process can be fully recycled, which reduces production costs. Since the opening of our AIRWARE ® casthouse in Issoire, we are the first company to commercialize and produce AIRWARE ® on an industrial scale, and the material is currently being used on a number of major aircraft models, including the newest Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, the fuselage of Bombardier’s single-aisle twinjet C-Series short-haul planes, the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Our customer base includes Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Dassault, Bombardier and Lockheed Martin.

Aerospace products are typically subject to long qualification, development and supply lead times and the majority of our contracts with our largest aerospace customers have a term of five years or longer, which provides excellent volume and profitability visibility. In addition, demand for our aerospace products typically correlates directly with aircraft backlogs and build rates. As of January 2013, the backlog reported by Airbus and Boeing for commercial aircraft reached 9,104 units on a combined basis, representing approximately eight years of production at current build rates.

The following table summarizes our volume, revenues, Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for our Aerospace & Transportation operating segment for the periods presented:

 

     Predecessor
for the year  ended
December 31,
         Successor
for the
year ended
December 31,
 

(€ in millions, unless otherwise noted)

       2010                2011         2012      
                (unaudited)        

Aerospace & Transportation:

           

Segment Revenues

     810             1,016        1,182   

Segment Shipments (kt)

     195             216        224   

Segment Revenues (€/ton)

     4,154             4,704        5,278   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (1)

     35             26        92   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (€/ton)

     179             120        411   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) (2)

     4          3     8

Segment Adjusted EBITDA (3)

     36             41        105   

 

(1) Management Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Please see the reconciliation in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Performance Indicators” and also in footnote (2) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”
(2) Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is not a measure defined under IFRS. Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Segment Revenue.
(3) Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Management Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation.” Please see the reconciliation in that section and in footnote (3) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

 

 

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Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products Operating Segment (“P&ARP”)

In our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment, we produce and develop customized aluminum sheet and coil solutions. Approximately 79% of operating segment volume for the year ended December 31, 2012 was in packaging applications, which primarily include beverage and food can stock, as well as closure stock and foil stock. The remaining 21% of operating segment volume for that period was in automotive and customized solutions, which include technologically advanced products for the automotive and industrial sectors. Our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment accounted for 43% of revenues and 39% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

We are the leading European supplier of can body stock and the leading worldwide supplier of closure stock. We are also a major European player in automotive rolled products for Auto Body Sheet (the structural framework of a car) and heat exchangers. We have a diverse customer base, consisting of many of the world’s largest beverage and food can manufacturers, specialty packaging producers, leading automotive firms and global industrial companies. Our customer base includes Rexam PLC, Audi AG, Daimler AG, Peugeot S.A., Ball Corporation, Can-Pack S.A., Crown Holdings, Inc., Alanod GmbH & Co. KG, Ardagh Group S.A., Amcor Ltd. and ThyssenKrupp AG.

We have two integrated rolling operations located in Europe’s industrial heartland. Neuf-Brisach, our facility on the border of France and Germany, is, in our view, a uniquely integrated aluminum rolling and finishing facility. Singen, located in Germany, is specialized in high-margin niche applications and has an integrated hot/cold rolling line and high-grade cold mills with special surfaces capabilities that facilitate unique metallurgy and lower production costs. We believe Singen has enhanced our reputation in many product areas, most notably in the area of functional high-gloss surfaces for the automotive, lighting, solar and cosmetic industries, other decorative applications, closure stock, paintstock and foilstock.

Our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment has historically been relatively resilient during periods of economic downturn and has had relatively limited exposure to economic cycles and periods of financial instability. According to CRU, during the 2008-2009 economic crisis, can stock volumes decreased by 10% in 2009 versus 2007 levels as compared to a 24% decline for flat rolled aluminum products volumes in aggregate during the same period. This demonstrates that demand for beverage cans tends to be less correlated with general economic cycles. In addition, we believe European can body stock has an attractive long-term growth outlook due to the following trends: (i) end-market growth in beer, soft drinks and energy drinks, (ii) increasing use of cans versus glass in the beer market, (iii) increasing use of aluminum in can body stock in the European market, at the expense of steel, and (iv) increasing consumption in eastern Europe linked to purchasing power growth.

 

 

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The following table summarizes our volume, revenues, Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment for the periods presented:

 

     Predecessor
for the year ended
December 31,
         Successor
for the
year
ended
December 31,
 
(€ in millions, unless otherwise noted)      2010              2011         2012      
                (unaudited)        

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products:

           

Segment Revenues

     1,373             1,625        1,554   

Segment Shipments (kt)

     588             621        606   

Segment Revenues (€/ton)

     2,335             2,617        2,564   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (1)

     74             63        80   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (€/ton)

     126             101        132   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) (2)

     5          4     5

Segment Adjusted EBITDA (3)

     46             95        92   

 

(1) Management Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Please see the reconciliation in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Performance Indicators” and also in footnote (2) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”
(2) Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is not a measure defined under IFRS. Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Segment Revenue.
(3) Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Management Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation.” Please see the reconciliation in that section and in footnote (3) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

Automotive Structures & Industry Operating Segment (“AS&I”)

Our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment produces (i) technologically advanced structures for the automotive industry including crash management systems, side impact beams and cockpit carriers and (ii) soft and hard alloy extrusions and large profiles for automotive, rail, road, energy, building and industrial applications. We complement our products with a comprehensive offering of downstream technology and services, which include pre-machining, surface treatment, R&D and technical support services. Our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment accounted for 24% of revenues and 20% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

We believe that we are the second largest provider of automotive structures in the world and the leading supplier of hard alloys and large profiles for industrial and other transportation markets in Europe. We manufacture automotive structures products for some of the largest European and North American car manufacturers supplying a global market, including Daimler AG, BMW AG, Audi AG, Chrysler Group LLC and Ford Motor Co. We also have a strong presence in soft alloys in France and Germany, with customized solutions for a diversity of end-markets.

Eighteen of our manufacturing facilities, located in Germany, the United States, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Switzerland and China, produce products sold in our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment. We believe our local presence, downstream services and industry leading cycle times help to ensure that we respond to our customer demands in a timely and consistent fashion. Our two integrated remelt and casting centers in Switzerland and the Czech Republic both provide security of metal supply and contribute to our recycling efforts.

 

 

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The following table summarizes our volume, revenues, Management Adjusted EBITDA and Segment Adjusted EBITDA for our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment for the periods presented:

 

     Predecessor
for the year
ended
December 31,
         Successor
for the year
ended
December 31,
 
(€ in millions, unless otherwise noted)    2010            2011     2012  
                (unaudited)        

Automotive Structures & Industry:

           

Segment Revenues

     754             910        861   

Segment Shipments (kt)

     212             219        206   

Segment Revenues (€/ton)

     3,557             4,155        4,180   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (1)

     (4          20        40   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (€/ton)

     (19          91        194   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) (2)

     (1%          2     5

Segment Adjusted EBITDA (3)

     (11          37        46   

 

(1) Management Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Please see the reconciliation in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Performance Indicators” and also in footnote (2) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”
(2) Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is not a measure defined under IFRS. Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Segment Revenue.
(3) Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Management Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation.” Please see the reconciliation in that section and in footnote (3) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

Holdings and Corporate

Our holdings and corporate segment includes the net cost of our head offices in Schiphol-Rijk, the Netherlands, our treasury center in Zurich and our corporate support services functions in Paris. Our holdings and corporate segment accounted for 0% of revenues, (4%) of Management Adjusted EBITDA and (7%) of Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012. Our Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of operations—Key Performance Indicators—Management Adjusted EBITDA” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Management Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation,” respectively.

Voreppe Research & Development Center

Voreppe is our dedicated R&D center in Grenoble, France and employs approximately 85 scientists and 87 technicians. Voreppe uses its full-scale facilities, which include a pilot casthouse that enables process and alloy development on an industrial scale, and external links with several universities and other research facilities to develop new solutions and meet customers’ needs. Our scientists and technicians are active in the development of aluminum product metallurgy and casting, rolling and extrusion technologies. Voreppe’s proven track record includes development of an intellectual property portfolio with approximately 865 active patents organized into over 150 patent families.

We believe that a major factor in our R&D success has been the close interaction with key customers in our most technically demanding markets at the early stages of the development and innovation process. This collaborative effort with long-term customers has led to the in-house development of advanced alloys and

 

 

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solutions that have applications for products sold to multiple end-markets. This collaboration often takes the form of formal partnership or co-development arrangements or the formation of joint teams with our customers.

An example of such a development is our Surfalex ® alloy, which was developed for the demanding specifications of the auto body market. We believe the alloy’s superior surface appearance combined with high mechanical resistance level and optimized formability make it an alloy of choice for this sector. This alloy is already used at premium OEM’s like Audi, Porsche and Daimler.

Our Industry

The specialty metals industry is comprised of producers of a variety of high performance metals and semi-fabricated products manufactured from those metals, which include stainless steel and titanium in addition to aluminum. We also compete with producers of other materials that can be used in our target end markets, such as composites in aerospace or copper in certain automotive applications, as well as traditional carbon steel in automotive and packaging. Aluminum is lightweight, has a high strength-to-weight ratio and is resistant to corrosion. It compares favorably to several alternative materials, such as steel, in these respects. Aluminum is also unique in the respect that it can also be recycled repeatedly without any material decline in performance or quality. The recycling of aluminum delivers energy and capital investment savings relative to the cost of producing both primary aluminum and many other competing materials. Due to these qualities, the penetration of aluminum into a wide variety of applications continues to increase. We believe that long-term growth in aluminum consumption generally, and demand for those products we produce specifically, will be supported by factors that include growing populations, continued urbanization in emerging markets and increasing focus globally on sustainability and environmental issues. Aluminum is increasingly seen as the material of choice in a number of applications, including aerospace, packaging and automotive.

The following charts illustrate expected global demand for aluminum extruded and rolled products. The expected growth through 2017 for the extruded products market and the flat rolled products market is 6.2% and 5.5%, respectively.

 

 

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Projected Aluminum Demand 2012-2017 (in thousand metric tons)

 

LOGO

The global aluminum industry consists of (i) mining companies that produce bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is ultimately derived, (ii) primary aluminum producers that refine bauxite into alumina and smelt alumina into aluminum, (iii) aluminum semi-fabricated products manufacturers, including aluminum casters, recyclers, extruders and flat rolled products producers (such as Constellium) and (iv) integrated companies that are present across multiple stages of the aluminum production chain.

The price of aluminum, quoted on the London Metal Exchange (which we refer to in this prospectus as “LME”), is subject to global supply and demand dynamics and moves independently of the costs of many of its inputs. Producers of primary aluminum have limited ability to manage the volatility of aluminum prices and can experience a high degree of volatility in their cash flows and profitability. We do not smelt aluminum, nor do we participate in other upstream activities such as mining or refining bauxite. We recycle aluminum, both for our own use and as a service to our customers.

Rolled and extruded aluminum product prices are generally based on price of metal plus a conversion fee ( i.e. , the cost incurred to convert the aluminum into its semi-finished product). The price of aluminum is not a significant driver of our financial performance, in contrast to the more direct relationship of the price of aluminum to the financial performance of primary aluminum producers. Instead, the financial performance of producers of rolled and extruded aluminum products, such as Constellium, is driven by the dynamics in the end markets that they serve, their relative positioning in those markets and the efficiency of their industrial operations.

 

 

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Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that the following competitive strengths differentiate our business and will allow us to maintain and build upon our strong industry position:

Leading positions in each of our attractive and complementary end-markets

In our core industries—aerospace, packaging and automotive—we have market leading positions and established relationships with many of the main manufacturers. Within these attractive and diverse end-markets, we are particularly focused on product lines that require expertise, advanced R&D, and technology capabilities to produce. The drivers of demand in our core industries are varied and largely unrelated to one another.

We are the largest supplier globally of aerospace plates. We believe that our ability to fulfill the technical, R&D and quality requirements needed to supply the aerospace market gives us a significant competitive advantage. In addition, based on our knowledge as a market participant, we are one of only two suppliers of aerospace plate to have qualified facilities on two continents, which enables us to more effectively supply both Airbus and Boeing. We have sought to develop our strategic platform by making significant investments to increase our capacity and improve our capabilities and to develop our proprietary AIRWARE ® material solution. We believe we are well-positioned to benefit from strong demand in the aerospace sector, as demonstrated by the currently high backlogs for Boeing and Airbus that are driven by increased global demand for air travel, especially in Asia.

We are the largest supplier of European can body stock by volume with approximately 36% of the market and, in our view, we have benefited from our strong relationships with the leading European can manufacturers, our recycling capabilities and our fully integrated Neuf-Brisach facility, which has full production capabilities ranging from recycling and casting to rolling and finishing. As the leader in the European market, we believe that we are well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing trend of steel being replaced by aluminum as the material of choice for can sheet. Packaging provides a stable cash flow stream through the economic cycle that can be used to invest in attractive opportunities in the aerospace and automotive industries to drive longer term growth.

In automotive, we believe our leading positions in the supply of aluminum products are due to our advanced design capabilities, efficient production systems and established relationships with leading automotive OEMs. This includes being the second largest global supplier of auto crash management systems by volume. We expect that E.U. and U.S. regulations requiring reductions in carbon emissions and fuel efficiency, as well as relatively high fuel prices, will continue to drive aluminum demand in the automotive industry. Whereas growth in aluminum use in vehicles has historically been driven by increased use of aluminum castings, we anticipate that future growth will be primarily in the kinds of extruded and rolled products that we supply to the OEMs.

 

 

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In addition, we hold market leading positions in a number of other attractive product lines.

 

LOGO

 

(a) CRU International Limited, based on data regarding the year ended 2011
(b) Based on Company internal market analysis
* Based on volumes

Advanced R&D and technological capabilities

We have made substantial investments to develop unique R&D and technological capabilities, which we believe give us a competitive advantage as a supplier of the high value-added, specialty products on which we focus and which make up the majority of our product portfolio. In particular, our R&D facility in Voreppe, France has given us a leading position in the development of proprietary next-generation specialty alloys, as evidenced by our robust intellectual property portfolio. We use our technological capabilities to develop tailored products in close partnerships with our customers, with the aim of building long-term and synergistic relationships.

One of our hallmark R&D achievements was the recent development of AIRWARE ® , a lightweight specialty aluminum-lithium alloy developed for our aerospace customers to enable them to reduce fuel consumption and costs. AIRWARE ® was developed for certain customers using our pilot cast-house in Voreppe, and following a substantial capital expenditure investment, is now being produced on an industrial scale in our aerospace facility in Issoire, France. AIRWARE ® combines optimized density, corrosion resistance and strength in order to achieve up to 25% weight reduction compared to other aluminum products and significantly higher corrosion and fatigue resistance than equivalent composite products. This technology drives incremental margin compared to tradition aluminum alloys.

 

 

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Global network of efficient facilities with a broad range of capabilities operated by a highly skilled workforce

We operate a network of strategically located facilities that we believe allows us to compete effectively in our selected end-markets across numerous geographies. With an estimated replacement value of over €6 billion, our facilities have enabled us to reliably produce a broad range of high-quality products. They are operated by a highly skilled workforce with decades of accumulated operational experience. We believe this collective knowledge base would be very difficult to replicate and is a key contributing factor to our ability to produce consistently high-quality products.

Our six key production sites feature industry-leading manufacturing capabilities with required industry qualifications that are, in our view, difficult for market outsiders to accomplish. For example, we believe that Neuf-Brisach is the most integrated downstream aluminum production facility in Europe, with capabilities spanning the recycling, casting, rolling and finishing phases of production. Our Issoire, France and Ravenswood, West Virginia, United States plants have unique capabilities for producing the specialized wide and very high gauge plates required for the aerospace sector. We spent €20 million in the two-year period ended December 31, 2012 at Ravenswood, mainly to complete significant equipment upgrades, including a hot mill and new stretcher that we believe is the most powerful stretcher in our industry. Additionally, our network of small extrusion and automotive structures plants enables us to serve many of our customers on a localized basis, allowing us to more rapidly meet demand through close proximity. We believe our portfolio of facilities provides us with a strong platform to retain and grow our global customer base.

Long-standing relationships with a diversified and blue-chip customer base

Our customer base includes some of the largest manufacturers in the aerospace, packaging and automotive end-markets. We believe that our ability to produce tailored, high value-added products fosters longer-term and synergistic relationships with this blue-chip customer base. We regard our relationships with our customers as partnerships in which we work together to utilize our unique R&D and technological capabilities to develop customized solutions to meet evolving requirements. This includes developing products together through long-term R&D partnerships. In addition, we collaborate with our customers to complete a rigorous process for qualifying our products, which requires substantial time and investment and creates high switching costs.

We have a relatively diverse customer base with our 10 largest customers representing approximately 43% of our revenues and approximately 48% of our volumes for the year ended December 31, 2012. The average length of our relationships with our top 20 customers exceeds 25 years, and in some cases goes back as far as 40 years, particularly with our aerospace and packaging customers. Most of our major aerospace, packaging and automotive customers have multi-year contracts with us ( i.e. , contracts with terms of three to five years), making us critical partners to our customers. As a result, more than 80% of our volumes for 2013 are contracted or agreed with our customers, and we estimate that approximately 50% of our 2012 volumes are generated under multi-year contracts, with more than 30% of 2012 volumes governed by contracts valid until 2015 or later. In addition, more than 70% of our packaging volumes are contracted through 2014. We believe this provides us with stability and significant visibility into our future volumes and earnings.

Stable business model that delivers robust free cash flow across the cycle

There are several ways in which our business model is designed to produce stable and consistent cash flows and profitability. For example, we seek to limit our exposure to commodity metal price volatility primarily by utilizing pass-through mechanisms or contractual arrangements and financial derivatives.

Our business also features relatively countercyclical cash flows. During an economic downturn, lower demand causes our sales volumes to decrease, which results in a corresponding reduction in our inventory purchases and a reduction in our working capital requirements. As a result, operating cash flows become positive. We believe this helps to drive robust free cash flow across cycles and provides significant downside protection

 

 

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for our liquidity position in the event of a downturn. For example, in 2009 during the last prolonged downturn in demand, our volumes declined from 1,058 kt to 868 kt. This decline resulted in a €276 million reduction of our total working capital, mainly driven by inventory purchases reductions of €213 million and a positive operating cash flow from continuing operations of €181 million.

In addition, we have a significant presence in what have proved to be relatively stable, recession-resilient end-markets with 47% of volumes in the year ended December 31, 2012 sold into the can sheet and packaging end-markets, and 9% of volumes in that period sold into the aerospace end-market, which is driven by global demand trends rather than regional trends. Our automotive products are predominantly used in premium models manufactured by the German OEMs, which are not as dependent on the European economy and continue to benefit from rising demand in developing economies, particularly China.

We are also focused on optimizing the cost efficiency of our operations. In 2010, we implemented a rigorous continuous improvement program with the annual goal of outperforming inflation in our non-metal cost base (labor, energy, maintenance) and lowering our breakeven level. As a result of this program, we reduced our costs by €49 million in 2010, €67 million in 2011 and €57 million in 2012.

Strong and experienced management team

We have a strong and experienced management team led by Pierre Vareille, our Chief Executive Officer, who has more than 30 years of experience in the manufacturing industry and a successful track record of leading global manufacturing companies, particularly in the domain of metal transformation for industries such as aerospace and automotive. Both Mr. Vareille and our Chief Financial Officer, Didier Fontaine, have previously been involved in the management of public companies. Our executive officers and other key members of our management team have an average of more than 15 years of relevant industry experience. Our team has expertise across the commercial, technical and management aspects of our business and industry, which provides for strong customer service, rigorous quality and cost controls, and focus on health, safety and environmental improvements. Our board of directors includes current and former executives of Alcan, Rio Tinto, Bosch, Kaiser Aluminum and automotive suppliers such as Faurecia, who bring extensive experience in operations, finance, governance and corporate strategy.

Our Business Strategies

Our objective is to expand our leading position as a supplier of high value-added, technologically advanced products in which we believe that we have a competitive advantage. Our strategy to achieve this objective has three pillars: (i) selective participation, (ii) global leadership position and (iii) best-in-class efficiency and operational performance.

Selective Participation

Continue to target investment in high-return opportunities in our core markets (aerospace, packaging and automotive), with the goal of driving growth and profitability

We are focused on our three strategic end-markets—aerospace, packaging and automotive—which we believe have attractive growth prospects for aluminum. These are also markets where we believe that we can differentiate ourselves through our high value-added products, our strong customer relationships and our R&D and technological capabilities. Our capital expenditures and R&D spend are focused on these three strategic end-markets and are made in response to specific volume requirements from long-term customer contracts, which ensures relatively short payback periods and good visibility into return on investment. Examples of this focused approach include a new casthouse at Issoire to support growing demand for AIRWARE ® , a new state-of-the-art

 

 

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press at Singen to increase capacity for automotive extrusions and a heat treatment and conversion line at Neuf-Brisach to serve growing demand for aluminum automotive sheet.

As part of our focus on our core end-markets and our strategy to improve our profitability, we also consider potential divestitures of non-strategic businesses. For example, we divested the vast majority of our Alcan International Network (“AIN”) specialty chemicals and raw materials supply chain services division in 2011 to CellMark AB. In each of 2011 and 2012, the discontinued operations of our AIN business generated losses of €8 million.

Focus on higher margin, technologically advanced products that facilitate long-term relationships as a “mission critical” supplier to our customers

Our product portfolio is predominantly focused on high value-added products, which we believe we are particularly well-suited to developing and manufacturing for our customers. These products tend to require close collaboration with our customers to develop tailored solutions, as well as significant effort and investment to adhere to rigorous qualification procedures, which enables us to foster long-term relationships with our customers. Our products typically command higher margins than more commoditized products, and are supplied to end-markets that we believe have highly attractive characteristics and long-term growth trends.

Global Leadership Position

Continue to differentiate our products, with the goal of maintaining our leading market positions and remaining a supplier of choice to our customers

We aim to deepen our ties with our customers by consistently providing best-in-class quality, market leading supply chain integration, joint product development projects, customer technical support and scrap and recycling solutions. We believe that our product offering is differentiated by our market leading R&D capabilities. Our key R&D programs are focused on high growth and high margin areas such as specialty material solutions, next generation alloys and sustainable engineered solutions / manufacturing technologies. Recent examples of market leading breakthroughs include our AIRWARE ® lithium alloy technology and our Solar Surface ® Selfclean, a coating solution used in the solar industry which provides additional performance and functionality of the aluminum by chemically breaking down dirt and contaminants in contact with the surface.

Build a global footprint with a focus on expansion in Asia, particularly in China, and work to gain scale through acquisitions in Europe and the United States

We intend to selectively expand our global operations where we see opportunities to enhance our manufacturing capabilities, grow with current customers and gain new customers, or penetrate higher-growth regions. We believe disciplined expansion focused on these objectives will allow us to achieve attractive returns for our shareholders. In line with these principles, our recent expansions include:

 

   

the formation of a joint venture in China, Engley Automotive Structures Co., Ltd., which is currently producing aluminum crash-management systems in Changchun and Kunshan, China; and

 

   

the successful expansion of our Constellium Automotive USA, LLC plant, located in Novi, Michigan, which is producing highly innovative crash-management systems for the automotive market.

Best-in-Class Performance

Contain our fixed costs and offset inflation with increased productivity

We have been executing an extensive cost savings program focusing on selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”), conversion costs and purchasing. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, we realized a structural

 

 

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realignment of our cost structure and achieved annual costs savings of €49, €67, and €57 million, respectively. This represents approximately 4% of our estimated addressable cost base in 2012 ( i.e. , excluding raw material cost). These savings are split between operating expenses (48%), SG&A savings (21%) and procurement savings (31%). This program was designed to right-size our cost structure, increase our profitability and provide a competitive advantage against our peers. Our cost savings program will continue to be a priority as we focus on optimizing our cost base and offsetting inflation.

Establish best-in-class operations through Lean manufacturing

We believe that there are significant opportunities to improve our services and quality and to reduce our manufacturing costs by implementing Lean manufacturing initiatives. “Lean manufacturing” is a production practice that improves efficiency of operations by identifying and removing tasks and process steps that do not contribute to value creation for the end customer. We continually evaluate debottlenecking opportunities globally through modifications of, and investments in, existing equipment and processes. We aim to establish best-in-class operations and achieve cost reductions by standardizing manufacturing processes and the associated upstream and downstream production elements where possible, while still allowing the flexibility to respond to local market demands and volatility.

To focus our efforts, we have launched a Lean manufacturing program that is designed to improve the flow of value to customers by eliminating waste in both processes and resources. We measure operational success of this program in five key areas: (i) safety, (ii) quality, (iii) working capital, (iv) delivery performance and (v) innovation.

Our Lean manufacturing program is overseen by a dedicated team, headed by Yves Mérel. Mr. Mérel reports directly to our Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Vareille. Mr. Vareille and Mr. Mérel have long track records of successfully implementing Lean manufacturing programs at other companies they have managed in the past.

Recent Developments

Expected Results

We are currently in the process of finalizing our financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2013. Based on preliminary unaudited information for the three months ended March 31, 2013, our total shipment volumes are expected to be approximately 260 kt in comparison to 265 kt in the three months ended March 31, 2012, an expected decrease of 2%. We believe that our revenues will be approximately €906 million to €915 million. This represents a decrease of 3% and 2%, respectively, when compared to €935 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. We have seen growth in our A&T business of 3% of sales volumes although lower volumes, mainly in our soft alloys and our AS&I segments, and declining LME prices, which are passed through to our customers, have impacted our group revenues. We expect our net income (loss) for the three months ended March 31, 2013 will be in the range of €(4) million to €1 million, in comparison to €56 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily as a result of higher financing costs due to the accelerated amortization of fees following the March refinancing and unrealized losses on derivatives held at fair value.

Management Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2013 is expected be in the range of €65 million to €70 million, and Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of €70 million to €75 million. This represents an increase in Management Adjusted EBITDA of 12% to 21% from €58 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and an increase in Adjusted EBITDA of 15% to 23% from €61 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. These increases in the three months ended March 31, 2013 reflect a stronger mix of products, particularly driven by aerospace and the continuing benefits from our cost and productivity improvements achieved at our major manufacturing locations throughout 2012 and 2013. Our packaging business has also performed well in the first quarter of 2013. Although Adjusted EBITDA showed a significant period on

 

 

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period increase, net income for the three months ended March 31, 2013 is lower than the first quarter of 2012 due to the accelerated amortization of financing fees and unrealized losses on derivatives held at fair value.

Our revenue for the last twelve months ended March 31, 2013 is expected to be approximately €3,581 to €3,590 million, a decrease of 1% in comparison to our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2012 of €3,610 million. Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are expected to be approximately €210 million to €215 million and €237 million to €242 million, respectively, for the last twelve months ended March 31, 2013. Therefore our results for the last twelve months ended March 31, 2013 for both measures are expected to increase 3% to 6% in comparison to our year ended December 31, 2012 Management Adjusted EBITDA of €203 million and 4% to 6% in comparison to our year ended December 31, 2012 Adjusted EBITDA of €228 million. Net income from continuing operations for the last twelve months ended March 31, 2013 is expected to be in the range of €82 million and €87 million.

We expect our net debt as at March 31, 2013 to be approximately €219 million (net of €10 million of unamortized financing costs) in comparison to net debt as at December 31, 2012 of €16 million (net of €13 million of unamortized financing costs). This movement reflects the new financing in the quarter. Pro forma for the payment of an approximately €147 million distribution to our shareholders in connection with the term loan refinancing discussed below, we expect our net debt as at March 31, 2013 to be approximately €366 million (net of €10 million of unamortized financing costs).

The following table reconciles our estimated profit or loss for the period to our Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA:

 

     Three months ended March 31,        
     Q1 2013      Q1 2012     LTM ended March 31, 2013  

(€ in millions unless otherwise stated) (unaudited)

       Low             High                    Low             High      

Net Income/(loss) for the year from continuing operations

     (4     1         56        82        87   

Finance costs—net

     25        25         9        76        76   

Income tax

     5        5         23        29        29   

Share of loss from joint ventures

     —          —           —          5        5   

Depreciation and amortization

     4        4         1        17        17   

Restructuring costs

     2        2         1        26        26   

Expenses related to the acquisition and separation costs

     —          —           1        2        2   

Unrealized (gains)/losses on derivatives at fair value and exchange gains from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities

     33        33         (41     14        14   

Pension settlement and amendment

     —          —           8        (48     (48

Ravenswood CBA renegotiation

     —          —           —          7        7   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Management Adjusted EBITDA

     65        70         58        210        215   

Favorable metal price lag

     2        2         1        17        17   

Apollo management fee

     2        2         1        4        4   

Exceptional employee bonuses in relation to cost savings and turnaround plans

     1        1         1        2        2   

Other

     —          —           —          4        4   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

     70        75         61        237        242   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures defined by IFRS. For definitions of Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA and the reasons why management believes the inclusion of such measures is useful to provide additional information to investors about our performance, see footnotes (2) and (3) of “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

We have provided a range for our preliminary results described above because our financial closing procedures for the three months ended March 31, 2013 are not yet complete. We currently expect that our final results will be within the range described above. However, these estimates are preliminary and represent the most

 

 

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current information available to management as of the date of this prospectus. Therefore, it is possible that our actual results may differ materially from these estimates due to the completion of our financial closing procedures, final adjustments and other developments which may arise between now and the time our financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2013 are finalized.

Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these preliminary estimates. The preliminary unaudited financial data for the three months ended March 31, 2013 included in this Prospectus have been prepared by, and are the responsibility of, our management and have not been reviewed or audited or subject to any other procedures by our independent registered public accounting firm. Accordingly, our independent registered public accounting firm does not express an opinion or any other form of assurance with respect to the preliminary unaudited financial data.

New Term Loan, Application of Term Loan Proceeds and Issuance of Preference Shares

On March 25, 2013, we entered into a new term loan facility consisting of a $360 million U.S. dollar-denominated tranche and a €75 million Euro-denominated tranche the (Term Loan). See “Description of Certain Indebtedness.” The proceeds of the Term Loan were primarily intended for anticipated future distributions and divided payments to our stockholders of €250 million, and also used for general corporate purposes and to repay our existing six-year floating rate term loan facility (the “Original Term Loan”).

On March 28, 2013, we made a distribution of share premium to our Class A and Class B1 shareholders of approximately €103 million (and an additional distribution to our class B2 shareholders of €392,000 on May 21, 2013).

Our board of directors further approved a distribution of profits of an additional approximately €147 million to our existing Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 shareholders. Due to certain European tax and accounting restrictions, however, we did not anticipate being able to make such additional distribution to our existing shareholders until after the completion of this offering. Consequentially, in order to facilitate the payment of such distribution, we issued preference shares to our existing Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 shareholders which entitled their holders to receive distributions in priority to ordinary shareholders in the aggregate amount of approximately €147 million in proportion to the percentage ownership of our existing shareholders immediately prior to the completion of this offering. However, we were able to make such distribution of approximately €147 million on May 21, 2013.

All rights attached to the preference shares, including voting rights and rights to profit, have automatically and immediately become equal to the rights attached to the ordinary shares. However, it is likely the holders of the preference shares will not have an opportunity to exercise or benefit from any of these rights as we have agreed with our existing shareholders to repurchase the preference shares for no consideration simultaneously with or shortly after the payment in full of the distribution amount of approximately €147 million. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association and Dutch law provide that so long as the preference shares are held by the Company, they will have no voting rights and no right to profits.

Pro Rata Share Issuance

Prior to the offering, we effected a pro rata share issuance of Class A ordinary shares, Class B1 ordinary shares and Class B2 ordinary shares to our existing shareholders, which we implemented through the issuance of 22.8 new Class A ordinary shares, 22.8 Class B1 ordinary shares and 22.8 Class B2 ordinary shares for each outstanding Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 ordinary share, respectively. As a result, the Company issued an

 

 

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aggregate amount of 83,945,965 additional Class A ordinary shares, 815,252 additional Class B1 ordinary shares and 923,683 additional Class B2 ordinary shares, nominal value €0.02 per share, prior to consummation of this offering, as described in “Description of Capital Stock—Recapitalization and Conversion of Capital Stock in Connection with this Offering.” The pro rata share issuance was undertaken in order to provide the proper per-share valuation in respect of the offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and will have no dilutive effect.

Selling Shareholder Private Sale

Apollo Funds and Rio Tinto intend to enter into a share purchase agreement with FSI pursuant to which Apollo Funds and Rio Tinto will agree to sell, and FSI will agree to purchase, ordinary shares in a private transaction at a price per share equal to the initial public offering price (the “selling shareholder private sale”). The number of ordinary shares to be sold by Apollo Funds and Rio Tinto to FSI will be equal to the amount required to result in FSI holding 12.5% of the total number of ordinary shares that are outstanding as of immediately following the initial public offering. The number of such shares to be sold by each of Apollo Funds and Rio Tinto to FSI will be determined on a pro rata basis based on the relative amounts of ordinary shares they sell in the initial public offering. The agreement further provides that following the closing of the selling shareholder private sale, FSI will be restricted from buying additional shares in the company for one year following the closing of this offering, unless this restriction is waived by both Apollo Funds and Rio Tinto or certain specified events occur.

Corporate History and Information

Constellium Holdco B.V. (formerly known as Omega Holdco B.V.) was incorporated as a Dutch private limited liability company on May 14, 2010. Constellium Holdco B.V. was formed to serve as the holding company for various entities comprising the Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products business unit (the “AEP Business”), which it acquired from affiliates of Rio Tinto on January 4, 2011.

On December 30, 2011, we disposed of substantially all of our interests in AIN, our specialty chemicals and raw materials supply chain services division, to CellMark AB. The remaining entities have ceased operations.

Prior to the consummation of this offering, Constellium Holdco B.V. was converted into a Dutch public limited liability company and renamed Constellium N.V. We do not expect this conversion to have any impact on either our financial statements or on our shareholders going forward. Any references to Dutch law and Amended and Restated Articles of Association are references to Dutch law and the articles of association as applicable following the conversion.

Our principal shareholders are investment funds affiliated with, or co-investment vehicles that are managed (or the general partners of which are managed) by subsidiaries of, Apollo Global Management, LLC (Apollo Global Management, LLC and its subsidiaries collectively, or any one of such entities individually, “Apollo”), a leading global alternative investment manager; affiliates of Rio Tinto, a leading international mining group, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London listed public company headquartered in the United Kingdom, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, with executive offices in Melbourne (the two companies are joined in a dual listed companies (“DLC”) structure as a single economic entity, called the Rio Tinto Group (“Rio Tinto”)), and Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement, the French public investment fund jointly owned by Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and the French State specializing in equity financing via direct investments or funds of funds. As used in this prospectus, the term “Apollo Funds” means investment funds affiliated with, or co-investment vehicles that are managed (or the general partners of which are managed) by, Apollo; the term “Rio Tinto” refers to Rio Tinto or an affiliate of Rio Tinto; and the term “FSI” means Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement or other entities affiliated with Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement. Following Constellium’s acquisition of the AEP Business, Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI held 51%, 39% and 10%, respectively, of the outstanding shares of Constellium Holdco B.V.

 

 

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As of December 31, 2012, approximately 6.85% of the outstanding shares of Constellium Holdco B.V. were held by Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG (“Management KG”), which was formed in connection with a management equity plan to facilitate equity ownership by Constellium’s management team. Prior to our conversion to an N.V., the partnership agreement of Management KG provided that the Constellium Holdco B.V. shares that it held were voted in the same manner as, and in proportion to the respective equity ownership amounts of, Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI. In connection with this offering, the partnership agreement of Management KG was amended to provide that the Constellium shares held by Management KG will be voted in the discretion of the advisory board at the level of the general partner of Management KG.

Following the completion of this offering and the selling shareholder private sale, it is expected that public shareholders will hold 22.1% of our outstanding ordinary shares and that Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto, FSI and Management KG will hold 34.0%, 26.0%, 12.5% and 5.4%, respectively.

The business address (head office) of Constellium N.V. is Tupolevlaan 41-61, 1119 NW Schiphol-Rijk, the Netherlands, and our telephone number is +31 20 654 97 80. The address for our agent for service in the United States is Corporation Service Company, 80 State Street, Albany, NY 12207-2543, and its telephone number is (518) 433-4740.

Risk Factors

Investing in our ordinary shares involves substantial risk. The risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” immediately following this summary may cause us not to realize the full benefits of our strengths or may cause us to be unable to successfully execute all or part of our strategy. Some of the more significant challenges include the following:

 

   

our potential failure to implement our business strategy, including our productivity and cost reduction initiatives;

 

   

our susceptibility to cyclical fluctuations in the metals industry, our end-markets and our customers’ industries and changes in general economic conditions;

 

   

the highly competitive nature of the industry in which we operate and the risk that aluminum will become less competitive compared to alternative materials;

 

   

the possibility of unplanned business interruptions; and

 

   

adverse conditions and disruptions in European economies.

You should carefully consider all of the information included in this prospectus, including matters set forth under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Important Information and Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” before deciding to invest in our ordinary shares.

 

 

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THE OFFERING

 

Issuer

Constellium N.V.

 

Ordinary shares offered by us

We are offering 11,111,111 Class A ordinary shares (our “ordinary shares”).

 

Ordinary shares offered by the selling shareholders

The selling shareholders are offering 11,111,111 Class A ordinary shares.

 

Offering price range

Between $17.00 and $19.00 per ordinary share.

 

Voting rights

Our ordinary shares have one vote per share.

 

Over-allotment option

The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional 3,333,333 Class A ordinary shares from the selling shareholders at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within 30 days from the date of this prospectus to cover overallotments, if any.

 

Use of proceeds

We estimate that the net proceeds, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses, to us from the offering will be approximately $180 million (equivalent to €141 million based on March 31, 2013 exchange rates), assuming an initial public offering price of $18.00 per share (the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus).

 

  We intend to use the net proceeds to us from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, capital expenditures, repayment of debt and funding acquisition opportunities that may become available to us from time to time. We will not receive any of the net proceeds from the sale of ordinary shares by the selling shareholders. See “Use of Proceeds.” Certain of the underwriters and/or their affiliates act in various capacities and/or are lenders under our Term Loan. Certain of the underwriters and/or their affiliates act in various capacities and/or are lenders under our U.S. Revolving Credit Facility. To the extent the proceeds of this offering are used to repay borrowings under our Term Loan or U.S. Revolving Credit Facility, each such entity will receive its proportionate share of the repayment of such borrowings. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”

 

Conflicts of Interest

Apollo Funds own in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. In addition, Apollo Funds, as selling stockholders, will receive more than 5% of the proceeds of this offering. Because Apollo Global Securities, LLC is an underwriter and its affiliated funds own in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common ordinary shares and will receive in excess of 5% of the proceeds of the offering, Apollo Global Securities, LLC is deemed to have “conflicts of interest” under FINRA Rule 5121. Accordingly, this offering is being made in compliance with the requirements of FINRA Rule 5121. Pursuant to that rule, the appointment of a “qualified independent underwriter” is not required in connection

 

 

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with this offering as the members primarily responsible for managing the public offering do not have a conflict of interest, are not affiliates of any member that has a conflict of interest and meet the requirements of paragraph (f)(12)(E) of FINRA Rule 5121. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders,” “Use of Proceeds” and “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”

 

Dividend policy

We do not currently anticipate paying any dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. See “Dividend Policy.” For details with respect to our preference shares, which shares entitle the holders to receive distributions in priority to our ordinary shareholders of up to approximately €147 million in the aggregate, see “Dividend Policy.”

 

Listing

We intend to apply to list our ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol “CSTM” and on Euronext Paris under the symbol “CSTM.”

 

Tax considerations

See “Material Tax Consequences,” beginning on page 175.

 

Risk factors

See “Risk Factors” and other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should consider before deciding to invest in our ordinary shares.

Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this prospectus to the number and percentages of shares outstanding following this offering:

 

   

assume an offering price of $18.00 per ordinary share, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover of this prospectus;

 

   

assume no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to an additional 3,333,333 Class A ordinary shares from the selling shareholders;

 

   

reflect the reacquisition by the company of ordinary shares issued under our legacy management equity plan, at an acquisition amount of approximately €0.9 million, in connection with our decision to freeze new participation in the plan in anticipation of this offering, as described in “Management—Management Equity Plan”;

 

   

reflect the pro rata share issuance of 22.8 new Class A ordinary shares, Class B1 ordinary shares or Class B2 ordinary shares, as applicable, for each outstanding Class A, Class B1 or Class B2 ordinary share, respectively, which resulted in the issuance of 83,945,965 additional Class A ordinary shares, 815,252 additional Class B1 ordinary shares and 923,683 additional Class B2 ordinary shares prior to consummation of this offering, as described in “Description of Capital Stock—Recapitalization and Conversion of Capital Stock in Connection with this Offering”;

 

   

reflect the conversion of the company, immediately following the pro rata share issuance described above, from Constellium Holdco B.V., a Netherlands private limited liability company ( besloten vennootschap ), to Constellium N.V., a Netherlands public limited liability company ( naamloze vennootschap ), pursuant to which each outstanding Class A and Class B1 ordinary share of Constellium Holdco B.V. was converted, on a one-to-one basis, into a Class A ordinary share of Constellium N.V., and each Class B2 ordinary share of Constellium Holdco B.V. was converted, on a one-to-one basis, into a Class B ordinary share of Constellium N.V., as described in “Description of Capital Stock—Recapitalization and Conversion of Capital Stock in Connection with this Offering”; and

 

   

do not give effect to 5,292,291 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under the Constellium 2013 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

 

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Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data

The following tables set forth our summary historical combined and consolidated financial and other data.

On January 4, 2011, Omega Holdco B.V., which later changed its name to Constellium Holdco B.V., and then again to Constellium N.V., acquired the Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products business unit (the “AEP Business” or the “Predecessor”) from affiliates of Rio Tinto (the “Acquisition”). For comparison purposes, our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 are presented alongside the results of operations of the Predecessor for the year ended December 31, 2010. However, our Successor and Predecessor periods are not directly comparable due to the impact of the application of purchase accounting and the preparation of the Predecessor accounts on a carve-out basis. The financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Predecessor do not necessarily reflect what our financial position or results of operations would have been if we had been operated as a stand-alone entity during the periods covered by the Predecessor financial statements and are not indicative of our future results of operations and financial position.

Unless otherwise indicated, all share and per share numbers have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the issuance of 22.8 additional shares for each outstanding share, as if it had occurred January 4, 2011.

You should base your investment decision on a review of the entire prospectus. In particular, you should read the following data in conjunction with “Selected Financial Information,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the historical combined and consolidated financial statements, including the notes to those combined and consolidated financial statements, which appear elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

     Predecessor
as of and  for

the year
ended
December 31,
         Successor
as of and for
the year
ended
December 31,
 

(€ in millions unless otherwise stated)

   2010            2011     2012  

Statement of income data:

           

Revenue

     2,957             3,556        3,610   

Gross profit

     242             321        478   

Operating profit/(loss)

     (248          (59     257   

Profit/(loss) for the period—continuing operations

     (209          (166     142   

Profit/(loss) for the period

     (207          (174     134   

Profit/(loss) per share—basic and diluted

     n/a             (2.0     1.5   

Profit/(loss) per share—basic and diluted—continuing operations

     n/a             (1.9     1.6   
 

Pro Forma profit per share—basic and diluted—continuing operations

     n/a             n/a        1.4   
 

Weighted average number of shares outstanding

     n/a             89,338,433        89,442,416   

Pro forma weighted average number of shares outstanding

     n/a             n/a        100,553,532   
 

Dividends per ordinary share (euro)

     —               —          —     
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance sheet data:

           

Total assets

     1,837             1,612        1,631   

Net liabilities or total invested equity

     199             (113     (47

Share capital

     n/a             —          —     
  

 

 

      

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma balance sheet data:

           

Total assets

     —               —          1,631   

Net liabilities

     —               —          (297)   

Share capital

     —               —          —     
  

 

 

      

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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     Predecessor
as of and  for

the year
ended
December 31,
         Successor
as of and for
the year
ended
December 31,
 

(€ in millions unless otherwise stated)

   2010            2011     2012  

Other operational and financial data (unaudited):

           

Net trade working capital (1)

     519             381        289   

Capital expenditure

     51             97        126   

Volumes (in kt)

     972             1,058        1,033   

Revenue per ton (€/ton)

     3,042             3,361        3,495   

Profit/(loss) per ton (€/ton)

     (213          (164     130   

Management Adjusted EBITDA (2)

     58             103        203   

Management Adjusted EBITDA (€/ton) (2)

     60             97        197   

Adjusted EBITDA (3)

     48             160        228   

Adjusted EBITDA (€/ton) (3)

     49             151        221   

 

(1) Net trade working capital represents total inventories plus trade receivables less trade payables.
(2) In considering the financial performance of the business, management and our chief operational decision maker in accordance with IFRS analyze the primary financial performance measure of Management Adjusted EBITDA in all of our business segments. The most directly comparable IFRS measure to Management Adjusted EBITDA is our profit or loss for the period. We believe Management Adjusted EBITDA, as defined below, is useful to investors and is used by our management for measuring profitability because it excludes the impact of certain non-cash charges, such as depreciation, amortization, impairment and unrealized gains and losses on derivatives as well as items that do not impact the day-to-day operations and that management in many cases does not directly control or influence. Therefore such adjustments eliminate items which have less bearing on our core operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of Constellium and in comparison to other companies, many of which present an adjusted EBITDA-related performance measure when reporting their results.

Management Adjusted EBITDA is defined as profit for the period from continuing operations before results from joint ventures, net financial expense, income taxes and depreciation, amortization and impairment, as adjusted to exclude losses on disposal of property, plant and equipment, acquisition and separation costs, restructuring costs and unrealized gains or losses on derivatives and on foreign exchange differences. Management Adjusted EBITDA is not a presentation made in accordance with IFRS, is not a measure of financial condition, liquidity or profitability, and should not be considered as an alternative to profit or loss for the year determined in accordance with IFRS or operating cash flows determined in accordance with IFRS.

The following table reconciles our profit or loss for the period from continuing operations to our Management Adjusted EBITDA for the years presented:

 

     Predecessor
for the year
ended
December 31,
         Successor
for the year
ended
December 31,
 

(€ in millions unless otherwise stated)

   2010              2011         2012    
                         

Profit/(loss) for the period from continuing operations

     (209          (166     142   

Finance costs—net

     7             39        60   

Income tax

     (44          (34     47   

Share of profit from joint ventures

     (2          —          5   

Depreciation and amortization

     38             2        11   

Impairment charges

     224             —          3   

Expenses related to the acquisition and separation (a)

     —               102        3   

Restructuring costs (b)

     6             20        25   

Unrealized losses on derivatives at fair value and exchange gains from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities

     38             140        (60

Pension settlement and amendment (c)

     —               —          (40

Ravenswood CBA renegotiation (d)

     —               —          7   
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Management Adjusted EBITDA

     58             103        203   
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (a) Represents expenses related to the Acquisition and separation of the Company from its previous owners.
  (b) Restructuring costs represent one-time termination benefits or severance, plus contract termination costs, primarily related to equipment and facility lease obligations.

 

 

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  (c) Represents a loss generated by a settlement on withdrawal from the foundation that administered its employee benefit plan in Switzerland of €8 million and a €48 million gain due to amendments of our Ravenswood plan.
  (d) Represents non-recurring professional fees, including legal expenses and bonuses in relation to the successful renegotiation of the 5-year collective bargaining agreement at our Ravenswood manufacturing site in September 2012.

 

(3) Adjusted EBITDA is an additional performance measure used by management as an important supplemental measure in evaluating our operating performance, in preparing internal forecasts and budgets necessary for managing our business and, specifically in relation to the exclusion of the effect of favorable or unfavorable metal price lag, this measure allows management and the investor to assess operating results and trends without the impact of our accounting for inventories. We use the weighted average cost method in accordance with IFRS which leads to the purchase price paid for metal impacting our cost of goods sold and therefore profitability in the period subsequent to when the related sales price impacts our revenues.

Management also believes this measure provides additional information used by our lending facilities providers with respect to the ongoing performance of our underlying business activities. We use Adjusted EBITDA in calculating our compliance with the financial covenants under the Term Loan Agreement.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA further adjusted for favorable (unfavorable) metal price lag, exceptional consulting costs, effects of purchase accounting adjustment, standalone costs and Apollo management fees, application of our post-Acquisition hedging policy, gain on forgiveness of a related party loan, and exceptional employee bonuses in relation to cost saving implementation and targets. Adjusted EBITDA is not a presentation made in accordance with IFRS, is not a measure of financial condition, liquidity or profitability and should not be considered as an alternative to profit or loss for the year determined in accordance with IFRS or operating cash flows determined in accordance with IFRS.

As explained in footnote 2 and above, we believe Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are important supplemental measures of operating performance because they provide a measure of our operations. By providing these measures, together with the reconciliations, we believe we are enhancing investors’ understanding of our business and our results of operations, as well as assisting investors in evaluating how well we are executing our strategic initiatives.

The following table reconciles our Management Adjusted EBITDA to our Adjusted EBITDA for the years presented:

 

     Predecessor    Successor  
     Year ended December 31,  
       2010        2011          2012    
                  

(€ in millions)

(unaudited)

        

Management Adjusted EBITDA

     58              103         203   

Favorable / (unfavorable) metal price lag (a)

     (47           12         16   

Exceptional consulting costs (b)

     30              —           —     

Transition and start-up costs (c)

     —                21         —     

Effects of purchase accounting adjustment ( d )

     —                12         —     

Standalone costs ( e )

     (7           1         —     

Apollo management fee ( f )

     —                1         3   

Transition to new hedging policy ( g )

     11              —           —     

Exceptional employee bonuses in relation to cost savings and turnaround plans ( h)

     —                2         2   

Other ( i)

     3              8         4   
  

 

 

         

 

 

    

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA ( j)

     48              160         228   
  

 

 

         

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) Represents the financial impact of the timing difference between when aluminum prices included within our revenues are established and when aluminum purchase prices included in our cost of sales are established. We account for inventory using a weighted average price basis and this adjustment is to remove the effect of volatility in London Metal Exchange (“LME”) prices. This lag will, generally, increase our earnings and Adjusted EBITDA in times of rising primary aluminum prices and decrease our earnings and Adjusted EBITDA in times of declining primary aluminum prices. The calculation of our metal price lag adjustment is based on an internal standardized methodology calculated at each of our manufacturing sites and is calculated as the average value of product recorded in inventory, which approximates the spot price in the market, less the average value transferred out of inventory, which is the weighted average of the metal element of our cost of goods sold, by the quantity sold in the period.

 

 

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  (b) Represents exceptional external consultancy costs which relate to the preparation of the divestment of the AEP Business in 2010.
  (c) Represents exceptional external consultancy costs related to the implementation of our cost savings program and set up of our IT infrastructure in 2011.
  (d) Represents the non-cash step up in inventory costs on the Acquisition.
  (e) Represents the incremental standalone costs that would have been incurred if the Predecessor had operated as a standalone entity. The corporate head office costs include finance, legal, human resources and other corporate services that are now provided to our reporting segments and are principally provided at our corporate support services functions in Paris.
  (f) Represents the Apollo management fee, payable annually post-Acquisition, which is equal to the greater of $2 million per annum or one percent of our Adjusted EBITDA measure before such fees, as defined in the Pre-IPO Shareholders Agreement, plus related expenses.
  (g) Prior to the Acquisition, the Predecessor did not hedge U.S. dollar denominated aerospace contracts, which resulted in exposures to fluctuating euro-to-U.S. dollar exchange rates. Following completion of the Acquisition, we have implemented a policy to fully hedge foreign currency transactions against fluctuations in foreign currency. This adjustment is calculated based on the revenues generated by our aerospace contracts and assumes a U.S dollar: euro exchange rate of 1.2253 to 1, which is the average exchange rate for the first six months of 2006 when such contract volumes became committed and therefore this rate has been applied to revenue recorded throughout the Predecessor Period. If the U.S. dollar had weakened/strengthened by 8% against the euro, our adjustment would have been €12 million higher or lower in 2010.
  (h) Represents one-off bonuses under a two-year plan, paid to selected employees in relation to the achievement of cost savings targets and the costs of a bonus plan in relation to the turnaround program at our Ravenswood site.
  (i) Other adjustments are as follows: (i) in 2010, the adjustment of €3 million relates to exceptional scrap costs resulting from processing issues directly resulting from quality issues in the supply of raw materials at our Ravenswood plant; (ii) in 2011, €8 million of losses on metal purchases were attributable to the initial invoicing in U.S. dollars instead of euros by a metal supplier at inception of the contract. All invoices are now received and paid in euros. As this U.S. dollar-to-euro exposure from January through November 2011 was not effectively hedged, we consider this to be an exceptional loss and not part of our underlying trading; and (iii) in 2012, the exceptional costs incurred in respect of efforts in conjunction with this offering.
  (j) Our Adjusted EBITDA in 2010 does not reflect the impact of €67 million and €57 million of cost savings realized in the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012, respectively. These cost savings relate to the reduction of over 600 employees in 2011, 2012 and 2013, increased centralization in procurement and global sourcing of materials and increased efficiencies in production processes.

 

 

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RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the following risk factors and all other information contained in this prospectus, including “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our audited combined and consolidated financial statements and the related notes, before investing in our ordinary shares. If any of the following risks materialize, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline, and you may lose some or all of your investment.

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Important Information and Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

Risks Related to Our Business

If we fail to implement our business strategy, including our productivity and cost reduction initiatives, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Our future financial performance and success depend in large part on our ability to successfully implement our business strategy, including investing in high-return opportunities in our core markets, focusing on higher-margin, technologically advanced products, differentiating our products, expanding our strategic relationships with customers in selected international regions, fixed-cost containment and cash management, and executing on our Lean manufacturing program. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully implement our business strategy or be able to continue improving our operating results. Implementation of our business strategy could be affected by a number of factors beyond our control, such as increased competition, legal and regulatory developments, general economic conditions or an increase in operating costs. Any failure to successfully implement our business strategy could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may decide to alter or discontinue certain aspects of our business strategy at any time. Although we have undertaken and expect to continue to undertake productivity and cost reduction initiatives to improve performance, such as the Lean manufacturing program, we cannot assure you that all of these initiatives will be completed or that any estimated cost savings from such activities will be fully realized. Even when we are able to generate new efficiencies in the short- to medium-term, we may not be able to continue to reduce cost and increase productivity over the long term.

The cyclical and seasonal nature of the metals industry, our end-use markets and our customers’ industries, in particular our aerospace, automotive, heavy duty truck and trailer industries, could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The metals industry is generally cyclical in nature, and these cyclical fluctuations tend to directly correlate with changes in general and local economic conditions. These conditions include the level of economic growth, financing availability, the availability of affordable energy sources, employment levels, interest rates, consumer confidence and housing demand. Historically, in periods of recession or periods of minimal economic growth, metals companies have often tended to underperform other sectors. In addition, economic downturns in regional and global economies, including in Europe, or a prolonged recession in our principal industry segments, have had a negative impact on our operations in the past and could have a negative impact on our future financial condition or results of operations. Although we continue to seek to diversify our business on a geographic basis, we cannot assure you that diversification would mitigate the effect of cyclical downturns.

We are particularly sensitive to cycles in the aerospace, defense, automotive, other transportation, building and construction and general engineering end-markets, which are highly cyclical. During recessions or periods of low growth, these industries typically experience major cutbacks in production, resulting in decreased demand for aluminum products. This leads to significant fluctuations in demand and pricing for our products and

 

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services. Because our operations are capital intensive and we generally have high fixed costs and may not be able to reduce costs and production capacity on a sufficiently rapid basis, our near-term profitability may be significantly affected by decreased processing volumes. Accordingly, reduced demand and pricing pressures may significantly reduce our profitability and materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In particular, we derive a significant portion of our revenues from products sold to the aerospace industry, which is highly cyclical and tends to decline in response to overall declines in the general economy. The commercial aerospace industry is historically driven by the demand from commercial airlines for new aircraft. Demand for commercial aircraft is influenced by airline industry profitability, trends in airline passenger traffic, the state of the U.S. and global economies and numerous other factors, including the effects of terrorism. In recent years, a number of major airlines have undergone chapter 11 bankruptcy or comparable insolvency proceedings and experienced financial strain from volatile fuel prices. The aerospace industry also suffered significantly in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001, resulting in a sharp decrease globally in new commercial aircraft deliveries and order cancellations or deferrals by the major airlines. Despite existing backlogs, continued financial uncertainty in the industry, inadequate liquidity of certain airline companies, production issues and delays in the launch of new aircraft programs at major aircraft manufacturers, stock variations in the supply chain, terrorist acts or the increased threat of terrorism may lead to reduced demand for new aircraft that utilize our products, which could materially adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Further, the demand for our automotive extrusions and rolled products and many of our general engineering and other industrial products is dependent on the production of cars, light trucks, and heavy duty vehicles and trailers. The automotive industry is highly cyclical, as new vehicle demand is dependent on consumer spending and is tied closely to the strength of the overall economy. We note that the demand for luxury vehicles in China has become significant over the past several years and therefore fluctuations in the Chinese economy may adversely affect the demand for our products. Production cuts by manufacturers may adversely affect the demand for our products. Many automotive related manufacturers and first tier suppliers are burdened with substantial structural costs, including pension, healthcare and labor costs that have resulted in severe financial difficulty, including bankruptcy, for several of them. A worsening of these companies’ financial condition or their bankruptcy could have further serious effects on the conditions of the markets, which directly affects the demand for our products. In addition, the loss of business with respect to, or a lack of commercial success of, one or more particular vehicle models for which we are a significant supplier could have a materially adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Customer demand in the aluminum industry is also affected by holiday seasons, weather conditions, economic and other factors beyond our control. Our volumes are impacted by the timing of the holiday seasons in particular, with August and December typically being the lowest months and January to June being the strongest months. Our business is also impacted by seasonal slowdowns and upturns in certain of our customers’ industries. Historically, the can industry is strongest in the spring and summer season, whereas the automotive and construction sectors encounter slowdowns in both the third and fourth quarters of the calendar year. Therefore, our quarterly financial results could fluctuate as a result of climatic or other seasonal changes, and a prolonged period of unusually cool summers in different regions in which we conduct our business could have a negative effect on our financial results and cash flows.

We are subject to unplanned business interruptions that may materially adversely affect our business.

Our operations may be materially adversely affected by unplanned events such as explosions, fires, war or terrorism, inclement weather, accidents, equipment, IT systems and process failures, electrical blackouts, transportation interruptions and supply interruptions. Operational interruptions at one or more of our production facilities could cause substantial losses in our production capacity or increase our operating costs. In addition, replacement of assets damaged by such events could be difficult or expensive, and to the extent these losses are

 

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not covered by insurance or our insurance policies have significant deductibles, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows may be materially adversely affected by such events. For example, in 2008, a stretcher at Constellium’s Ravenswood facility was damaged due to a defect in its hydraulic system, causing a substantial outage at that facility that had a material impact on our production volumes at this facility and on our financial results for the affected period.

Furthermore, because customers may be dependent on planned deliveries from us, customers that have to reschedule their own production due to our delivery delays may be able to pursue financial claims against us, and we may incur costs to correct such problems in addition to any liability resulting from such claims. Interruptions may also harm our reputation among actual and potential customers, potentially resulting in a loss of business.

Our business involves significant activity in Europe, and adverse conditions and disruptions in European economies could have a material adverse effect on our operations or financial performance.

A material portion of our sales are generated by customers located in Europe. The financial markets remain concerned about the ability of certain European countries, particularly Greece, Ireland and Portugal, but also others such as Spain and Italy, to finance their deficits and service growing debt burdens amidst difficult economic conditions. This loss of confidence has led to rescue measures for Spain, Greece, Portugal and Ireland by euro-zone countries and the International Monetary Fund. Despite these measures, concerns persist regarding the debt burden of certain Eurozone countries and their ability to meet future financial obligations, the overall stability of the euro and the suitability of the euro as a single currency given the diverse economic and political circumstances in individual Eurozone countries. In addition, the actions required to be taken by those countries as a condition to rescue packages, and by other countries to mitigate similar developments in their economies, have resulted in increased political discord within and among Eurozone countries. The interdependencies among European economies and financial institutions have also exacerbated concern regarding the stability of European financial markets generally. These concerns could lead to the re-introduction of individual currencies in one or more Eurozone countries, or, in more extreme circumstances, the possible dissolution of the euro currency entirely. Should the euro dissolve entirely, the legal and contractual consequences for holders of euro-denominated obligations would be determined by laws in effect at such time. These potential developments, or market perceptions concerning these and related issues, could materially adversely affect the value of the Company’s euro-denominated assets and obligations. In addition, concerns over the effect of this financial crisis on financial institutions in Europe and globally could have a material adverse impact on the capital markets generally. Persistent disruptions in the European financial markets, the overall stability of the euro and the suitability of the euro as a single currency or the failure of a significant European financial institution, could have a material adverse impact on our operations or financial performance.

In addition, there can be no assurance that the actions we have taken or may take in response to the economic conditions may be sufficient to counter any continuation or reoccurrence of the downturn or disruptions. A significant global economic downturn or disruptions in the financial markets would have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Adverse changes in currency exchange rates could negatively affect our financial results.

The financial condition and results of operations of some of our operating entities are reported in various currencies and then translated into euros at the applicable exchange rate for inclusion in our historical combined and consolidated financial statements. As a result, the appreciation of the euro against the currencies of our operating local entities may have a negative impact on reported revenues and operating profit, and the resulting accounts receivable, while depreciation of the euro against these currencies may generally have a positive effect on reported revenues and operating profit. We do not hedge translation of forecasted results or actual results.

In addition, while the majority of costs incurred are denominated in local currencies, a portion of the revenues are denominated in U.S. dollars. As a result, appreciation in the U.S. dollar may have a positive impact

 

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on earnings while depreciation of the U.S. dollar may have a negative impact on earnings. While we engage in significant hedging activity to attempt to mitigate this foreign transactions currency risk, this may not fully protect us from adverse effects due to currency fluctuations on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

A portion of our revenues is derived from our international operations, which exposes us to certain risks inherent in doing business abroad.

We have operations primarily in the United States, Germany, France, Slovakia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and China and primarily sell our products across Europe, Asia and North America. We also continue to explore opportunities to expand our international operations, particularly in other parts of Asia. Our operations generally are subject to financial, political, economic and business risks in connection with our global operations, including:

 

   

changes in international governmental regulations, trade restrictions and laws, including those relating to taxes, employment and repatriation of earnings;

 

   

currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

   

tariffs and other trade barriers;

 

   

the potential for nationalization of enterprises or government policies favoring local production;

 

   

renegotiation or nullification of existing agreements;

 

   

interest rate fluctuations;

 

   

high rates of inflation;

 

   

currency restrictions and limitations on repatriation of profits;

 

   

differing protections for intellectual property and enforcement thereof;

 

   

divergent environmental laws and regulations; and

 

   

political, economic and social instability.

The occurrence of any of these events could cause our costs to rise, limit growth opportunities or have a negative effect on our operations and our ability to plan for future periods. In certain emerging markets, the degree of these risks may be higher due to more volatile economic conditions, less developed and predictable legal and regulatory regimes and increased potential for various types of adverse governmental action.

Our results of operations, cash flows and liquidity could be adversely affected if we are unable to execute on our hedging policy, if counterparties to our derivative instruments fail to honor their agreements or if we are unable to purchase derivative instruments.

We purchase and sell LME and other forwards, futures and options contracts as part of our efforts to reduce our exposure to changes in currency exchange rates, aluminum prices and other raw materials prices. Our ability to realize the benefit of our hedging program is dependent upon many factors, including factors that are beyond our control. For example, our foreign exchange hedges are scheduled to mature on the expected payment date by the customer; therefore, if the customer fails to pay an invoice on time and does not warn us in advance, we may be unable to reschedule the maturity date of the foreign exchange hedge, which could result in an outflow of foreign currency that will not be offset until the customer makes the payment. We may realize a gain or a loss in unwinding such hedges. In addition, our metal-price hedging programs depend on our ability to match our monthly exposure to sold and purchased metal, which can be made difficult by seasonal variations in metal demand, unplanned changes in metal delivery dates by either us or by our customers and other disruptions to our inventories, including for maintenance.

 

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We may also be exposed to losses if the counterparties to our derivative instruments fail to honor their agreements. Further, if major financial institutions continue to consolidate and are forced to operate under more restrictive capital constraints and regulations, there could be less liquidity in the derivative markets, which could have a negative effect on our ability to hedge and transact with creditworthy counterparties.

To the extent our hedging transactions fix prices or exchange rates and primary aluminum prices, energy costs or foreign exchange rates are below the fixed prices or rates established by our hedging transactions, our income and cash flows will be lower than they otherwise would have been. Further, we do not apply hedge accounting to our forwards, futures or option contracts. As a result, unrealized gains and losses on our derivative financial instruments must be reported in our consolidated results of operations. The inclusion of such unrealized gains and losses in earnings may produce significant period to period earnings volatility that is not necessarily reflective of our underlying operating performance. In addition, in certain scenarios when market price movements result in a decline in value of our current derivatives position, our mark-to-market expense may exceed our credit line and counterparties may request the posting of cash collateral which, in turn, can be a significant demand on our liquidity.

At certain times, hedging instruments may simply be unavailable or not available on terms acceptable to us. In addition, recent legislation has been adopted to increase the regulatory oversight of over-the-counter derivatives markets and derivative transactions. Final regulations pursuant to this legislation defining which companies will be subject to the legislation have not yet been adopted. If future regulations subject us to additional capital or margin requirements or other restrictions on our trading and commodity positions, they could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Aluminum may become less competitive with alternative materials, which could reduce our share of industry sales, lower our selling prices and reduce our sales volumes.

Our fabricated aluminum products compete with products made from other materials—such as steel, glass, plastics and composites—for various applications. Higher aluminum prices relative to substitute materials tend to make aluminum products less competitive with these alternative materials. Environmental and other regulations may also increase our costs and may be passed on to our customers, and may restrict the use of chemicals needed to produce aluminum products. These regulations may make our products less competitive as compared to materials that are subject to fewer regulations.

Customers in our end-markets, including the aerospace, automotive and can sectors, use and continue to evaluate the further use of alternative materials to aluminum in order to reduce the weight and increase the efficiency of their products. Although trends in “lightweighting” have generally increased rates of using aluminum as a substitution of other materials, the willingness of customers to accept substitutions for aluminum, or the ability of large customers to exert leverage in the marketplace to reduce the pricing for fabricated aluminum products, could adversely affect the demand for our products, and thus materially adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

We are dependent on a limited number of suppliers for a substantial portion of our primary and scrap aluminum.

We have supply arrangements with a limited number of suppliers for aluminum and other raw materials. Our top 10 suppliers (which include Rio Tinto) accounted for approximately 46% of our total purchases at December 31, 2012. Increasing aluminum demand levels have caused regional supply constraints in the industry, and further increases in demand levels could exacerbate these issues. We maintain long-term contracts for a majority of our supply requirements, and for the remainder we depend on annual and spot purchases. There can be no assurance that we will be able to renew, or obtain replacements for, any of our long-term contracts when they expire on terms that are as favorable as our existing agreements or at all. Additionally, if any of our key suppliers is unable to deliver sufficient quantities of this material on a timely basis, our production may be

 

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disrupted and we could be forced to purchase primary metal and other supplies from alternative sources, which may not be available in sufficient quantities or may only be available on terms that are less favorable to us. As a result, an interruption in key supplies required for our operations could have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce and deliver products on a timely or cost-efficient basis and therefore on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, a significant downturn in the business or financial condition of our significant suppliers exposes us to the risk of default by the supplier on our contractual agreements, and this risk is increased by weak and deteriorating economic conditions on a global, regional or industry sector level.

We also depend on scrap aluminum for our operations and acquire our scrap inventory from numerous sources. These suppliers generally are not bound by long-term contracts and have no obligation to sell scrap metal to us. In periods of low inventory prices, suppliers may elect to hold scrap until they are able to charge higher prices. In addition, the slowdown in industrial production and consumer consumption during the recent economic crisis reduced and may continue to reduce the supply of scrap metal available. If an adequate supply of scrap metal is not available to us, we would be unable to recycle metals at desired volumes and our results of operation, financial condition and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

If we were to lose order volumes from any of our largest customers, our sales volumes, revenues and cash flows would be reduced.

Our business is exposed to risks related to customer concentration. Our ten largest customers accounted for approximately 43% of our consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2012. A significant downturn in the business or financial condition of our significant customers exposes us to the risk of default on contractual agreements and trade receivables, and this risk is increased by weak and deteriorating economic conditions on a global, regional or industry sector level.

We have long-term contracts with a significant number of our customers, some of which are subject to renewal, renegotiation or re-pricing at periodic intervals or upon changes in competitive supply conditions. Our failure to successfully renew, renegotiate or re-price such agreements, or a material deterioration in or termination of these customer relationships, could result in a reduction or loss in customer purchase volume or revenue, and if we are not successful in replacing business lost from such customers, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.

In addition, our strategy of having dedicated facilities and arrangements with customers subjects us to the inherent risk of increased dependence on a single or a few customers with respect to these facilities. In such cases, the loss of such a customer, or the reduction of that customer’s business at one or more of our facilities, could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations, and we may be unable to timely replace, or replace at all, lost order volumes and revenue.

We may not be able to compete successfully in the highly competitive markets in which we operate, and new competitors could emerge, which could negatively impact our share of industry sales, sales volumes and selling prices.

We are engaged in a highly competitive industry. We compete in the production and sale of rolled aluminum products with a number of other aluminum rolling mills, including large, single-purpose sheet mills, continuous casters and other multi-purpose mills, some of which are larger and have greater financial and technical resources than we do. Producers with a different cost basis may, in certain circumstances, have a competitive pricing advantage. Our competitors may be better able to withstand reductions in price or other adverse industry or economic conditions.

In addition, a current or new competitor may also add or build new capacity, which could diminish our profitability by decreasing the equilibrium prices in our markets. New competitors could emerge from within Europe or North America or globally, including from China, Russia and the Middle East. Emerging or

 

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transitioning markets in these regions with abundant natural resources, low-cost labor and energy, and lower environmental and other standards may pose a significant competitive threat to our business. Our competitive position may also be affected by exchange rate fluctuations that may make our products less competitive in relation to the products of companies based in other countries and economies of scale in purchasing, production and sales. Changes in regulation that have a disproportionately negative effect on us or our methods of production may also diminish our competitive advantage and industry position. In addition, technological innovation is important to our customers who require us to lead or keep pace with new innovations to address their needs. If we do not compete successfully, our share of industry sales, sales volumes and selling prices may be negatively impacted.

In addition, the aluminum industry has experienced consolidation over the past years and there may be further industry consolidation in the future. Although industry consolidation has not yet had a significant negative impact on our business, if we do not have sufficient market presence or are unable to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, we may not be able to compete successfully against other companies. If as a result of consolidation, our competitors are able to obtain more favorable terms from suppliers or otherwise take actions that could increase their competitive strengths, our competitive position and therefore our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

The price volatility of energy costs may adversely affect our profitability.

Our operations use natural gas and electricity, which represent the third largest component of our cost of sales, after metal and labor costs. We purchase part of our natural gas and electricity on a spot-market basis. The volatility in costs of fuel, principally natural gas, and other utility services, principally electricity, used by our production facilities affect operating costs. Fuel and utility prices have been, and will continue to be, affected by factors outside our control, such as supply and demand for fuel and utility services in both local and regional markets as well as governmental regulation and imposition of further taxes on energy. Although we have secured some of our natural gas and electricity under fixed price commitments, future increases in fuel and utility prices, or disruptions in energy supply, may have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Regulations regarding carbon dioxide emissions, and unfavorable allocation of rights to emit carbon dioxide or other air emission related issues, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Substantial quantities of greenhouse gases are released as a consequence of our operations. Compliance with existing, new or proposed regulations governing such emissions tend to become more stringent over time and could lead to a need for us to further reduce such greenhouse gas emissions, to purchase rights to emit from third parties, or to make other changes to our business, all of which could result in significant additional costs or could reduce demand for our products. In addition, we are a significant purchaser of energy. Existing, new and proposed regulations relating to the emission of carbon dioxide by our energy suppliers could result in materially increased energy costs for our operations, and we may be unable to pass along these increased energy costs to our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Measures to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions that could directly or indirectly affect us or our suppliers are currently being developed or may be developed in the future. Many scientists, legislators and others attribute climate change to increased levels of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, which has led to significant legislative and regulatory efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Existing and possible new regulations regarding carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, especially a revised European emissions trading system or a successor to the Kyoto Protocol under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Our fabrication process is subject to regulations that may hinder our ability to manufacture our products. Some of the chemicals we use on our fabrication processes are subject to government regulation, such as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemical substances) in the European Union. Under REACH, we are required to register some of our products with the European Chemicals Agency, and this process could cause significant delays or costs. If we fail to comply with these or similar laws and regulations, we may be required to make significant expenditures to reformulate the chemicals that we use in our products and materials or incur costs to register such chemicals to gain and/or regain compliance, and we may lose customers or revenue as a result. Additionally, we could be subject to significant fines or other civil and criminal penalties should we not achieve such compliance. To the extent that other nations in which we operate also require chemical registration, potential delays similar to those in Europe may delay our entry into these markets. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining regulatory approvals for chemical products used in our facilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to successfully develop and implement new technology initiatives and other strategic investments in a timely manner.

We have invested in, and are involved with, a number of technology and process initiatives, including the development of new aluminum-lithium products. Being at the forefront of technological development is important to remain competitive. Several technical aspects of certain of these initiatives are still unproven and/or the eventual commercial outcomes and feasibility cannot be assessed with any certainty. Even if we are successful with these initiatives, we may not be able to bring them to market as planned before our competitors or at all, and the initiatives may end up costing more than expected. As a result, the costs and benefits from our investments in new technologies and the impact on our financial results may vary from present expectations.

In addition, we have undertaken and may continue to undertake growth, streamlining and productivity initiatives to improve performance, including with respect to our AIRWARE ® material solution. We cannot assure you that these initiatives will be completed or that they will have their intended benefits, such as the realization of estimated cost saving from such activities. Capital investments in debottlenecking or other organic growth initiatives may not produce the returns we anticipate. Even if we are able to generate new efficiencies successfully in the short- to medium-term, we may not be able to continue to reduce cost and increase productivity over the long term.

Our business requires substantial capital investments that we may be unable to fulfill.

Our operations are capital intensive. Our total capital expenditures were €126 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 and €97 million and €51 million for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. We may not generate sufficient operating cash flows and our external financing sources may not be available in an amount sufficient to enable us to make anticipated capital expenditures, service or refinance our indebtedness or fund other liquidity needs. If we are unable to make upgrades or purchase new plants and equipment, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by higher maintenance costs, lower sales volumes due to the impact of reduced product quality, and other competitive factors.

As part of our ongoing evaluation of our operations, we may undertake additional restructuring efforts in the future which could in some instances result in significant severance-related costs and other restructuring charges.

We recorded restructuring charges of €25 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, €20 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 and €6 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The 2012 costs are primarily in relation to an efficiency improvement program ongoing at our Sierre, Switzerland facility and corporate restructuring. Restructuring costs in 2011 were primarily in relation to corporate restructuring and full-time employee reductions throughout our operations. We may pursue additional restructuring activities in the

 

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future, which could result in significant severance-related costs, impairment charges, restructuring charges and related costs and expenses, including resulting labor disputes, which could materially adversely affect our profitability and cash flows.

A deterioration in our financial position or a downgrade of our ratings by a credit rating agency could increase our borrowing costs and our business relationships could be adversely affected.

A deterioration of our financial position or a downgrade of our credit ratings for any reason could increase our borrowing costs and have an adverse effect on our business relationships with customers, suppliers and hedging counterparties. As discussed above, we enter into various forms of hedging arrangements against currency, interest rate or metal price fluctuations and trade metal contracts on the LME. Financial strength and credit ratings are important to the availability and pricing of these hedging and trading activities. As a result, any downgrade of our credit ratings may make it more costly for us to engage in these activities, and changes to our level of indebtedness may make it more difficult or costly for us to engage in these activities in the future.

In addition, a downgrade could adversely affect our existing financing, limit access to the capital or credit markets, or otherwise adversely affect the availability of other new financing on favorable terms, if at all, result in more restrictive covenants in agreements governing the terms of any future indebtedness that we incur, increase our borrowing costs, or otherwise impair our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our indebtedness could materially adversely affect our ability to invest in or fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry or force us to take alternative measures.

Our indebtedness impacts our flexibility in operating our business and could have important consequences for our business and operations, including the following: (i) it may make us more vulnerable to downturns in our business or the economy; (ii) a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations will be dedicated to the repayment of our indebtedness and will not be available for other purposes; (iii) it may restrict us from making strategic acquisitions, introducing new technologies or exploiting business opportunities; and (iv) it may adversely affect the terms under which suppliers provide goods and services to us. As further described in “Description of Certain Indebtedness,” we recently refinanced our $200 million Original Term Loan (€151 million at the year-end exchange rate) by entering into a seven-year term loan in the aggregate principal amount of $360 million and €75 million (equivalent to €347 million in the aggregate at the year-end exchange rate). By increasing our indebtedness as a result of the refinancing, we have made ourselves more susceptible to the risks discussed above.

If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations and pay our expenses, we may be forced to reduce or delay business activities and capital expenditures, sell assets, obtain additional debt or equity capital, restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt before maturity or take other measures. Such measures may materially adversely affect our business. If these alternative measures are unsuccessful, we could default on our obligations, which could result in the acceleration of our outstanding debt obligations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The terms of our indebtedness contain covenants that restrict our current and future operations, and a failure by us to comply with those covenants may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our indebtedness contains, and any future indebtedness we may incur would likely contain, a number of restrictive covenants that will impose significant operating and financial restrictions on our ability to, among other things: (i) incur or guarantee additional debt; (ii) pay dividends and make other restricted payments; (iii) create or incur certain liens; (iv) make certain loans, acquisitions or investments; (v) engage in sale of assets and subsidiary stock; (vi) enter into transactions with affiliates; (vii) transfer all or substantially all of our assets or enter into merger or consolidation transactions; and (viii) enter into sale and lease-back transactions. In

 

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addition, after the initial public offering, our Term Loan will require us to maintain a consolidated secured net leverage ratio of no more than 3.00 to 1.00. As a result of these covenants, we may be limited in the manner in which we conduct our business, and we may be unable to engage in favorable business activities or finance future operations or capital needs.

A failure to comply with our debt covenants could result in an event of default that, if not cured or waived, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If we default under our indebtedness, our lenders may not be required to lend additional amounts to us and could in certain circumstances elect to declare all outstanding borrowings, together with accrued and unpaid interest and fees, to be due and payable, or take other remedial actions. Our existing indebtedness also contains cross-default provisions, which means that if an event of default occurs under certain material indebtedness, such event of default will trigger an event of default under our other indebtedness. If our indebtedness were to be accelerated, we cannot assure you that our assets would be sufficient to repay such indebtedness in full and our lenders could foreclose on our pledged assets. See “Description of Certain Indebtedness.”

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our annual debt service obligations to increase significantly.

A portion of our indebtedness is subject to variable rates of interest and exposes us to interest rate risk. See “Description of Certain Indebtedness.” If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase, resulting in a reduction of our net income, even though the amount borrowed would remain the same.

We could be required to make unexpected contributions to our defined benefit pension plans as a result of adverse changes in interest rates and the capital markets.

Most of our pension obligations relate to funded defined benefit pension plans for our employees in the United States, unfunded pension benefits in France, Switzerland and Germany, and lump sum indemnities payable to our employees in France and Germany upon retirement or termination. Our pension plan assets consist primarily of funds invested in listed stocks and bonds. Our estimates of liabilities and expenses for pensions and other post-retirement benefits incorporate a number of assumptions, including expected long-term rates of return on plan assets and interest rates used to discount future benefits. Our results of operations, liquidity or shareholders’ equity in a particular period could be materially adversely affected by capital market returns that are less than their assumed long-term rate of return or a decline in the rate used to discount future benefits. If the assets of our pension plans do not achieve assumed investment returns for any period, such deficiency could result in one or more charges against our earnings for that period. In addition, changing economic conditions, poor pension investment returns or other factors may require us to make unexpected cash contributions to the pension plans in the future, preventing the use of such cash for other purposes.

We could experience labor disputes that disrupt our business.

A significant number of our employees (approximately 80% of our total headcount) are represented by unions or equivalent bodies and are covered by collective bargaining or similar agreements that are subject to periodic renegotiation. Although we believe that we will be able to successfully negotiate new collective bargaining agreements when the current agreements expire, these negotiations may not prove successful, may result in a significant increase in the cost of labor, or may break down and result in the disruption or cessation of our operations. For example, we experienced work stoppages and labor disturbances at our Ravenswood facility in early August 2012 in conjunction with the renegotiation of the collective bargaining agreement; the Ravenswood employees returned to work in mid-September 2012. In addition, and mainly in Europe, existing collective bargaining agreements may not prevent a strike or work stoppage at our facilities in the future. Any such stoppages or disturbances may have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations by limiting plant production, sales volumes, profitability and operating costs.

 

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The loss of certain members of our management team may have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Our success will depend, in part, on the efforts of our senior management and other key employees. These individuals possess sales, marketing, engineering, technical, manufacturing, financial and administrative skills that are critical to the operation of our business. If we lose or suffer an extended interruption in the services of one or more of our senior officers or other key employees, our ability to operate and expand our business, improve our operations, develop new products, and, as a result, our financial condition and results of operations, may be negatively affected. Moreover, the pool of qualified individuals is highly competitive, and we may not be able to attract and retain qualified personnel to replace or succeed members of our senior management or other key employees, should the need arise.

In addition, in light of demographic trends in the labor markets where we operate, we expect that our factories will be confronted with high levels of natural attrition in the coming years due to retirements. Strategic workforce planning will be a challenge to ensure a controlled exit of skills and competencies and the timely acquisition of new talent and competencies, in line with changing technological and industrial needs.

We have a short history as a standalone company which may pose operational challenges to our management.

Following the closing of the Acquisition, we are no longer owned by Rio Tinto. Our management team has faced and could continue to face operational and organizational challenges and costs related to establishing ourselves as a standalone company, such as establishing various corporate functions, formulating policies, preparing standalone financial statements and integrating the management team. These challenges may divert their attention from running our core business or otherwise materially adversely affect our operating results.

If we do not adequately maintain and evolve our financial reporting and internal controls, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud and may, as a result, become subject to sanctions by the SEC. Establishing effective internal controls may also result in higher than anticipated operating expenses.

We expect that we will need to continue to improve existing, and implement new, financial reporting and management systems, procedures and controls to manage our business effectively and support our growth in the future, especially because we lack a history of operations as a standalone entity. Any delay in the implementation of, or disruption in the transition to, new or enhanced systems, procedures and controls, or the obsolescence of existing financial control systems, could harm our ability to accurately forecast sales demand and record and report financial and management information on a timely and accurate basis.

Moreover, to comply with our obligations as a public company under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we must enhance and maintain our internal controls. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud. We are in the process of refining and enhancing our internal controls to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, which requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting and a report by our independent auditors addressing these assessments starting with our annual report for the year ending December 31, 2014. We are working to establish internal controls that will facilitate compliance with these requirements, and we may accordingly experience higher than anticipated operating expenses, as well as increased independent auditor fees as we continue our compliance efforts.

If we fail to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, we might be subject to sanctions or investigations by regulatory authorities such as the SEC. If we do not adequately implement improvements to our disclosure controls and procedures or to our internal controls in a timely manner, our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to certify as to the effectiveness of our internal

 

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control over financial reporting. This may subject us to adverse regulatory consequences or a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

We could also suffer a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements if our independent registered public accounting firm reports a material weakness in our internal controls, if we do not develop and maintain effective controls and procedures or if we are otherwise unable to deliver timely and reliable financial information. Any loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements or other negative reaction to our failure to develop timely or adequate disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls could result in a decline in the trading price of our ordinary shares. In addition, if we fail to remedy any material weakness, our financial statements may be inaccurate, we may face restricted access to the capital markets and the price of our ordinary shares may be materially adversely affected.

We may not be able to adequately protect proprietary rights to our technology.

Our success depends in part upon our proprietary technology and processes. We believe that our intellectual property has significant value and is important to the marketing of our products and maintaining our competitive advantage. Although we attempt to protect our intellectual property rights both in the United States and in foreign countries through a combination of patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright laws, as well as through confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements and other measures, these measures may not be adequate to fully protect our rights. For example, we have a growing presence in China, which historically has afforded less protection to intellectual property rights than the United States or the Netherlands. Our failure to obtain or maintain adequate protection of our intellectual property rights for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have applied for patent protection relating to certain existing and proposed products and processes. While we generally apply for patents in those countries where we intend to make, have made, use or sell patented products, we may not accurately predict all of the countries where patent protection will ultimately be desirable. If we fail to timely file a patent application in any such country, we may be precluded from doing so at a later date. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that any of our patent applications will be approved. We also cannot assure you that the patents issuing as a result of our foreign patent applications will have the same scope of coverage as our United States patents. The patents we own could be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by others and may not be of sufficient scope or strength to provide us with any meaningful protection or commercial advantage. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our patents, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our patents.

We also rely on unpatented proprietary technology. It is possible that others will independently develop the same or similar technology or otherwise obtain access to our unpatented technology. To protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information, we require employees, consultants, advisors and collaborators to enter into confidentiality agreements. We cannot assure you that these agreements will provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or disclosure of such trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information. If we are unable to maintain the proprietary nature of our technologies, we could be materially adversely affected.

We rely on our trademarks, trade names and brand names to distinguish our products from the products of our competitors, and have registered or applied to register many of these trademarks. We cannot assure you that our trademark applications will be approved. Third parties may also oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products, which could result in loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our trademarks, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.

 

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We may institute or be named as a defendant in litigation regarding our intellectual property and such litigation may be costly and divert management’s attention and resources.

Any attempts to enforce our intellectual property rights, even if successful, could result in costly and prolonged litigation, divert management’s attention and resources, and materially adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. The unauthorized use of our intellectual property may adversely affect our results of operations as our competitors would be able to utilize such property without having had to incur the costs of developing it, thus potentially reducing our relative profitability.

Furthermore, we may be subject to claims that we have infringed the intellectual property rights of another. Even if without merit, such claims could result in costly and prolonged litigation, cause us to cease making, licensing or using products or technologies that incorporate the challenged intellectual property, require us to redesign, reengineer or rebrand our products, if feasible, divert management’s attention and resources, and materially adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. We may also be required to enter into licensing agreements in order to continue using technology that is important to our business, or we may be unable to obtain license agreements on acceptable terms, either of which could negatively affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Failure to protect our information systems against cyber-attacks or information security breaches could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Information security risks have generally increased in recent years because of the proliferation of new technologies and the increased sophistication and activities of perpetrators of cyber-attacks. A failure in or breach of our information systems as a result of cyber-attacks or information security breaches could disrupt our business, result in the disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information, damage our reputation, increase our costs or cause losses. As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to continue to enhance our information security measures or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities.

Current liabilities under, as well as the cost of compliance with, environmental, health and safety laws could increase our operating costs and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our operations are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we do business, which govern, among other things, air emissions, wastewater discharges, the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the remediation of contaminated sites, and employee health and safety. At December 31, 2012, we had close-down and environmental restoration costs provisions of €56 million. Future environmental regulations could impose stricter compliance requirements on the industries in which we operate. Additional pollution control equipment, process changes, or other environmental control measures may be needed at some of our facilities to meet future requirements. If we are unable to comply with these laws and regulations, we could incur substantial costs, including fines and civil or criminal sanctions, or costs associated with upgrades to our facilities or changes in our manufacturing processes in order to achieve and maintain compliance.

Financial responsibility for contaminated property can be imposed on us where current operations have had an environmental impact. Such liability can include the cost of investigating and remediating contaminated soil or ground water, fines and penalties sought by environmental authorities, and damages arising out of personal injury, contaminated property and other toxic tort claims, as well as lost or impaired natural resources. Certain environmental laws impose strict, and in certain circumstances joint and several, liability for certain kinds of matters, such that a person can be held liable without regard to fault for all of the costs of a matter even though others were also involved or responsible.

We have accrued, and expect to accrue, costs relating to the above matters that are reasonably expected to be incurred based on available information. However, it is possible that actual costs may differ, perhaps

 

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significantly, from the amounts expected or accrued. Similarly, the timing of those expenditures may occur faster than anticipated. These differences could negatively affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Other legal proceedings or investigations, or changes in applicable laws and regulations, could increase our operating costs and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to the matters described above, we may from time-to-time be involved in, or be the subject of, disputes, proceedings and investigations with respect to a variety of matters, including matters related to personal injury, intellectual property, employees, taxes, contracts, anti-competitive or anti-corruption practices as well as other disputes and proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. It could be costly to address these claims or any investigations involving them, whether meritorious or not, and legal proceedings and investigations could divert management’s attention as well as operational resources, negatively affecting our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Additionally, as with the environmental laws and regulations, other laws and regulations which govern our business are subject to change at any time. Compliance with changes to existing laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Product liability claims against us could result in significant costs and could materially adversely affect our reputation and our business.

If any of the products that we sell are defective or cause harm to any of our customers, we could be exposed to product liability lawsuits and/or warranty claims. If we were found liable under product liability claims or are obligated under warranty claims, we could be required to pay substantial monetary damages. We believe we possess adequate product liability insurance to match our level of exposure. However, even if we successfully defend ourselves against these types of claims, we could still be forced to spend a substantial amount of money in litigation expenses, our management could be required to devote significant time and attention to defending against these claims, and our reputation could suffer, any of which could harm our business.

Our operations present significant risk of injury or death.

Because of the heavy industrial activities conducted at our facilities, there exists a risk of injury or death to our employees or other visitors, notwithstanding the safety precautions we take. Our operations are subject to regulation by national, state and local agencies responsible for employee health and safety, which has from time to time levied fines against us for certain isolated incidents. While such fines have not been material and we have in place policies to minimize such risks, we may nevertheless be unable to avoid material liabilities for any employee death or injury that may occur in the future, and any such incidents may materially adversely impact our reputation. Over the last three years, none of the incidents resulting in employee fatalities or significant injuries have resulted in significant disruptions of operations, losses or liabilities.

The insurance that we maintain may not fully cover all potential exposures.

We maintain property, casualty and workers’ compensation insurance, but such insurance does not cover all risks associated with the hazards of our business and is subject to limitations, including deductibles and maximum liabilities covered. We may incur losses beyond the limits, or outside the coverage, of our insurance policies, including liabilities for environmental compliance or remediation. In addition, from time to time, various types of insurance for companies in our industries have not been available on commercially acceptable terms or, in some cases, have not been available at all. In the future, we may not be able to obtain coverage at current levels, and our premiums may increase significantly on coverage that we maintain.

 

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Increases in our effective tax rate and exposures to additional income tax liabilities due to audits could materially adversely affect our business.

We operate in multiple tax jurisdictions and pay tax on our income according to the tax laws of these jurisdictions. Various factors, some of which are beyond our control, determine our effective tax rate and/or the amount we are required to pay, including changes in or interpretations of tax laws in any given jurisdiction, our ability to use net operating loss and tax credit carry forwards and other tax attributes, changes in geographical allocation of income and expense, and our judgment about the realizability of deferred tax assets. Such changes to our effective tax rate could materially adversely affect our financial position, liquidity, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, due to the size and nature of our business, we are subject to ongoing reviews by taxing jurisdictions on various tax matters, including challenges to positions we assert on our income tax and withholding tax returns. We accrue income tax liabilities and tax contingencies based upon our best estimate of the taxes ultimately expected to be paid after considering our knowledge of all relevant facts and circumstances, existing tax laws, our experience with previous audits and settlements, the status of current tax examinations and how the tax authorities view certain issues. Such amounts are included in income taxes payable, other non-current liabilities or deferred income tax liabilities, as appropriate, and updated over time as more information becomes available. We record additional tax expense in the period in which we determine that the recorded tax liability is less than the ultimate assessment we expect. We are currently subject to audit and review in a number of jurisdictions in which we operate, and further audits may commence in the future.

Our historical and adjusted financial information presented in this prospectus may not be representative of results we would have achieved as an independent company or of our future results.

The historical and adjusted financial information we have included in this prospectus does not necessarily reflect what our results of operations, financial position or cash flows would have been had we been an independent company during the periods presented. For this reason, as well as the inherent uncertainties of our business, the historical and adjusted financial information does not necessarily indicate what our results of operations, financial position, cash flows or costs and expenses will be in the future. Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future performance. In addition, our financial results as a subsidiary of Rio Tinto may not be indicative of our results as a standalone company, as they may not be directly comparable.

We are principally owned by Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI, and their interests may conflict with or differ from your interests as a shareholder.

After the completion of this offering, Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI will continue to own a significant amount of our equity and their interests may not always be aligned with yours. In addition, our directors will be elected by our shareholders at a General Meeting upon a binding nomination by the non-executive directors as described in “Management—Board Structure.” The General Meeting may at all times overrule the binding nature of such nomination by a resolution adopted by a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast, provided that such majority represents more than 50% of our issued share capital. Therefore, so long as Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI in the aggregate hold more than one-third of our outstanding ordinary shares, and vote such shares at the general meeting in accordance with the voting arrangements pursuant to an agreement among the shareholders, the binding nomination of the non-executive directors cannot be overruled by the other holders of our ordinary shares. If the binding nomination is overruled, the non-executive directors may then make a new nomination. If such a nomination has not been made or has not been made in time, this shall be stated in the notice and the General Meeting shall be free to appoint a director in its discretion. Such a resolution of the General Meeting must be adopted by at least two-thirds of the votes cast, provided that such majority represents more than 50% of our issued share capital. As noted above, Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI will be required to vote the ordinary shares held by them at the general meeting in respect of the election of directors in accordance with certain voting arrangements pursuant to their shareholders agreement with Constellium. See “Certain

 

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Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement.” These shareholders may have interests that are different from yours and they may exercise their voting and other rights in a manner that may be adverse to your interests.

In addition, this concentration of ownership could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control or otherwise discouraging a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, which could cause the market price of our ordinary shares to decline or prevent our shareholders from realizing a premium over the market price for their ordinary shares.

Apollo Funds make investments in companies in the ordinary course of Apollo’s business and Apollo Funds currently hold, and may from time to time in the future acquire, controlling interests in businesses engaged in the metals industry that complement or directly or indirectly compete with certain portions of our business. So long as Apollo Funds continue to indirectly own a significant amount of our equity, even if such amount is less than 50%, Apollo Funds will continue to be able to strongly influence or effectively control our business decisions.

We are a foreign private issuer under the U.S. securities laws within the meaning of the NYSE rules. As a result, we will qualify for and may rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

As a “foreign private issuer,” as such term is defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, we are permitted to follow our home country practice in lieu of certain corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, including that (i) a majority of the board of directors consists of independent directors; (ii) the nominating and corporate governance committee be composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and (iii) the compensation committee be composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. Foreign private issuers are also exempt from certain U.S. securities law requirements applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including the requirement to file quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and to distribute a proxy statement pursuant to Exchange Act Section 14 in connection with the solicitation of proxies for shareholders meetings.

Immediately following this offering, we may rely on the exemptions for foreign private issuers and follow Dutch corporate governance practices in lieu of some or all of the NYSE corporate governance rules specified above. We currently intend to rely on exemptions from the requirements set out in (i), (ii) and (iii) above, but in the future, we may change what home country corporate governance practices we follow, and, accordingly, which exemptions we will rely on from the NYSE requirements. So long as we qualify as a foreign private issuer, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses.

Although we expect that we will continue to maintain our status as a foreign private issuer, we could cease to be a foreign private issuer if a majority of our outstanding voting securities are directly or indirectly held of record by U.S. residents and we fail to meet additional requirements necessary to avoid loss of foreign private issuer status. The regulatory and compliance costs to us under U.S. securities laws as a U.S. domestic issuer may be significantly more than costs we incur as a foreign private issuer. If we are not a foreign private issuer, we will be required to file periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms with the SEC, including proxy statements pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act. These SEC disclosure requirements are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. In addition, our directors, officers and 10% owners would become subject to insider short-swing profit disclosure and recovery rules under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. We may also be required to modify certain of our policies to comply with corporate governance practices associated with U.S. domestic issuers. Such conversion and modifications would involve additional costs.

 

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In addition, we would lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain NYSE corporate governance requirements that are available to foreign private issuers. In particular, within six months of losing our foreign private issuer status we would be required to have a majority of independent directors and a nominating/corporate governance committee and a compensation committee comprised entirely of independent directors, unless other exemptions are available under the NYSE rules. Any of these changes would likely increase our regulatory and compliance costs and expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

We do not comply with all the provisions of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code. This may affect your rights as a shareholder.

We are subject to the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, which applies to all Dutch companies listed on a government-recognized stock exchange, whether in the Netherlands or elsewhere, including the NYSE and Euronext Paris. The Dutch Corporate Governance Code contains principles and best practice provisions for boards of directors, shareholders and general meetings of shareholders, financial reporting, auditors, disclosure, compliance and enforcement standards. The Dutch Corporate Governance Code is based on a “comply or explain” principle. Accordingly, companies are required to disclose in their annual reports, filed in the Netherlands, whether they comply with the provisions of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code and, if they do not comply with those provisions, to give the reasons for such non-compliance. The principles and best practice provisions apply to the board (relating to, among other matters, the board’s role and composition, conflicts of interest and independence requirements, board committees and remuneration), shareholders and the general meeting of shareholders (for example, regarding anti-takeover protection and obligations of a company to provide information to its shareholders), and financial reporting (such as external auditor and internal audit requirements). We have decided not to comply with a number of the provisions of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code because such provisions conflict, in whole or in part, with the corporate governance rules of NYSE and U.S. securities laws that apply to our company whose ordinary shares are traded on the NYSE, or because such provisions do not reflect best practices of global companies listed on the NYSE. This may affect your rights as a shareholder and you may not have the same level of protection as a shareholder in a Dutch company that fully complies with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code. See “Description of Capital Stock—Dutch Corporate Governance Code.”

Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares and the Offering

There is no existing market for our ordinary shares, and we do not know whether one will develop to provide you with adequate liquidity.

Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our ordinary shares. If an active trading market does not develop, you may have difficulty selling any of our ordinary shares that you buy. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our ordinary shares will lead to the development of an active trading market on the NYSE, Euronext Paris or otherwise, or how liquid that market might become. Due to the time difference between New York and Paris, or other reasons, there may be a delay in the commencement of trading of shares on NYSE Euronext Paris. In the event of a delay, investors would not be able to sell or otherwise trade shares on NYSE Euronext Paris during that period. The initial public offering price for the ordinary shares will be determined by negotiations among us, the selling shareholders and the underwriters, and may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the open market following this offering. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).” Consequently, you may not be able to sell our ordinary shares at prices equal to or greater than the price paid by you in this offering.

The market price of our ordinary shares may fluctuate significantly, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

The market price of our ordinary shares may be influenced by many factors, some of which are beyond our control and could result in significant fluctuations, including: (i) the failure of financial analysts to cover our

 

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ordinary shares after this offering, changes in financial estimates by analysts or any failure by us to meet or exceed any of these estimates; (ii) actual or anticipated variations in our operating results; (iii) announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts or acquisitions; (iv) the recruitment or departure of key personnel; (v) regulatory and litigation developments; (vi) developments in our industry; (vii) future sales of our ordinary shares; and (viii) investor perceptions of us and the industries in which we operate.

In addition, the stock market in general has experienced substantial price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies affected. These broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our ordinary shares, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of certain companies’ securities, securities class action litigation has been instituted against these companies. If any such litigation is instituted against us, it could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Transformation into a public company may significantly increase our operating costs and disrupt the regular operations of our business.

This offering will have a significant transformative effect on us. Our business historically has operated as a privately owned company, and we expect to incur significant additional legal, accounting, reporting and other expenses as a result of having publicly traded ordinary shares. We will also incur increased costs or costs which we have not incurred previously, including, but not limited to, costs and expenses for directors’ fees, directors and officers liability insurance, investor relations and various other costs of a public company. The additional demands associated with being a public company may disrupt the regular operations of our business by diverting the attention of our senior management team away from revenue producing activities to management and administrative oversight, adversely affecting our ability to identify and complete business opportunities and increasing the difficulty we face in both retaining professionals and managing and growing our businesses. Any of these effects could materially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We also anticipate that we will incur costs associated with corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, as well as rules implemented by the SEC and the NYSE. We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some management and corporate governance activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. This could have a material adverse impact on our ability to recruit and bring on qualified independent directors.

Sales of substantial amounts of our ordinary shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our ordinary shares to decline.

Sales of substantial amounts of our ordinary shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our ordinary shares to decline. This could also impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of our equity securities. Prior to the completion of the offering, we amended our Amended and Restated Articles of Association to provide authorization to issue up to 398,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, 1,500,000 Class B ordinary shares. A total of 99,589,338 Class A ordinary shares, 964,189 Class B ordinary shares will be outstanding upon the completion of this offering. All of the ordinary shares sold in this offering will be freely transferrable without restriction or further registration. We may issue ordinary shares or other securities from time to time as consideration for, or to finance, future acquisitions and investments or for other capital needs. We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our shares or the effect, if any, that future sales and issuances of shares would have on the market price of our ordinary shares. If any such acquisition or investment is significant, the number of ordinary shares or the number or aggregate principal amount, as the case may be, of other securities that we may issue may in turn be substantial and may result in

 

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additional dilution to our shareholders. We may also grant registration rights covering ordinary shares or other securities that we may issue in connection with any such acquisitions and investments.

Any shareholder acquiring 30% or more of our voting rights may be required to make a mandatory takeover bid or be subject to voting restrictions.

Under Dutch law, if a party directly or indirectly acquires control of a Dutch company, all or part of whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market, that party may be required to make a public offer for all other shares of the company (mandatory takeover bid). “Control” is defined as the ability to exercise, whether or not in concert with others, at least 30% of the voting rights at a general meeting of shareholders. Controlling shareholders existing before this offering are generally exempt from this requirement, unless their controlling interest drops below 30% and then increases again to 30% or more. The purpose of this requirement is to protect the interests of minority shareholders. Any shareholder acquiring 30% or more of our voting rights may be limited in its ability to vote on our ordinary shares.

Provisions of our organizational documents and applicable law may impede or discourage a takeover, which could deprive our investors of the opportunity to receive a premium for their ordinary shares or to make changes in our board of directors.

Several provisions of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association and the laws of the Netherlands could make it difficult for our shareholders to change the composition of our board of directors, thereby preventing them from changing the composition of our management. In addition, the same provisions may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, consolidation or acquisition that shareholders may consider favorable. Provisions of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association impose various procedural and other requirements, which could make it more difficult for shareholders to effect certain corporate actions. These anti-takeover provisions could substantially impede the ability of our shareholders to benefit from a change in control and, as a result, may materially adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares and your ability to realize any potential change of control premium.

Our general meeting of shareholders has empowered our board of directors to issue shares and restrict or exclude preemptive rights on those shares for a period of five years. Accordingly, an issue of new shares may make it more difficult for a shareholder to obtain control over our general meeting of shareholders.

In addition, because certain of our products may have applications in the defense sector, we may be subject to rules and regulations in France and other jurisdictions that could impede or discourage a takeover or other change in control of Constellium or its subsidiaries. In particular, Constellium supplies aluminum alloy products, such as plates, sheets, profiles, tubes and castings, and related services and R&D activities in connection with aerospace and defense programs in France. As a result, a controlling investment in Constellium or certain of Constellium’s French subsidiaries, or the purchase of assets constituting a business which produces products or provides services with applications in the defense sector, by a company or individual that is considered to be foreign or non-resident in France may be subject to the French Monetary and Financial Code, which requires prior authorization of the French Ministry of Economy.

You will suffer an immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of the ordinary shares you purchase.

The offering price is substantially higher than the adjusted net tangible book value per share of the outstanding ordinary shares immediately after the completion of this offering. Accordingly, based on a public offering price of $18.00 per share, purchasers of ordinary shares in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution of approximately $20.60 per share in the adjusted net tangible book value of the ordinary shares. See “Dilution.”

 

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Because we currently have no plans to pay regular dividends on our ordinary shares for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on your investment unless you sell your ordinary shares for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

We currently have no plans to pay regular dividends on our ordinary shares. Any declaration and payment of future dividends to holders of our ordinary shares may be limited by restrictive covenants in our debt agreements, and will be at the sole discretion of our board of directors and will depend on many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, cash flows, statutory and contractual restrictions applying to the payment of dividends and other considerations that our board of directors deems relevant. In addition, the agreements governing our current and future indebtedness may restrict our ability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares. As a result, you may not receive any return on your investment unless you sell your ordinary shares for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.

We cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses of the net proceeds we will receive from this offering. Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds, including for any of the purposes described in “Use of Proceeds.” Accordingly, you will have to rely on the judgment of our management with respect to the use of the proceeds, with only limited information concerning management’s specific intentions. Our management may spend a portion or all of the net proceeds from this offering in ways that our shareholders may not desire or that may not yield a favorable return. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could harm our business. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.

United States civil liabilities may not be enforceable against us.

We are incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands and substantial portions of our assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, certain members of our board, our officers and certain experts named herein reside outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or such other persons residing outside the United States, or to enforce outside the United States judgments obtained against such persons in U.S. courts in any action, including actions predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. In addition, it may be difficult for investors to enforce, in original actions brought in courts in jurisdictions located outside the United States, rights predicated upon the U.S. federal securities laws.

There is no treaty between the United States and the Netherlands for the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments (other than arbitration awards) in civil and commercial matters. Therefore, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any federal or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws, would not be enforceable in the Netherlands unless the underlying claim is re-litigated before a Dutch court. Under current practice however, a Dutch court will generally grant the same judgment without a review of the merits of the underlying claim if (i) that judgment resulted from legal proceedings compatible with Dutch notions of due process, (ii) that judgment does not contravene public policy of the Netherlands and (iii) the jurisdiction of the United States federal or state court has been based on internationally accepted principles of private international law.

Based on the foregoing, there can be no assurance that U.S. investors will be able to enforce against us or members of our board of directors, officers or certain experts named herein who are residents of the Netherlands or countries other than the United States any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities laws.

 

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In addition, there is doubt as to whether a Dutch court would impose civil liability on us, the members of our board of directors, our officers or certain experts named herein in an original action predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in the Netherlands against us or such members, officers or experts, respectively.

In connection with this offering, we converted from a Dutch private limited liability company to a Dutch public limited liability company. The rights of our shareholders may be different from the rights of shareholders governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions.

In connection with this offering we converted from a Dutch private limited liability company ( besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid ) to a Dutch public limited liability company ( naamloze vennootschap ). Our corporate affairs will be governed by our Amended and Restated Articles of Association and by the laws governing companies incorporated in the Netherlands. The rights of shareholders and the responsibilities of members of our board of directors may be different from the rights and obligations of shareholders in companies governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions. In the performance of its duties, our board of directors is required by Dutch law to consider the interests of our company, its shareholders, its employees and other stakeholders, in all cases with due observation of the principles of reasonableness and fairness. It is possible that some of these parties will have interests that are different from, or in addition to, your interests as a shareholder. See “Description of Capital Stock—Dutch Corporate Governance Code” and “Description of Capital Stock—Differences in Corporate Law.”

Although shareholders will have the right to approve legal mergers or demergers, Dutch law does not grant appraisal rights to a company’s shareholders who wish to challenge the consideration to be paid upon a legal merger or demerger of a company. In addition, if a third party is liable to a Dutch company, under Dutch law shareholders generally do not have the right to bring an action on behalf of the company or to bring an action on their own behalf to recover damages sustained as a result of a decrease in value, or loss of an increase in value, of their stock. Only in the event that the cause of liability of such third party to the company also constitutes a tortious act directly against such stockholder and the damages sustained are permanent, may that stockholder have an individual right of action against such third party on its own behalf to recover damages. The Dutch Civil Code provides for the possibility to initiate such actions collectively. A foundation or an association whose objective, as stated in its articles of association, is to protect the rights of persons having similar interests, may institute a collective action. The collective action cannot result in an order for payment of monetary damages but may result in a declaratory judgment ( verklaring voor recht ), for example, declaring that a party has acted wrongfully or has breached a fiduciary duty. The foundation or association and the defendant are permitted to reach (often on the basis of such declaratory judgment) a settlement which provides for monetary compensation for damages. A designated Dutch court may declare the settlement agreement binding upon all the injured parties with an opt-out choice for an individual injured party. An individual injured party, within the period set by the court, may also individually institute a civil claim for damages if such injured party is not bound by a collective agreement.

The provisions of Dutch corporate law and our Amended and Restated Articles of Association have the effect of concentrating control over certain corporate decisions and transactions in the hands of our board of directors. As a result, holders of our shares may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions by members of the board of directors than if we were incorporated in the United States.

Exchange rate fluctuations may adversely affect the foreign currency value of the ordinary shares and any dividends.

The ordinary shares will be quoted in U.S. dollars on the NYSE and in euros on Euronext Paris. Our financial statements are prepared in euros. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between euros and the U.S. dollar will affect, among other matters, the U.S. dollar value and the euro value of the ordinary shares and of any dividends.

 

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If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports or publish unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ordinary shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us, our business or our industry. We have limited, and may never obtain significant, research coverage by securities and industry analysts. If no additional securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our company, the trading price for our shares could be negatively affected. In the event we obtain additional securities or industry analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our stock, our share price will likely decline. If one or more of these analysts, or those who currently cover us, ceases to cover us or fails to publish regular reports on us, interest in the purchase of our shares could decrease, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which could subject U.S. investors in our ordinary shares to significant adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.

A foreign corporation will be a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes (a “PFIC”) in any taxable year in which, after taking into account the income and assets of the corporation and certain subsidiaries pursuant to applicable “look-through rules,” either (i) at least 75% of its gross income is “passive income,” or (ii) at least 50% of its assets produce or are held for the production of “passive income.” For this purpose, “passive income” generally includes dividends, interest, royalties and rents and certain other categories of income, subject to certain exceptions. We believe that we will not be a PFIC for the current taxable year and that we have not been a PFIC for prior taxable years and we expect that we will not become a PFIC in the foreseeable future, although there can be no assurance in this regard. The determination of whether we are a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination that includes ascertaining the fair market value (or, in certain circumstances, tax basis) of all of our assets on a quarterly basis and the character of each item of income we earn. This determination is made annually and cannot be completed until the close of a taxable year. It depends upon the portion of our assets (including goodwill) and income characterized as passive under the PFIC rules. Accordingly, it is possible that we may become a PFIC due to changes in our income or asset composition or a decline in the market value of our equity. Because PFIC status is a fact-intensive determination, no assurance can be given that we are not, have not been, or will not become, classified as a PFIC.

If we were to be classified as a PFIC in any taxable year, U.S. Holders (as defined in “Material Tax Consequences—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences”) generally would be subject to special tax rules that could result in materially adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences. Further, prospective investors should assume that a “qualified electing fund” election, which, if made, could serve as an alternative to the general PFIC rules and could reduce any adverse consequences to U.S. Holders if we were to be classified as a PFIC, will not be available because we do not intend to provide U.S. Holders with the information needed to make such an election. A mark-to-market election may be available, however, if our ordinary shares are regularly traded. For more information, see the section titled “Material Tax Consequences—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences—Passive Foreign Investment Company Consequences” and consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax consequences of acquiring, owning or disposing of our ordinary shares if we are or become classified as a PFIC.

 

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains “forward-looking statements” with respect to our business, results of operations and financial condition, and our expectations or beliefs concerning future events and conditions. You can identify certain forward-looking statements because they contain words such as, but not limited to, “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “should,” “approximately,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” “likely,” “will,” “would,” “could” and similar expressions (or the negative of these terminologies or expressions). All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Many risks and uncertainties are inherent in our industry and markets. Others are more specific to our business and operations. The occurrence of the events described and the achievement of the expected results depend on many events, some or all of which are not predictable or within our control. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements are disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus, including, without limitation, in conjunction with the forward-looking statements included in this prospectus. All forward-looking statements in this prospectus and subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements. Some of the factors that we believe could materially affect our results include:

 

   

our ability to implement our business strategy, including our productivity and cost reduction initiatives;

 

   

our susceptibility to cyclical fluctuations in the metals industry, our end-markets and our customers’ industries, and changes in general economic conditions;

 

   

the highly competitive nature of the metals industry and the risk that aluminum will become less competitive compared to alternative materials;

 

   

the possibility of unplanned business interruptions and equipment failure;

 

   

adverse conditions and disruptions in European economies;

 

   

the risk associated with being dependent on a limited number of suppliers for a substantial portion of our primary and scrap aluminum;

 

   

the risk that we may be required to bear increases in operating costs under our multi-year contracts with customers, or certain fixed costs in the event of early termination of contracts;

 

   

competition and consolidation in the industries in which we operate;

 

   

our ability to maintain and continuously improve our information technology and operational systems and financial reporting and internal controls;

 

   

our ability to manage our labor costs and labor relations and attract and retain qualified employees;

 

   

the risk that regulation and litigation pose to our business, including our ability to maintain required licenses and regulatory approvals and comply with applicable laws and regulations, and the effects of potential changes in governmental regulations;

 

   

risk associated with our global operations, including natural disasters and currency fluctuations;

 

   

changes in our effective income tax rate or accounting standards;

 

   

costs or liabilities associated with environmental, health and safety matters; and

 

   

the other factors presented under the heading “Risk Factors.”

We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors may not contain all of the material factors that are important to you. In addition, in light of these risks and uncertainties, the matters referred to in the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus may not in fact occur. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We expect to receive total estimated net proceeds, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses, of approximately $180 million from the offering (equivalent to €141 million based on March 31, 2013 exchange rates), based on the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the public offering price per ordinary share would increase (decrease) our net proceeds, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses, by approximately $10.5 million. Each increase (decrease) of 1.0 million in the number of ordinary shares offered by us would increase (decrease) our net proceeds, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses, by approximately $17 million.

We are conducting this offering in order to provide liquidity for our existing shareholders, to enhance our profile through a public market listing and to raise funds that will increase our financial flexibility. We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, capital expenditures, repayment of debt and funding acquisition opportunities that may become available to us from time to time. Prior to their application, the net proceeds may be invested in short-term investments. Our management will have broad discretion over the uses of the net proceeds received in this offering.

Certain of the underwriters and/or their affiliates act in various capacities and/or are lenders under our Term Loan. Certain of the underwriters and/or their affiliates act in various capacities and/or are lenders under our U.S. Revolving Credit Facility. To the extent the proceeds of this offering are used to repay borrowings under our Term Loan or U.S. Revolving Credit Facility, each such entity will receive its proportionate share of the repayment of such borrowings. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”

We will not receive any of the net proceeds from the sale of ordinary shares by the selling shareholders. For information on the selling shareholders, see “Principal and Selling Shareholders.” In the aggregate, the selling shareholders will receive approximately $200 million of the gross proceeds of this offering, assuming the shares are offered at $18.00 per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, prior to deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We do not currently anticipate paying dividends on our ordinary shares following this offering and instead may retain any earnings for future operations and expansion and debt repayment. Any declaration and payment of future dividends to holders of our ordinary shares will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, statutory future prospects and contractual restrictions applying to the payment of dividends and other considerations that our board of directors deems relevant. In general, any payment of dividends must be made in accordance with our Amended and Restated Articles of Association and the requirements of Dutch law. Under Dutch law, payment of dividends and other distributions to shareholders may be made only if our shareholders’ equity exceeds the sum of our called up and paid-in share capital plus the reserves required to be maintained by law and by our Amended and Restated Articles of Association.

Generally, we rely on dividends paid to us, or funds otherwise distributed or advanced to us, by our subsidiaries to fund the payment of dividends, if any, to our shareholders. In addition, restrictions contained in the agreements governing our outstanding indebtedness limit our ability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares and limit the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. Future indebtedness that we may incur may contain similar restrictions.

On March 28, 2013, we made a distribution of share premium to our Class A and Class B1 shareholders of approximately €103 million (and an additional distribution to our class B2 shareholders of €392,000 on May 21, 2013).

Our board of directors further approved a distribution of profits of an additional approximately €147 million to our existing Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 shareholders. Due to certain European tax and accounting restrictions, however, we did not anticipate being able to pay such additional distribution to our existing shareholders until after the completion of this offering. Consequentially, in order to facilitate the payment of such distribution, we have issued preference shares to our existing Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 shareholders. These preference shares entitled their holders to receive distributions in priority to ordinary shareholders in the aggregate amount of approximately €147 million in proportion to the percentage ownership of our existing shareholders immediately prior to the completion of this offering. However, we were able to make such distribution of approximately €147 million on May 21, 2013.

All rights attached to the preference shares, including voting rights and rights to profit, have automatically and immediately become equal to the rights attached to the ordinary shares. However, the holders of the preference shares will not likely have an opportunity to exercise or benefit from any of these rights as we have agreed with our existing shareholders to repurchase the preference shares for no consideration simultaneously with or shortly after the payment in full of the distribution amount of approximately €147 million. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association and Dutch law provide that so long as the preference shares are held by the Company, they will have no voting rights and no right to profits.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and our capitalization as of December 31, 2012 on:

 

  1. an historical basis;

 

  2. an adjusted basis to give effect, as if they had occurred on December 31, 2012, to

 

  the March 25, 2013 refinancing of the Original Term Loan with proceeds from our Term Loan, as described in “Description of Certain Indebtedness”, including €10 million of fees associated with the issuance of the Term Loan and €8 million of breakage costs associated with the early repayment of the Original Term Loan of principal amount of €151 million, excluding €13 million of unamortised financing costs;

 

  the distribution on March 28, 2013 of an aggregate of €103 million to our existing shareholders, paid out of share premium reserves, including the distribution, prior to consummation of this offering, of an additional approximately €0.4 million to our Class B2 shareholders;

 

  the reacquisition by the company of ordinary shares issued under our legacy management equity plan, at an acquisition amount of approximately €0.9 million, in connection with our decision to freeze new participation in the plan in anticipation of this offering, as described in “Management—Management Equity Plan”;

 

  the issuance, prior to the consummation of this offering, of preference shares to our existing shareholders, and the distribution on May 21, 2013 of approximately €147 million on such preference shares, shown as if it had cash settled on December 31, 2012. Therefore for the purposes of the capitalization table we have assumed the 5 preference shares as reacquired; and

 

  the payment of a $20 million (€16 million) termination fee to Apollo under the Apollo Management Agreement.

 

  3. On an as adjusted, pro forma basis to give effect, as if they had occurred on December 31, 2012, to (a) all events set forth in (2) above; (b) the pro rata share issuance, as described in “Description of Capital Stock”; and (c) the sale of ordinary shares in this offering at an assumed offering price of $18.00 per share (the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as set forth under “Use of Proceeds”.

 

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This table should be read in conjunction with “Use of Proceeds,” “Selected Financial Information,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and the consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, which appear elsewhere in this prospectus. Applicable exchange rates are as of March 31, 2013 of €1 to $1.2820.

 

     As of December 31, 2012  
     Historical     As adjusted     As adjusted
pro forma
 
     (€ in millions)  
     (unaudited)  

Cash and cash equivalents (1)

     142        62 (2)       203 (3)  

Current borrowings ( 4 )

     18        16        16   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-current borrowings

      

Original Term Loan ( 5 )

     149        —          —     

Term Loan ( 6 )

     —          356        356   

ABL facility (3)

     —          —          _   

Other long-term borrowings ( 7 )

     4        4        4   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total long-term borrowings

     153        360        360   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total borrowings

     171        376        376   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Share capital (8)

     —          —          2   

Share premium (9)

     98        (152     4   

Retained deficit

     (149     (184     (201
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deficit

     (51     (336     (195
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total capitalization ( 10 )

     120        40        181   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand and in bank accounts, short-term deposits held on call with banks and highly liquid investments, which are readily convertible into cash, less bank overdrafts repayable on demand if there is a right of offset. To the extent we elect to make prepayments on the Term Loan with proceeds from this offering, as adjusted, pro forma cash and cash equivalents will be reduced by a corresponding amount. As adjusted cash and cash equivalents represents cash and cash equivalents of €142 million at December 31, 2012 adjusted for (i) Term Loan proceeds of €356 million (€75 million and $360 million at a March 31, 2013 exchange rate of 1.2820), less (ii) €10 million of fees in relation to the Term Loan, (iii) repayment of the Original Term Loan principal of €151 million and an €8 million breakage fee in relation to the early repayment of the Original Term Loan, (iv) a distribution of €103 million and preference share payment of approximately €147 million, (v) the Apollo termination fee of $20 million (€16 million) and (vi) reacquisition by us of ordinary shares issued under our legacy management equity plan for approximately €0.9 million. Our pro forma, adjusted cash and cash equivalents represents the adjusted cash and cash equivalents of €62 million adjusted for net proceeds from this offering of $180 million (€141 million at a March 31, 2013 exchange rate of 1.2820).
(2) Prior to the consummation of this offering we issued five preference shares to our current shareholders that each represent the right to receive their pro rata portion of the approximately €147 million distribution made on May 21, 2013 and the existing shareholders have no other material rights nor any further claims on the equity of the Company. As the distribution of the approximately €147 million to the preference shareholders has occurred, we have therefore shown the preference shares not as a current liability but as a deduction of cash and cash equivalents in the “As Adjusted” column.
(3) As of March 31, 2013, our cash and cash equivalents was approximately €165 million and €34 million of our ABL facility was drawn.

 

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(4) Represents amounts drawn under the Ravenswood LLC revolving credit facility of €16 million and €2 million drawn under the Original Term Loan facility. €2 million was subsequently repaid in full in conjunction with the refinancing of the Original Term Loan in March 2013.
(5) Represents the principal amount of borrowings of €149 million drawn down under the Original Term Loan due May 2018, excluding €13 million of unamortized financing costs and €2 million classified as current borrowings, which was repaid in full with proceeds from the Term Loan. The unamortized financing costs represent a book adjustment to the principal amount. The cash impact of the repayment was €151 million of principal and €8 million of breakage fees, which is expensed through our retained deficit.
(6) Represents the $360 million and €75 million term loan facility entered into on March 25, 2013, which was utilized in part for the distribution of €103 million to our shareholders on March 28, 2013 and also for the repayment of the Original Term Loan. To the extent we elect to make prepayments on the Term Loan with proceeds from this offering, the principal amount outstanding under the Term Loan will be reduced by a corresponding amount. Fees and expenses of the new Term Loan totalled €10 million.
(7) Represents other miscellaneous borrowings.
(8) Represents the issuance of a total of Class A ordinary shares of 83,945,965, Class B1 ordinary shares of 815,252 and Class B2 ordinary shares of 923,683 pursuant to the pro rata share issuance described in the section “Recapitalization and Conversion of Capital Stock in Connection with this Offering” of this Registration Statement in addition to five additional preference shares at €0.02 par value for no cash consideration and the offering herewith. Our authorized, issued and outstanding share capital is as follows:

 

     December 31, 2012      As adjusted      Pro forma as adjusted  

Authorized

     17,500,000         17,500,000         400,000,005   

Issued and outstanding

     3,788,881         3,757,516         100,553,527   

As adjusted share capital reflects the retirement of 31,365 Stichting shares. We have adjusted for the issuance of 5 preference shares and the retirement of shares on payment of the €147 million distribution. Pro forma as adjusted share capital further reflects the pro rata share issuance of 85,684,900 shares and shares offered hereby of 11,111,111. Our issued and outstanding share capital in our financial statements reflects 3,788,881 share capital adjusted for the pro rata share issuance of 85,684,900 shares.

(9) Our as adjusted share premium reflects €98 million share premium at December 31, 2012 adjusted for payment of €103 million of distribution and approximately €147 million of distribution to our preference shareholders, as described in (2) above. Pro forma adjusted share premium is adjusted for the gross proceeds from this offering in excess of the nominal value of our shares issued which amounts to €156 million. Our as adjusted retained deficit reflects retained deficit at December 31, 2012 of €(149) million adjusted for €10 million of debt issuance fees, €8 million of breakage fees, Apollo termination fee of $20 million (€16 million) and approximately €0.9 million reacquisition of ordinary shares under our legacy management equity plan. Pro forma adjusted retained deficit is further adjusted for the €2 million issuance of new shares and €15 million of fees and expenses in relation to this offering.
(10) Total capitalization is total borrowings and total deficit.

As of December 31, 2012, €171 million of our borrowings are secured and guaranteed. On an as adjusted and as adjusted pro forma basis, €376 million of our borrowings are secured and guaranteed.

 

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DILUTION

If you invest in our ordinary shares, your interest will be diluted by the amount by which the offering price per share paid by the purchasers of ordinary shares in this offering exceeds the net tangible book value per ordinary share following this offering. As of December 31, 2012, our net tangible book value was approximately $(74) million, or $(0.83) per ordinary share. Net tangible book value per share equals total consolidated tangible assets minus total consolidated liabilities divided by the number of ordinary shares outstanding.

Our net tangible book value as of December 31, 2012 would have been approximately $(261 million), or $(2.60) per ordinary share, after giving effect to (a) the March 25, 2013 refinancing of the Original Term Loan with proceeds from our Term Loan, as described in “Description of Certain Indebtedness”; (b) the distribution of €103 million to our Class A and Class B1 shareholders on March 28, 2013; (c) the distribution of approximately €392,000 to our Class B2 shareholders prior to the offering; (d) the reacquisition by the Company of ordinary shares issued under our legacy management equity plan, at an acquisition amount of approximately €900,000, in connection with our decision to freeze new participation in the plan in anticipation of this offering, as described in “Management—Management Equity Plan”; (e) the pro rata share issuance, specifically the issuance of 83,945,965 Class A ordinary shares, 815,252 Class B1 ordinary shares and 923,683 Class B2 ordinary shares to our existing shareholders, as described in “Description of Capital Stock”; and (f) the sale by us of 11,111,111 ordinary shares in this offering at the offering price of $18.00 per share (the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, each as if they had occurred on December 31, 2012.

This represents an immediate increase in the net tangible book value of $1.77 per share to existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in the net tangible book value of $20.60 per share to the investors who purchase our ordinary shares in this offering. Sales of shares by our selling shareholders in this offering do not affect our net tangible book value.

The following table illustrates this per share dilution:

 

           Per Share  

Offering price per ordinary share

     $ 18.00   

Net tangible book value per ordinary share as of December 31, 2012

   $ (0.83  

Increase in adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share attributable to this offering

     1.77     
  

 

 

   

Adjusted net tangible book value per ordinary share this offering

       (2.60
    

 

 

 

Dilution per ordinary share to new investors (1)

     $ 20.60   

 

(1) New investors include the purchasers of shares in this offering.

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the public offering price per ordinary share would increase (decrease) our adjusted net tangible book value by $17 million, after giving effect to this offering, and would increase (or decrease) the dilution per share by $0.22.

The following table summarizes, as of December 31, 2012, the difference between existing shareholders and new investors with respect to the number of ordinary shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid to us for these shares, and the average price per share paid by our existing shareholders and to be paid by the new investors in this offering. The calculation below reflecting the effect of shares purchased by new investors is based on the offering price of $18.00 per share, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us in connection with the offering.

 

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     Shares
Purchased
           Total
Consideration
           Average
Price
 
     Number      Percent     Amount      Percent     Per Share  

Existing shareholders

     89,442,416         88.7               $                

New investors

     11,111,111         11.3     200,000,000                $ 18.00   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     100,553,527         100.0        100.0   $     
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

The foregoing table does not reflect proceeds to be realized by selling shareholders in the offering.

 

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OUR HISTORY AND CORPORATE STRUCTURE

Our History

Constellium Holdco B.V. (formerly known as Omega Holdco B.V.) was incorporated as a Dutch private limited liability company on May 14, 2010. Constellium Holdco B.V. was formed to serve as the holding company for various entities comprising the Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products business unit (the “AEP Business”), which Constellium acquired from affiliates of Rio Tinto on January 4, 2011 (the “Acquisition”).

Upon completion of the Acquisition on January 4, 2011, Constellium Holdco B.V.’s principal shareholders were investment funds affiliated with, or co-investment vehicles that were managed (or the general partners of which were managed) by subsidiaries of, Apollo Global Management, LLC (Apollo Global Management, LLC and its subsidiaries collectively, or any one of such entities individually, “Apollo”), a leading global alternative investment manager; affiliates of Rio Tinto, a leading international mining group, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London listed public company headquartered in the United Kingdom, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, with executive offices in Melbourne (the two companies are joined in a dual listed companies (“DLC”) structure as a single economic entity, called the Rio Tinto Group (“Rio Tinto”)); and Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement, the French public investment fund jointly owned by Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and the French State specializing in equity financing via direct investments or funds of funds. As used in this prospectus, the term “Apollo Funds” means investment funds affiliated with, or co-investment vehicles that are managed (or the general partners of which are managed) by, Apollo; the term “Rio Tinto” refers to Rio Tinto or an affiliate of Rio Tinto; and the term “FSI” means Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement or other entities affiliated with Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement. Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI held 51%, 39% and 10%, respectively, of the outstanding shares of Constellium Holdco B.V. at the closing of the Acquisition and in the aggregate subscribed for a total of $125 million of equity in Constellium. Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI continue to be our principal shareholders.

As of December 31, 2012, approximately 6.85% of the outstanding shares of Constellium Holdco B.V. were held by Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG (“Management KG”), which was formed in connection with a management equity plan to facilitate equity ownership by Constellium’s management team. Under the terms of the management equity plan described in “Management—Management Equity Plan,” a total of 55 of our current and former directors, officers and employees have invested in the company. Prior to the conversion to an N.V., the partnership agreement of Management KG provided that the Constellium Holdco B.V. shares that it held be voted in the same manner as, and in proportion to the respective equity ownership amounts of, Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI. In connection with this offering, the partnership agreement of Management KG was amended to provide that the Constellium shares held by Management KG will be voted in the discretion of the advisory board at the level of the general partner of Management KG.

At the closing of the Acquisition, Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à r.l. (“Apollo Omega”) and FSI also committed to provide a $275 million (€212 million) delayed draw bridge term loan to Constellium Holdco B.V., of which $185 million (€143 million at the year-end exchange rate) was drawn at and following such closing to fund various one-time, non-recurring costs expected in the first 18-months post-closing. The amounts outstanding under this term loan were subsequently repaid in full, and this term loan was terminated in connection with Constellium’s entry into the Original Term Loan described below.

On October 10, 2011, we and Rio Tinto agreed on certain post-closing purchase price adjustments that resulted in a net payment by Rio Tinto to Constellium Holdco B.V. of $6 million (€4 million) plus a settlement of inter-company balances of $6 million (€4 million). We received a net amount of $12 million (€9 million). On December 30, 2011, we disposed of substantially all of our interests in AIN, our specialty chemicals and raw materials supply chain services division, to CellMark AB. We are currently engaged in discussions with CellMark regarding certain post-closing purchase price adjustments relating to the disposition.

 

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On May 25, 2012, we secured external financing from a group of lenders in the form of a six-year term loan for $200 million (€151 million at the year-end exchange rate). Proceeds from the Original Term Loan were used to repay the term loan facility provided by Apollo Omega and FSI discussed above. Concurrently, we entered into a new revolving credit facility (“ABL”) in the United States replacing the previous facility. See “Description of Certain Indebtedness.”

On March 25, 2013, we refinanced the Original Term Loan with the proceeds of a seven-year term loan in the aggregate amount of $360 million and €75 million borrowed by Constellium Holdco B.V. and Constellium France S.A.S. from a group of lenders. The proceeds from the Term Loan were used to repay the Original Term Loan (which facility was thereafter terminated) and pay fees and expenses associated with the refinancing and the remainder will be used towards funding of the distributions to our shareholders of record prior to completion of this offering of approximately €250 million in the aggregate.

Prior to the consummation of this offering, Constellium Holdco B.V. was converted into a Dutch public limited liability company and renamed Constellium N.V. We do not expect this conversion to have any impact on our financial statements nor on our shareholders going forward. Any references to Dutch law and Amended and Restated Articles of Association are references to Dutch law and the articles of association as applicable following the conversion.

Corporate Structure

The following diagram summarizes our corporate structure (including our significant subsidiaries) after giving effect to our initial public offering and the selling shareholder private sale:

 

LOGO

 

(1) Such shareholder also holds preference shares as described under “Summary—Recent Developments—New Term Loan, Application of Term Loan Proceeds and Issuance of Preference Shares.”

 

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SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The following tables set forth our historical combined and consolidated financial data.

On January 4, 2011, Omega Holdco B.V., which later changed its name to Constellium Holdco B.V., and then again to Constellium N.V. (referred to in this prospectus as the “Successor”) acquired the Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products business unit (the “AEP Business” or the “Predecessor”) from affiliates of Rio Tinto (the “Acquisition”). For comparison purposes, our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 are presented alongside the results of operations of the Predecessor for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010. However, our Successor and Predecessor periods are not directly comparable due to the impact of the application of purchase accounting and the preparation of the Predecessor accounts on a carve-out basis. The financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Predecessor do not necessarily reflect what our financial position or results of operations would have been if we had been operated as a stand-alone entity during the periods covered by the Predecessor financial statements and are not indicative of our future results of operations and financial position.

The selected historical financial information of the Predecessor as of and for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010 has been derived from the audited combined financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The Predecessor financial information has been prepared to present the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the combined AEP Business on a standalone basis up to the date of divestment from Rio Tinto.

The selected historical financial information of the Successor as of and for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements.

The audited combined and consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus have been prepared according to the International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB.

 

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Unless otherwise indicated, all share and per share numbers have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the issuance of 22.8 additional shares for each outstanding share, as if it had occurred January 4, 2011.

You should base your investment decision on a review of the entire prospectus. In particular, you should read the following data in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the historical combined and consolidated financial statements, including the notes to those combined and consolidated financial statements, which appear elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

    Predecessor
as of and for the year ended
December 31,
        Successor
as of and
for the year
ended
December 31,
 
(€ in millions other than per share and per ton data)       2008             2009             2010               2011         2012      

Statement of income data:

             

Revenue

    3,318        2,292        2,957            3,556        3,610   

Gross profit

    50        42        242            321        478   

Operating profit/(loss)

    (825     (240     (248         (59     257   

Profit/(loss) for the period—continuing operations

    (639     (215     (209         (166     142   

Profit/(loss) for the period

    (644     (218     (207         (174     134   

Profit/(loss) per share—basic and diluted

    n/a        n/a        n/a            (2.0     1.5   

Profit/(loss) per share—basic and diluted—continuing operations

    n/a        n/a        n/a            (1.9     1.6   

Pro forma profit per share—basic and diluted—continuing operations

    —          —          —              —          1.4   
 

Weighted average number of shares outstanding

    n/a        n/a        n/a            89,338,433        89,442,416   

Pro forma weighted average number of shares outstanding

    n/a        n/a        n/a            n/a        100,553,532   
 

Dividends per ordinary share (euro)

    —          —          —              —          —    

Balance sheet data:

             

Total assets

    2,583        2,040        1,837            1,612        1,631   

Net liabilities or total invested equity

    227        108        199            (113     (47

Share capital

    n/a        n/a        n/a            —          —    

Pro forma balance sheet data:

             

Total assets

    —          —          —            —          1,631   

Net liabilities

    —          —          —            —          (297)   

Share capital

    —          —          —            —          —     

Other operational and financial data (unaudited):

             

Net trade working capital (1)

    n/a        416        519            381        289   

Capital expenditure

    127        61        51            97        126   

Volumes (in KT)

    1,058        868        972            1,058        1,033   

Revenue per ton

    3,136        2,641        3,042            3,361        3,495   

 

 

(1) Net trade working capital represents total inventories plus trade receivables less trade payables.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis, or MD&A, is based principally on our audited combined financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2010, which we refer to in this section as the “Predecessor Period,” and our audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012, which we refer to in this section as the “Successor Period,” which appear elsewhere in this prospectus. The following discussion is to be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial Information,” “Business” and our audited combined and consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto, which appear elsewhere in this prospectus.

The following discussion and analysis includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below and elsewhere in this prospectus. See in particular “Important Information and Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.”

Introduction

The following MD&A is provided to supplement the audited combined and consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus to help provide an understanding of our financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of our operations. The MD&A is organized as follows:

 

   

Basis of Preparation. This section provides a description of the financial statements included in this prospectus, detailing the method of preparation of the period prior to the Acquisition in the audited combined financial statements of the Predecessor (as defined below) and after the Acquisition (as defined below) on January 4, 2011 in our audited consolidated financial statements.

 

   

Company Overview. This section provides a general description of our business as well as an introduction to our operating segments, key factors influencing our financial condition and results of operations, and our Key Performance Indicators, in addition to recent developments that we believe are necessary to understand our financial condition and results of operations and to anticipate future trends in our business.

 

   

Results of Operations. This section provides a discussion of the results of operations on a historical basis for each of our fiscal periods in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

 

   

Covenant Compliance and Financial Ratios. This section provides a reconciliation of our Adjusted EBITDA to our net income/loss for the period as required under our financing facilities.

 

   

Liquidity and Capital Resources. This section provides an analysis of our cash flows for each of our fiscal years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

 

   

Contractual Obligations and Contingencies. This section provides a discussion of our commitments as of December 31, 2012.

 

   

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk. This section discusses our exposure to potential losses arising from adverse changes in interest rates and commodity prices.

 

   

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. This section discusses the accounting policies and estimates that we consider to be important to our financial condition and results of operations and that require significant judgment and estimates on the part of management in their application.

 

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Basis of Presentation

On January 4, 2011, Omega Holdco B.V., which later changed its name to Constellium Holdco B.V., and then again to Constellium N.V. (the “Successor”), and which, together with its subsidiaries, are referred to in this section as the “Successor,” acquired the Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products business unit (the “AEP Business” or the “Predecessor”) from affiliates of Rio Tinto (the “Acquisition”). Apollo Funds and FSI acquired 51% and 10%, respectively, of Constellium Holdco B.V., and Rio Tinto retained 39%.

The following table represents the fair value adjustments recorded by us on completion of the acquisition of the AEP Business:

 

     € millions  

Total consideration

     (4

Less book value of assets acquired and liabilities acquired

  

Total book value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed

     199   

Less discontinued operation assets and liabilities (1)

     (9

Book value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed subject to purchase price adjustments

     190   

Purchase price adjustments

  

Intangible assets excluding goodwill

     —     

Property, plant and equipment (2)

     (123

Other current assets and liabilities (3)

     64   

Provisions (4)

     (34

Deferred tax liabilities—net (5)

     (112

Net assets acquired at fair value

     (15

Goodwill

     11   

 

(1) We acquired the assets and liabilities of the AIN business exclusively with a view to its subsequent disposal and a sale process commenced as of January 4, 2011. Therefore, the AIN assets and liabilities did not form part of the purchase price allocation exercise as they were classified as held for sale. The assets of the AIN business of €103 million were comprised predominantly of €44 million of trade receivables, €43 million of inventories and €10 million of cash and cash equivalents. The AIN business liabilities of €94 million were comprised of €50 million of trade payables, €26 million of related party borrowings and €18 million of pension liabilities.

 

(2) Reflects the overall decrease in valuation of property, plant and equipment. Both the impairment model (IAS 36) used by the Predecessor and our application of purchase accounting (IFRS 3R) use the concept of fair value. However, the application results in different values.

 

  a. The impairment model of the Predecessor resulted in a €216 million impairment charge recorded in the 2010 financial statements which reduced the net book value of property plant and equipment to €214 million. The fair value less cost to sell was derived from the enterprise value agreed between buyer and seller. The fair value of each cash-generating unit was determined using a discounted cash flow model utilizing discount rates of 11.5%-14%. Where fair value less cost to sell is less than the carrying value, then the carrying value of property, plant and equipment is written down to no less than nil. In addition to this, where the fair value was higher than the carrying value, the Predecessor did not increase the net book value of the property, plant and equipment.

 

  b. In purchase accounting the fair value of property plant and equipment is determined on an individual asset basis. In determining fair value, the Company also used a discounted cash flow model with assumed discount rates in a range of 17%-18.5%. Additionally, our business plan on an individual site basis resulted in different cash flow assumptions from the Predecessor. Additionally, management of the buyer and seller had different perspectives of the future cash flows of various locations which will have an impact on the allocation of fair value.

 

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The main difference between the discount rates noted above relates to the size premium reflected in the cost of equity for the Predecessor and the Company. Both the Predecessor and Company management used independent research published by investment research firms regarding historically observed size premiums over the return indicated by the capital asset pricing model to determine an appropriate size premium to include in the estimated discount rates.

 

(3) Reflects a step-up in value of our inventory as well as other adjustments to working capital mainly related to short-term loans receivable from the Predecessor, which were subsequently outside the scope of the Acquisition as receivables were forgiven, repaid or remained with Rio Tinto and its subsidiaries prior to the Acquisition on January 4, 2011.

 

(4) Reflects increased legal claims and other costs of approximately €26 million and marginal increases in close-down and environmental restoration costs and restructuring costs. Reflects increased provisions resulting from the Company analysis of the risks and associated probability of occurrence. In addition, in the Predecessor financial statements, a provision is recognized when there is a present obligation that arises from past events, its fair value can be measured reliably and there is a probable outflow of resources. In contrast, in purchase price allocation we recognize the provision at fair value when the fair value can be measured reliably, even if it is not probable that there will be an outflow of resources.

 

(5) Represents changes in deferred tax liabilities and assets reflecting (i) tax effect of fair value adjustments and (ii) changes in tax consolidation structure occurring at the acquisition.

For comparison purposes, our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 are presented alongside the Predecessor results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2010. These results are not prepared on the same basis of accounting and therefore may not be directly comparable as the Predecessor Period has been prepared using the principles of carve-out accounting. The carve-out combined financial statements present a group of entities, divisions and businesses which were acquired and these did not constitute a separate legal entity. Although we believe that the assumptions underlying the combined financial statements, including the allocations from the previous owner, are reasonable, the combined financial statements may not be representative of the results of operations, financial position and cash flows in the future or what it or they would have been had we been a standalone entity during the year ended December 31, 2010.

Company Overview

We are a global leader in the development, manufacture and sale of a broad range of highly engineered, value-added specialty plate, coil, sheet and extruded aluminum products to the aerospace, packaging, automotive, other transportation and industrial end-markets. Our leadership positions include a joint number one position in global aerospace plates and a number one position in European can sheet. This global leadership is supported by our well-invested facilities in Europe and the United States, as well as more than 50 years of proven manufacturing quality and innovation, a global sales network and pre-eminent R&D capabilities.

We have approximately 8,845 employees and 26 state-of-the-art, integrated production facilities, ten administrative and commercial sites, and one R&D center.

Our product portfolio is predominantly focused on high value-added, technologically advanced specialty products that command higher margins than less differentiated aluminum products. This portfolio serves a broad range of end-markets that exhibit attractive growth trends in future periods such as aerospace or automotive. Our technological advantage and relationship with our customers is driven by our pre-eminent R&D capabilities. We believe that our R&D capabilities are a key attraction for our customers. Many projects are designed to support specific commercial opportunities at the request of our customers and are carried out in partnership with them.

This regular interaction and partnership with our customers also help us maintain our leading market positions. We have long-standing, established relationships with some of the largest companies in the aerospace, packaging, automotive and other transportation industries including Boeing, Airbus, Rexam, Crown, Ball and Amcor, as well as a number of leading automotive firms. The average length of our customer relationships with our top 20 customers exceeds 25 years.

 

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Our primary metal supply is secured through long-term contracts with several upstream companies, including affiliates of Rio Tinto, one of our shareholders. In addition, a material portion of our slab and billet supply is produced in our own casthouses. This provides a cost advantage compared to our competitors.

For the year ended December 31, 2012, we generated revenues of €3,610 million, net income from continuing operations of €142 million and Management Adjusted EBITDA of €203 million. Please see the reconciliation in “Key Performance Indicators” and also in footnote (2) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

For the year ended December 31, 2011, we generated revenues of €3,556 million, a net loss from continuing operations of €166 million and Management Adjusted EBITDA of €103 million. Please see the reconciliation in “Key Performance Indicators” and also in footnote (2) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

Our Operating Segments

We serve a diverse set of customers across a broad range of end-markets with very different product needs, specifications and requirements. As a result, we have organized our business into the following three segments to better serve our customer base:

Aerospace & Transportation Segment

Our global Aerospace & Transportation segment has market leadership positions in technologically advanced aluminum and specialty materials products with wide applications across the global aerospace, defense, transportation, and industrial sectors. We offer a wide range of products including plate, sheet, extrusions and precision casting products which allows us to offer tailored solutions to our customers. We seek to differentiate our products and act as a key partner to our customers through our broad product range, advanced R&D capabilities, extensive recycling capabilities and portfolio of plants with an extensive range of capabilities across Europe and North America. In order to reinforce the competitiveness of our metal solutions, we design our processes and alloys with a view to optimizing our customers’ operations and costs. This includes offering services such as customizing alloys to our customers’ processing requirements, processing short lead time orders and providing vendor managed inventories or tolling arrangements. Aerospace & Transportation accounted for 33% of our revenues and 45% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products Segment

In our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products segment, we produce and develop customized aluminum sheet and coil solutions. Approximately 79% of segment volume for the year ended December 31, 2012 was in packaging applications, which primarily include beverage and food can stock as well as closure stock and foil stock. The remaining 21% of segment volume for that period was in automotive and customized solutions, which include technologically advanced products for the automotive and industrial sectors. Our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products segment accounted for 43% of revenues and 39% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Automotive Structures & Industry Segment

Our Automotive Structures & Industry segment produces (i) technologically advanced structures for the automotive industry, including crash management systems, side impact beams and cockpit carriers and (ii) soft and hard alloy extrusions and large profiles for automotive, rail, road, energy, building and industrial applications. We complement our products with a comprehensive offering of downstream technology and service activities, which include pre-machining, surface treatment, R&D and technical support services. Our Automotive Structures & Industry segment accounted for 24% of revenues and 20% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

 

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Discontinued Operations

At December 30, 2011, we disposed of the vast majority of our specialty chemicals and raw materials supply chain services division, AIN. As at December 31, 2012, we have ceased operations in the remaining entities, therefore abandoning them.

Key Factors Influencing Constellium’s Financial Condition and Results from Operations

The Aluminum Industry

We participate in select segments of the aluminum semi-fabricated products industry, including rolled and extruded products. Aluminum is lightweight, has a high strength-to-weight ratio and is resistant to corrosion. It compares favorably to several alternative materials, such as steel, in these respects. Aluminum is also unique in the respect that it recycled repeatedly without any material decline in performance or quality. The recycling of aluminum delivers energy and capital investment savings relative to the cost of producing both primary aluminum and many other competing materials. Due to these qualities, the penetration of aluminum into a wide variety of applications continues to increase. We believe that long-term growth in aluminum consumption generally, and demand for those products we produce specifically, will be supported by factors that include growing populations, continued urbanization in emerging markets and increasing focus globally on sustainability and environmental issues. Aluminum is increasingly seen as the material of choice in a number of applications, including packaging, aerospace and automotive.

We do not mine bauxite, refine alumina, or smelt primary aluminum as part of our business. Our industry is cyclical and is affected by global economic conditions, industry competition and product development.

The financial performance of our operations is dependent on several factors, the most critical of which are as follows:

Volumes

The profitability of our businesses is determined, in part, by the volume of tons invoiced and processed. Increased production volumes will result in lower per unit costs, while higher invoiced volumes will result in additional revenues and associated margins.

Price and Margin

For all contracts, we continuously seek to eliminate the impact of aluminum price fluctuations in order to protect our net income and cash flows against the LME price variations of aluminum that we buy and sell, with the following methods:

 

   

In cases where we are able to align the price and quantity of physical aluminum purchases with that of physical aluminum sales, we do not need to employ derivative instruments to further mitigate our exposure, regardless of whether the LME portion of the price is fixed or floating.

 

   

However, when we are unable to align the price and quantity of physical aluminum purchases with that of physical aluminum sales, we enter into derivative financial instruments to pass through the exposure to financial institutions at the time the price is set.

 

   

For a small portion of our volumes, the metal is owned by our customers and we bear no metal price risk.

We do not apply hedge accounting and therefore any mark-to-market movements are recognized in the “Other gains/losses (net).” Our risk management practices aim to reduce, but do not eliminate, our exposure to changing primary aluminum prices and, while we have limited our exposure to unfavorable price changes, we have also limited our ability to benefit from favorable price changes.

 

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In addition, our operations require that a significant amount of inventory be kept on hand to meet future production requirements. The value of the base level of inventory is also susceptible to changing primary aluminum prices. In order to reduce these exposures, we focus on reducing inventory levels and offsetting future physical purchases and sales.

We refer to the timing difference between the price of primary aluminum included in our revenues and the price of aluminum impacting our cost of sales as “metal price lag.”

Also included in our results is the impact of differences between changes in the prices of primary and scrap aluminum. As we price our product using the prevailing price of primary aluminum but purchase large amounts of scrap aluminum to produce our products, we benefit when primary aluminum price increases exceed scrap price increases. Conversely, when scrap price increases exceed primary aluminum price increases, our results will be negatively impacted. The difference between the price of primary aluminum and scrap prices is referred to as the “scrap spread” and is impacted by the effectiveness of our scrap purchasing activities, the supply of scrap available and movements in the terminal commodity markets.

Seasonality

Customer demand in the aluminum industry is cyclical due to a variety of factors, including holiday seasons, weather conditions, economic and other factors beyond our control. Our volumes are impacted by the timing of the holiday seasons in particular, with August and December typically being the lowest months and January to June being the strongest months. Our business is also impacted by seasonal slowdowns and upturns in certain of our customers’ industries. Historically, the can industry is strongest in the spring and summer seasons, whereas the automotive and construction sectors encounter slowdowns in both the third and fourth quarters of the calendar year. In response to this seasonality, we seek to scale back and may even temporarily close some operations to reduce our operating costs during these periods.

Economic Conditions, Markets and Competition

We are directly affected by the economic conditions which impact our customers and the markets in which they operate. General economic conditions in the geographic regions in which our customers operate—such as the level of disposable income, the level of inflation, the rate of economic growth, the rate of unemployment, exchange rates and currency devaluation or revaluation—influence consumer confidence and consumer purchasing power. These factors, in turn, influence the demand for our products in terms of total volumes and the price that can be charged. In some cases we are able to mitigate the risk of a downturn in our customers’ businesses by building committed minimum volume thresholds into our commercial contracts. We further seek to mitigate the risk of a downturn by utilizing a temporary workforce for certain operations, which allows us to match our resources with the demand for our services. We also have an “asset-light” policy and seek to purchase transportation and logistics services from third parties, to the extent possible, in order to manage our fixed costs base.

Although the metals industry and our end-markets are cyclical in nature and expose us to related risks, we believe that our portfolio is relatively resistant to these economic cycles in each of our three main end-markets (aerospace, packaging and automotive):

 

   

We believe that the aerospace industry is currently insulated from the economic cycle through a combination of drivers sustaining its growth. These drivers include increasing passenger traffic and the replacement of the fleet fueled by the age of the planes in service and the need for more efficient planes in an environment of high oil prices. These factors have materialized in the form of historically high backlogs for the aircraft manufacturers; the combined order backlog for Boeing and Airbus currently represents approximately eight years of manufacturing at current delivery rates.

 

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Can packaging is a seasonal market peaking in the summer because of the increased consumption of soft drinks during the summer months. It tends not to be highly correlated to the general economic cycle and in addition, we believe European can body stock has an attractive long-term growth outlook due to ongoing trends in (i) end-market growth in beer, soft drinks and energy drinks, (ii) increasing use of cans versus glass in the beer market, (iii) increasing penetration of aluminum in can body stock at the expense of steel, and (iv) Eastern Europe consumption increase linked to purchasing power growth.

 

   

Although the automotive industry as a whole is a cyclical industry, its demand for aluminum has been increasing in recent years. According to a study done by the research firm Frost & Sullivan, the global market in Automotive applications for aluminum is expected to more than double by 2017 from $13 billion in 2010 to $28 billion in 2017. This was due to the lightweighting requirement for new car models, which drove a positive substitution of heavier metals in favor of aluminum.

In addition to the counter-cyclicality of our key end-markets, we believe our cash flows are also largely protected from variations in LME prices due to the fact that we hedge our sales based on their replacement cost, by setting the maturity of our futures on the delivery date to our customers. As a result, when LME prices increase, we have limited additional cash requirements to finance the increased replacement cost of our inventory. Aluminum prices are determined by worldwide forces of supply and demand, and, as a result, aluminum prices are volatile. The average LME transaction price per ton of primary aluminum for 2010, 2011 and 2012 was €1,638, €1,720, and €1,569, respectively. After high levels of volatility prior to 2010, LME aluminum price volatility stabilized during 2010 before returning again in 2011 as LME prices reached a peak in the second quarter of 2011, before declining for the remainder of the year. Average LME aluminum prices per ton remained relatively constant during much of 2012, but were approximately 9% lower than the average 2011 levels. The average quarterly LME per ton in the first quarter of 2013 decreased to €1,516 per ton, reflecting the continuing decline of global aluminum prices.

Average quarterly LME per ton using U.S. dollar prices converted to euros using the applicable European Central Bank rates:

 

(Euros/ton)

   2010      2011      2012  

First quarter

     1,566         1,829         1,660   

Second quarter

     1,644         1,808         1,541   

Third Quarter

     1,617         1,698         1,533   

Fourth Quarter

     1,724         1,549         1,540   

Average for the year

     1,638         1,720         1,569   

In addition, a portion of our revenues are denominated in U.S. dollars, while the majority of our costs incurred are denominated in local currencies. We engage in significant hedging activity to attempt to mitigate the effects of foreign transaction currency fluctuations on our profitability.

We mark-to-market open derivatives at the period end giving rise to unrealized gains or losses which are classified as non-cash items. These unrealized gains/losses have no bearing on the underlying performance of the business and are removed when calculating Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA.

Currency

We are a global company with operations as of December 31, 2012 in France, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and China. As a result, our revenue and earnings have exposure to a number of currencies, primarily the U.S. dollar, the euro and the Swiss Franc. Our consolidated or combined revenue and results of operations are affected by fluctuations in the exchange rates of the currencies of the countries in which we operate. We have implemented a strategy from mid-2011 onwards to hedge all highly

 

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probable or committed foreign currency cash flows. As we have a multiple-year sale agreement for the sale of fabricated metal products in U.S. dollars, the Company has entered into derivative contracts to forward sell U.S. dollars to match these future sales. Hedge accounting is not applied and therefore the mark-to-market impact is recorded in “Other gains/losses (net).”

Personnel Costs

Our operations are labor intensive and, as a result, our personnel costs represent 21% for the year ended December 31, 2012 and 19% of our costs of operations for the year ended December 31, 2011. Personnel costs generally increase and decrease proportionately with the expansion, addition or closing of operating facilities. Personnel costs include the salaries, wages and benefits of our employees, as well as costs related to temporary labor. During our seasonal peaks and especially during summer months, we have historically increased our temporary workforce to compensate for staff on holiday and increased volume of activity.

Separation from Rio Tinto and Other Acquisition Considerations

Our results since the Acquisition have been affected by certain additional factors that may make our historical results not indicative of our likely future performance.

The costs and expenses reflected in our combined financial statements include historical management fees for certain corporate functions which were provided to the Predecessor by Rio Tinto, including legal, finance, human resources and other administrative functions. These management fees were based on what Rio Tinto considered to be reasonable reflections of the historical utilization levels of these functions required in support of the AEP Business. Moreover, our combined financial statements and other historical financial information included in this prospectus do not necessarily indicate what our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows will be in the future. In particular, the Predecessor combined financial statements do not reflect the costs of borrowing funds as a separate entity.

Presentation of Financial Information

Constellium acquired the AEP Business from Rio Tinto on January 4, 2011. The financial information presented herein therefore consists of audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 (the Successor Period) and audited combined financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2010 (the Predecessor Period).

The Predecessor combined financial statements were specifically prepared on a carve-out basis in connection with the disposal by Rio Tinto for the purposes of presenting, as far as practicable, the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the AEP Business on a standalone basis. The Predecessor combined financial statements of Constellium are an aggregation of financial information from the individual companies that made up the AEP Business and include allocations of certain expenses from the previous owner. Accordingly, the combined financial statements of the Predecessor are not necessarily representative nor indicative of the financial position, results of operations or cash flows that would have been obtained had the AEP Business operated independently or under separate ownership.

Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB and as endorsed by the European Union. The Predecessor combined financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB.

Our presentation currency is the euro.

 

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Results of Operations

Description of Key Line Items of the Historical Combined and Consolidated Statements of Income

Set forth below is a brief description of the composition of the key line items of our historical combined and consolidated statements of income for continuing operations:

 

   

Revenue . Revenue represents the income recognized from the delivery of goods to third parties, including the sale of scrap metal and tooling, less discounts, credit notes and taxes levied on sales.

 

   

Cost of sales. Cost of sales include the costs of materials directly attributable to the normal operating activities of the business, including raw material and energy costs, personnel costs for those involved in production, depreciation and the maintenance of producing assets, packaging and freight on-board costs, tooling, dyes and utility costs.

 

   

Selling and administrative expenses. Selling and administrative expenses include depreciation of non-producing assets, amortization, personnel costs of those personnel involved in sales and corporate functions such as finance and IT.

 

   

Research and development expenses. Research and development expenses are costs in relation to bringing new products to market. Included in such expenses are personnel costs and depreciation and maintenance of assets offset by tax credits for research activities where applicable.

 

   

Restructuring costs. Restructuring costs are the expenses incurred in implementing management initiatives for cost-cutting and efficiency improvements. These costs primarily relate to severance payments, pension curtailment costs and contract termination costs.

   

Impairment charges. Impairment charges relate to the diminution in value of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets.

 

   

Other gains/ (losses), net . Other expenses or income include unusual infrequent or non-recurring items, realized and unrealized gains or losses on derivative instruments and exchange gains or losses on remeasurements of monetary assets or liabilities.

 

   

Other expenses. Other expenses mainly comprise acquisition and separation costs, which are costs incurred in relation to the acquisition by Constellium of substantially all of the entities, divisions and businesses of the AEP Business on January 4, 2011.

 

   

Finance income or expenses. Interest income mainly relates to interest earned on loans and deposits and lease payments received in relation to finance leases. Interest and similar expenses relate to interest and amortized set up fees charged on loans, factoring and other borrowings.

 

   

Share of profit in joint ventures . A joint venture is a contractual arrangement whereby two or more parties undertake an economic activity that is subject to joint control. Results from investments in joint ventures represents Constellium’s share of results of Rhenaroll S.A., a company specializing in chrome plating, grinding and repairing of rolling mills rolls and rollers and Stojmetal Kamenice which forges products for the automotive industry. The results of these joint ventures are accounted for using the equity method.

 

   

Income taxes . Income tax represents the aggregate amount included in the determination of profit or loss for the year in respect of current tax and deferred tax. Current tax is the amount of income taxes payable (recoverable) in respect of the taxable profit/(loss) for a year. Deferred tax represents the amounts of income taxes payable/(recoverable) in future periods in respect of taxable (deductible) temporary differences and unused tax losses.

 

 

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     Predecessor
combined for the year
ended

December 31,
         Successor
consolidated

for the year
ended December 31,
 
         2010                    2011             2012      
    

(€ in millions)

            

Continuing operations

           

Revenue

     2,957             3,556        3,610   

Cost of sales

     (2,715          (3,235     (3,132
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

     242             321        478   
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Selling and administrative expenses

     (190          (216     (212

Research and development expenses

     (53          (33     (36

Restructuring costs

     (6          (20     (25

Impairment charges

     (224          —          —     

Other gains/(losses) net

     (17          (111     52   
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income/(loss) from operations

     (248          (59     257   

Other expenses

     —               (102     (3

Finance costs net

     (7          (39     (60

Share of profit/(loss) of joint ventures

     2             —          (5
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income/(loss) before income taxes

     (253          (200     189   

Income tax

     44             34        (47
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income/(loss) from continuing operations

     (209          (166     142   

Net income/(loss) from discontinued operations

     2             (8     (8
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income (Loss)

     (207          (174     134   
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Results of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011

 

     Successor consolidated
for the year ended
December 31,
 
             2011                          2012          
     (€ in millions and as a % of revenues)  

Continuing operations

             

Revenue

     3,556        100          3,610        100

Cost of sales

     (3,235     91          (3,132     87
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

     321        9          478        13
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Selling and administrative expenses

     (216     6          (212     6

Research and development expenses

     (33     1          (36     1

Restructuring costs

     (20     1          (25     1

Other gains / (losses)—net

     (111     3          52        1
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income/(loss) from operations

     (59     2          257        7

Other expenses

     (102     3          (3     —     

Finance costs, net

     (39     1          (60     2

Share of profit of joint ventures

     —          —               (5     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income/(loss) before income taxes

     (200     6          189        5

Income tax (expense)/benefit

     34        1          (47     1
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income/(loss) for the year from continuing operations

     (166     5          142        4

Net loss from discontinued operations

     (8     —               (8     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income/(loss) for the year

     (174     5          134        4
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Shipment volumes (in kt)

     1,058        n/a             1,033        n/a   

Revenue per ton (€ per ton)

     3,362        n/a             3,495        n/a   

Gross profit margin

     9     n/a             13     n/a   
  

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenue

Revenue from continuing operations increased by 2%, or €54 million, to €3,610 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €3,556 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. This increase was attributed to stronger pricing as we benefited from foreign currency movements and also an advantageous product mix in our Aerospace and Packaging products. Our A&T segment performed strongly during 2012 as revenues increased by €166 million, primarily due to increased pricing as a result of foreign currency movements and higher spreads coupled with a 4% increase in shipment volumes as we encountered strong demand for aerospace products.

Our revenue growth was achieved against a background of lower LME prices in 2012. In 2012, the average spot rate for LME per ton was €1,569 per ton in comparison to €1,720 per ton in the year ended December 31, 2011.

Our volumes remained relatively stable as shipments marginally decreased by 2%, or 25 kt, to 1,033 kt for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to shipments of 1,058 kt for the year ended December 31, 2011 resulting in a decline in revenue of €87 million. Our A&T segment performed strongly during 2012 with a 4%, or 8 kt, increase in shipment volumes as a result of increased activity in the aerospace industry whereas our other two operating segments suffered decreased volumes.

Revenues per ton increased by 4%, or €133 per ton, to €3,495 per ton in the year ended December 31, 2012 from €3,362 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2011. Our A&T segment saw revenue per ton increase by 12% to €5,278 per ton in the year ended December 31, 2012 from €4,704 per ton in the year ended December 31,

 

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2011 as a result of improved pricing mix; new products and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar in 2012 as a significant portion of our aerospace revenues are invoiced in U.S. dollars. The average € to U.S. dollar exchange rate for the year was 1.2847 $/€ in 2012 in comparison to 1.3905 $/€ in 2011.

Our other segments encountered more challenging trading conditions with declining shipments coupled with lower LME prices in 2012. Segment revenue for our P&ARP and AS&I segments decreased by €71 million and €49 million, respectively. Our P&ARP and AS&I segment volumes decreased by 2% or 15 kt and 6% or 13 kt respectively.

Our segment revenues are discussed in more detail in the “Key Performance Indicators” section.

Cost of Sales and Gross Profit

Cost of sales decreased by 3%, or €103 million, to €3,132 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €3,235 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. The decrease is primarily attributable to a decrease in shipment volumes of 25 kt and lower input prices of metal which has led to an 8% or €174 million decrease in raw materials and consumable expenses over the period, to €1,987 million in the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to €2,161 million in the year ended December 31, 2011.

On a per ton basis, cost of sales decreased marginally by 1% to €3,032 per ton in the year ended December 31, 2012 from €3,058 per ton in the year ended December 31, 2011. This decrease was impacted by lower spot prices for aluminum, which contributed to our raw materials per ton decreasing by 6% to €1,924 per ton. These factors are offset by inflationary increases in employee remuneration across our segments.

Gross profit increased by 49%, or €157 million, to €478 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, from €321 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. Our gross profit margin increased to 13% in the year ended December 31, 2012 from 9% in the year ended December 31, 2011. Our margins were positively impacted by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar which increased our aerospace products revenues invoiced in U.S. dollars and margins where costs of goods sold were incurred primarily in euros and the overall impact of all our cost reduction initiatives which contributed to decreased maintenance costs. Our gross profit margin was negatively impacted by our accounting for inventory under the weighted average cost method. Due to LME price movements and the timing of transfers from inventory to cost of sales this decreased our gross profit by €16 million compared to a negative impact of €12 million in December 31, 2011.

Selling and Administrative Expenses

Selling and administrative expenses remained relatively stable with a decrease of 2%, or €4 million, to €212 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €216 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

External consulting expenses decreased by 20%, or €11 million, to €43 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €54 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. External consulting expenses in the year ended December 31, 2012 related primarily to corporate tax and accounting advice, IT and other support related services and our pre-IPO costs of €4 million. In the year ended December 31, 2011, non-recurring consulting costs of €21 million related to the establishment of head office, IT and treasury functions which are fully operational in 2012.

The decrease in external consulting expenses was offset by an above inflationary increase in labor costs which were in part due to increased bonuses linked to the success of our cost reduction initiatives.

 

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Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses increased by 9%, or €3 million, to €36 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €33 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 as we continued to develop and expand our AIRWARE ® offering.

Research and development expenses in the year ended December 31, 2012 were primarily incurred in our A&T segment of which €24 million was in relation to further development of our AIRWARE ® product. Our P&ARP segment incurred €12 million across a number of various development projects which are ongoing and our AS&I segment reduced its research and development spend by €2 million as part of its cost efficiency program.

Research and development expenses in the year ended December 31, 2011 related to various projects, primarily in the A&T segment of €13 million and the P&ARP segment of €11 million.

Restructuring Costs

Restructuring expenses increased by 25%, or €5 million, to €25 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €20 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. Our expenses in the year ended December 31, 2012 were due to initiatives at our sites, primarily in Sierre, Switzerland, where we incurred €7 million during the period, as well as restructuring in other sites and at our corporate support services location in Paris.

The 2011 costs were related to restructuring programs put in place at our Ham and Singen facilities amounting to €14 million and €3 million respectively and at the corporate level amounting to €3 million.

Other Gains/(Losses) - Net

 

      (in millions of Euros)    Year  ended
December 31,
2011
    Year ended
December  31,
2012
 

Realized gains (losses) on derivatives

     31        (45

Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives at fair value through profit and loss — net

     (144     61   

Unrealized exchange (losses) / gains from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities — net

     4        (1

Ravenswood pension plan amendment

     —          48   

Swiss pension plan settlement

     —          (8

Ravenswood CBA negotiation

     —          (7

Other — net

     (2     4   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other gains / (losses) — net

     (111     52   

Other gains (net) were €52 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to other losses (net) of €111 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Unrealized gains on derivatives held at fair value through profit and loss in the year ended December 31, 2012 was €61 million compared to €144 million of unrealized losses for the year ended December 31, 2011, which is made up of unrealized losses or gains on derivatives entered into with the purpose of mitigating exposure to volatility in foreign currency and LME prices.

In the year ended December 31, 2011, the impact of our hedging strategy in relation to foreign currency led to unrealized losses on derivatives of €59 million which related primarily to the exposure on the multiple year sale agreement for fabricated products in U.S. dollars by a euro functional subsidiary of the group. In the year

 

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ended December 31, 2012 the impact of these derivatives was an unrealized gain of €35 million as the U.S. dollar weakened against the euro in the second half of 2012.

In the year ended December 31, 2011, €86 million of unrealized losses were recorded in relation to LME futures entered into to minimize the exposure to LME price volatility. A steep decline in LME prices of aluminum led to unrealized losses with the revaluation of the underlying transaction continuing to be off balance sheet as the sales had not yet been invoiced and recognized as revenue. In the year ended December 31, 2012 this resulted in an unrealized gain of €25 million. Hedges which had a significant negative mark-to-market at year end 2011 expired and offset the underlying commercial transactions during 2012. Further, the aluminum market traded sideways during 2012 and the mark-to-market at year end of derivatives related to aluminum hedging was close to zero.

In the year ended December 31, 2012, we also recognized a €48 million gain and an €8 million loss associated with changes in pension plans at Ravenswood and in Switzerland. The gain at Ravenswood was a result of certain plan amendments altering employee benefits resulting in recognition of negative past service cost. The loss in Switzerland resulted from the transfer of the pension plans to a new foundation and adjustments of assets and employee benefits.

During the third quarter of 2012, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) regulating working conditions at Ravenswood was renegotiated and a new five-year CBA was put in place. Costs of €7 million during these renegotiations related to professional fees including legal expenses and bonuses related to the successful resolution of this renewed 5-year agreement.

Other Expenses

In the year ended December 31, 2012, we recorded non-recurring acquisition costs of €3 million incurred at the beginning of 2012 in relation to the ongoing separation. In the year ended December 31, 2011, these costs amounted to €102 million in relation to the costs of the transaction itself as well as costs of separation.

Finance Cost - Net

Finance costs (net) increased by 54%, or €21 million, to €60 million in the year ended December 31, 2012, from €39 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

The increase in net finance costs can be attributed to the Original Term Loan which we entered into in May 2012. Our interest payable on borrowings and factoring arrangements increased by 26% or €8 million to €39 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €31 million in the year ended December 31, 2011, as we incurred €7 million of arrangement fees in respect of the Original Term Loan.

The Original Term Loan had a variable interest rate and we entered into a cross currency interest rate swap to minimize our exposure to interest rate volatility. The realized and unrealized loss related to the cross currency interest rate swap on the Original Term Loan amounted to €18 million for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Income Tax

An income tax charge of €47 million was recognized for the year ended December 31, 2012, from an income tax benefit of €34 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. The effective rate of tax for the year ended December 31, 2012 was a 25% charge compared to a 17% benefit for the year ended December 31, 2011. In 2011 non-recurring Acquisition costs were considered nondeductible in some jurisdictions and deferred tax assets in 2011 were not recognized as it was determined to be more likely than not that sufficient future taxable profits would be generated in certain countries to allow the utilization of these tax losses or deferred tax assets.

 

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Net Income/(Loss) for the Year from Continuing Operations

Net income for the year from continuing operations was €142 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to a loss of €166 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. This was driven by an increase in gross profit and gross profit margin as a result of increased spreads, better product mix and a reduced cost base, as well as other gains. These were partially offset by higher finance costs associated with the 2012 refinancing.

Discontinued Operations

Losses from discontinued operations of €8 million were incurred in both years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. The loss was attributable to restructuring, separation and completion costs.

Results of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010

 

     Predecessor combined
for the year ended
December 31,
         Successor consolidated
for the year ended
December 31,
 
                              2010                                                    2011                       
     (€ in millions and as a % of revenues)  

Continuing operations

             

Revenue

     2,957        100          3,556        100

Cost of sales

     (2,715     92          (3,235     91
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

     242        8          321        9
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Selling and administrative expenses

     (190     6          (216     6

Research and development expenses

     (53     2          (33     1

Restructuring costs

     (6     —               (20     1

Impairment charges

     (224     8         

Other gains/(losses)—net

     (17     1          (111     3
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income / (loss) from operations

     (248     8          (59     2

Other expenses

     —          —               (102     3

Finance costs, net

     (7     —               (39     1

Share of profit of joint ventures

     2        —               —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income / (loss) before income taxes

     (253     9          (200     6

Income tax (expense)/benefit

     44        1          34        1
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income / (loss) for the year from continuing operations

     (209     7          (166     5

Net Income / (loss) from discontinued operations

     2        —               (8     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income / (loss) for the year

     (207     7          (174     5
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Shipment volumes (in kt)

     972        n/a           1,058        n/a   

Revenue per ton (€ per ton)

     3,042        n/a           3,362        n/a   

Gross profit margin

     8     n/a           9     n/a   

Revenue

Revenue from continuing operations increased by 20%, or €599 million, to €3,556 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €2,957 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. As discussed in more detail in the “Key Performance Indicators” section, this increase in consolidated revenues was driven by higher volumes which increased by 9% or 86 kt in 2011 and contributed €288 million to revenue growth. We also encountered stronger pricing supported by higher LME prices which increased to an average of €1,720 per ton in 2011 from €1,638 per ton in 2010 and also a more favorable mix of products. Consequently, our revenue per ton increased by 11% or €320 per ton to €3,362 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2011, from €3,042 per ton for the year ended December 31 2010.

 

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Revenues from our A&T, P&ARP and AS&I segments increased by €206 million, €252 million and €156 million respectively. The 25% or €206 million increase in our A&T segment revenues can be attributed to an 11% or 21 kt increase in volumes coupled with LME price increases passed on to our end customers. Our volumes have increased due to a pick up in the aerospace sector and also increased demand for our transportation products. The A&T volume increases have contributed €99 million to the group revenue growth. These volume and price increases were offset by the impact of the weakening U.S. dollar as the average U.S. dollar to euro exchange rate declined to 1.3905 in 2011 from 1.33 in 2010. Revenues per ton were 11% higher in 2011.

Our P&ARP and AS&I segments increased volumes by 6%, or 33 kt, and 3% and 7kt respectively with a 12% and 17% increase in revenues per ton again benefiting from strong demand and pricing.

Cost of Sales and Gross Profit

Cost of sales increased by 19%, or €520 million, to €3,235 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €2,715 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, due to an increase in volumes of 9% coupled with increasing LME prices specifically in the first half of 2011.

Raw materials and consumables expenses increased by 18%, or €324 million, to €2,161 million in 2011 from €1,837 million in 2010. This represents a 10% increase in cost of goods sold per ton to €2,043 per ton in 2011 from €1,850 in 2010.

Inflationary factors also contributed to the overall increase in raw materials as energy costs increased by 26% to €139 million in 2011 and repairs and maintenance costs by 7% or €6 million to €98 million in 2011. These increases were partly offset by the impact of cost reduction initiatives.

Gross profit margin improved to 9% for the year ended December 31, 2011 from 8% for the year ended December 31, 2010 primarily due to increases in volumes sold and increases in selling prices as we saw a general recovery in our end-markets. We also encountered productivity gains and the realization of cost savings which offset the negative impact of timing differences in LME price movements and the transfers out of inventory, which had a negative impact of €12 million.

Our gross profit margin was improved by these timing differences, or the metal price lag impact, as we encountered a €47 million positive impact in 2010. This positive impact was marginally offset by the ongoing labor negotiations at Ravenswood where a settlement was reached in August 2010 and €8 million costs were incurred in relation thereto.

Selling and Administrative Expenses

Selling and administrative expenses increased by 14%, or €26 million, to €216 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €190 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Prior to the Acquisition, €17 million of general corporate expense allocations were allocated by the previous owner based on a combination of average headcount and capital employed. Post-Acquisition, as we transitioned to operating as a standalone group, we have incurred expenses in relation to the establishment of new central corporate functions as well as increased consulting fees associated with the set up of these functions. These costs represent €21 million in the year ended December 31, 2011.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses decreased by 38%, or €20 million, to €33 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €53 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Research and development expenses incurred prior to the winning of a new project or launch of a new product have decreased due to management’s ongoing cost optimization measures implemented during 2010 and throughout 2011. Research and

 

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development expenses in the year ended December 31, 2010 also contained the expenses of the Predecessor’s facility in Neuhausen, which was not part of the Acquisition. Research and development expenses in the year ended December 31, 2011 amounted to €39 million net of a tax research credit of €6 million. Research and development expenses related to various projects, primarily in the A&T segment of €13 million and the P&ARP segment of €11 million.

Restructuring Costs

Restructuring expenses increased by 233%, or €14 million, to €20 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €6 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The 2011 costs were related to restructuring programs put in place at the Ham and Singen facilities amounting to €14 million and €3 million respectively, and at the corporate level amounting to €3 million. In 2010, restructuring costs were lower due to certain historical restructuring programs coming to completion.

Impairment Charges

No impairment charges were incurred in the year ended December 31, 2011 compared with €224 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The impairment charges in 2010 relate to property, plant and equipment write-downs of €216 million, comprising €106 million in machinery and equipment, €54 million in land and buildings and €56 million in construction work in progress and an €8 million write-down to intangible assets recognized in the A&T operating segment.

Other Losses (Net)

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year  ended
December 31,
2010
    Year ended
December  31,
2011
 

Realized gains on derivatives

     —          31   

Unrealized (losses) on derivatives at fair value through profit and loss – net

     (31     (144

Unrealized exchange gain/(losses) from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities – net

     (7     4   

Other – net

     21        (2
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other gains / (losses) – net

     ( 17     (111
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other losses (net) were €111 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared with other losses (net) of €17 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. In the year ended December 31, 2011, we have entered into financial instruments with the purpose of minimizing our exposure to currency and metal price volatility. In 2011, we incurred €144 million of unrealized net losses on derivative instruments at fair value through profit and loss in comparison to €31 million in the year ended December 31, 2010 as a result of derivatives entered into to minimize exposure to foreign currency volatility on multiple year contracts and LME futures for aluminum spot price volatility. Offsetting this is €31 million of realized gains on derivatives on metal and foreign exchanges in the year ended December 31, 2011.

Other Expenses

In the year ended December 31, 2011, we recorded acquisition costs of €102 million in relation to the Acquisition and the costs of the transaction itself as well as costs of separation. These are exceptional non-recurring costs.

 

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Finance Costs (Net)

Finance costs (net) of €39 million were incurred in the year ended December 31, 2011, which represents an increase from €7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The increase is mainly attributed to the €31 million of interest expense on the shareholder loan and credit facilities and the factoring arrangements put in place at the time of the Acquisition to provide financing for Constellium.

Income Tax

An income tax benefit of €34 million was recognized for the year ended December 31, 2011, which represents a decrease from the income tax benefit of €44 million in December 31, 2010. The effective rate of tax was 17% in the two years ended December 31, 2010 and 2011.

Loss for the Year from Continuing Operations

Loss for the year from continuing operations decreased by 21%, or €43 million, to a loss of €166 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from a loss of €209 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease is attributable to a reduction in impairment charges from €224 million to nil, offset by costs of Acquisition and separation and unrealized losses associated with derivatives in 2011.

Discontinued Operations

Losses from discontinued operations of €8 million were incurred in the year ended December 31, 2011, compared to an income of €2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This is attributable to restructuring and separation costs related to the disposal of the AIN business in 2011.

Segment Revenue

The following table sets forth the revenues for our operating segments for the periods presented:

 

    Predecessor combined
for  the year ended
December 31,
         Successor consolidated
for the year ended
December 31,
 
    2010                    2011                     2012          
    (millions of € and as a % of revenue) (Unaudited)  

A&T

    810         27          1,016         28     1,182         33

P&ARP

    1,373         46          1,625         46     1,554         43

AS&I

    754         26          910         26     861         24

Holdings and corporate

    20         1          5         —          13         —     
 

 

 

    

 

 

        

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total revenues from continuing operations

    2,957         100          3,556         100     3,610         100
 

 

 

    

 

 

        

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

A&T. Revenues in our A&T segment increased by 16%, or €166 million, to €1,182 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to €1,016 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Our volumes increased by 4%, or 8 kt, to 224kt for the year ended December 31, 2012 from 216 kt for the year ended December 31, 2011. Our volume increases can be attributed to increased aerospace demand produced at our Ravenswood facility and achievable due to our increased capacity following the operational turnaround of the facility. Offsetting this is a general softening of our transportation volumes, specifically in automotive products as the sector has suffered from over supply in all geographic regions.

Revenues per ton increased by 12%, or €574 per ton, to €5,278 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €4,704 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2011. This was driven by improved pricing mix, new products and a stronger U.S. dollar and a better product mix, especially in aerospace although these positive factors are partially offset by lower aluminum prices and the lowered production capacity at Ravenswood while the CBA was being renegotiated.

 

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Revenues in our A&T segment increased by 25%, or €206 million, to €1,016 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €810 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase was primarily due to an increase in volumes combined with higher selling prices. 2011 volumes increased by 11% resulting in an increase in revenues of approximately €99 million. This increase is mainly attributable to an increase in our Aerospace business as a result of higher demand from our main aerospace customers. An increase in the selling prices contributed to revenue per ton increasing by 13% year over year, from €4,154 per ton in 2010 to €4,704 per ton in 2011. This is primarily attributed to a favorable mix of products sold and higher aluminum prices.

P&ARP. Revenues in our P&ARP segment decreased by 4%, or €71 million, to €1,554 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €1,625 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. This decrease is the result of a marginal decrease of volumes by 2% to 606 kt for the year ended December 31, 2012, from 621 kt for the year ended December 31, 2011. Decreases in LME prices contributed to a marginal decrease of 2% in our prices to revenues per ton of €2,566 in 2012.

Volumes in our rigid packaging segment were stable over the year but our Automotive & Customized Solutions decreased marginally due to weak demand in the construction market. This was partially offset by a better product mix with volumes increasing in some of our higher value added product lines as our food can volumes increased by 11% compared to the year ended December 31, 2011 and improving margins.

Revenues in our P&ARP segment increased by 18% or €252 million to €1,625 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €1,373 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Our volumes increased in addition to higher selling prices being attained. Increased volumes of 6% contributed to an increase in revenues of approximately €86 million and was due to record shipment volumes driven by increased demand in the can stock market in Europe, the winning of additional long-term contracts and favorable market conditions for most of the year. An increase in selling prices contributed to an increase in revenues per ton of 12% to €2,617 revenue per ton in 2011.

AS&I . Revenues in our AS&I segment decreased by 5%, or €49 million, to €861 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €910 million in the year ended December 31, 2011.

Our segment volume decreased by 6% to 206 kt for the year December 31, 2012 from 219kt for the year ended December 31, 2011 as our Soft Alloys products suffered from continued slowdowns in the construction industry specifically in France. This was partially offset by increased demand in Europe, North America and China for automotive products leading to a 19% increase in volumes shipped in our Automotive Structures.

Revenues per ton remained stable at €4,180 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2012, compared to €4,155 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2011 due to a more advantageous product mix associated with better conversion prices for our higher value added products. The impact of foreign exchange rates volatility on AS&I revenues was minimal and instead revenues continued to be impacted by aluminum prices which decreased by 13% over the period.

Revenues in our AS&I segment increased by 21% or €156 million to €910 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €754 million in the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase was primarily due to an increase in volumes combined with higher selling prices. Volumes increased by 3% resulting in an increase in revenues of approximately €29 million. This increase is primarily attributed to an increase in shipment volumes as a result of the ongoing strength in the hard alloy and rail markets and automotive sales in Germany. This was offset by weaker building and construction markets in France. Selling prices contributed to an increase in revenue per ton of 17% year over year, from €3,557 per ton in 2010 to €4,155 per ton in 2011. This was primarily attributed to a favorable mix of products sold and higher aluminum prices.

Holdings and Corporate. Revenues in our Intersegment and Other segment increased by €8 million, to €13 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €5 million in the year ended December 31, 2011. Included in our Intersegment revenues are revenues generated from our forging businesses.

 

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Revenues in our Intersegment and Other segment decreased 75% or €15 million, to €5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €20 million in the year ended December 31, 2010.

Key Performance Indicators

In considering the financial performance of the business, management analyzes the primary financial performance measure of Management Adjusted EBITDA in all of our business segments and Adjusted EBITDA as defined and required under the covenants contained in our financing facilities. Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures defined by IFRS. The most directly comparable IFRS measure to Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is our profit or loss for the relevant period.

We believe Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, as defined below, are useful to investors as they exclude items which do not impact our day-to-day operations and which management in many cases does not directly control or influence. Similar concepts of adjusted EBITDA are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of our company and in comparison to other companies, many of which present an adjusted EBITDA-related performance measure when reporting their results.

Management Adjusted EBITDA is defined as profit for the period from continuing operations before results from joint venture, net financial expenses, income taxes and depreciation, amortization and impairment as adjusted to exclude losses on disposal of property, plant and equipment, acquisition and separation costs, restructuring costs and unrealized gains or losses on derivatives and on foreign exchange differences.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA further adjusted for favorable (unfavorable) metal price lag, exceptional consulting costs, effects of purchase accounting adjustment, standalone costs and Apollo management fees, application of our post-Acquisition hedging policy, gain on forgiveness of related party loan, and exceptional employee bonuses in relation to cost saving implementation and targets.

Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools. They are not recognized terms under IFRS and therefore do not purport to be an alternative to operating profit as a measure of operating performance or to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity.

Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. As a result, you should not consider these performance measures in isolation from, or as a substitute analysis for, our results of operations.

Management Adjusted EBITDA

The following tables show Constellium’s combined and consolidated Management Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012:

 

     Predecessor for the year ended
December 31,
         Successor for the year ended
December 31,
 
     2010                2011             2012      
     (millions of € and as a % of segment revenue)  

A&T

     35        4          26        3     92         8

P&ARP

     74        5          63        4     80         5

AS&I

     (4     (1 %)           20        2     40         5

Holdings and corporate

     (47     (235 %)           (6     (120 %)      (9      (69 %) 
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Management Adjusted EBITDA

     58        2          103        3     203         6
  

 

 

   

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

A&T. Management Adjusted EBITDA in our A&T segment more than tripled to €92 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to €26 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. Management

 

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Adjusted EBITDA in our A&T segment increased to €411 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €120 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2011. This increase included €44 million related to pricing and spreads on our aerospace products as well as €34 million related to favorable product mix. Management Adjusted EBITDA further benefitted from lower overhead expenses and labor costs of €1 million following the restructuring plan in Sierre, but suffered from the lowered productivity at Ravenswood while the CBA was being renegotiated. The increase was marginally offset by increased R&D costs of €4 million associated with the development of AIRWARE ® and the negative impact of the Swiss franc weakening of €9 million.

Management Adjusted EBITDA in our A&T segment decreased by 26%, or €9 million, to €26 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €35 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease can be attributed to increasing inflation which had a negative impact of €8 million and negative foreign exchange impacts of €14 million and other one-offs of €14 million. These negative factors were partially offset by increased segment volumes and mix and positive pricing impacts which contributed €29 million and €24 million respectively to Management Adjusted EBITDA.

P&ARP. Management Adjusted EBITDA in our P&ARP segment increased by 27% or €17 million to €80 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €63 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. Management Adjusted EBITDA per ton increased by 30% to €132 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €101 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2011. Our Management Adjusted EBITDA improved due to better pricing and mix, mostly in can stock, which impacted Management Adjusted EBITDA by €21 million, and the impacts of the various cost reduction initiatives contributing €7 million to Management Adjusted EBITDA. This was partially offset by €6 million of inflation on labor and energy costs and the effect of declining volumes of €7 million. Foreign exchange variations had limited effect over the period as had our metal price lag adjustment.

Management Adjusted EBITDA in our P&ARP segment decreased by 15% or €11 million to €63 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from €74 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The decrease is driven by a €16 million negative impact on prices following LME fluctuations, as well as a €19 million higher inflation, mainly on energy and raw materials associated expenses. Central costs were also €11 million higher and foreign exchange had a negative impact of €4 million. This was however partially offset by €8 million associated with volume and mix and €22 million of cost productivity improvements.

AS&I. Management Adjusted EBITDA in our AS&I segment increased by 100%, or €20 million, to €40 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 from €20 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. Over the same period, Management Adjusted EBITDA per ton increased by 113%, to €194 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2012, from €91 per ton for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Although inflationary impacts on labor and energy costs negatively impacted Management Adjusted EBITDA by €9 million, this was more than offset by a lower cost base of €19 million resulting from productivity improvements and effects of our previous and current restructuring programs at Sierre, Ham, Levice and Singen being realized. Management Adjusted EBITDA was also impacted in 2012 by €4 million due to better mix and prices and a lower spend on R&D.

Management Adjusted EBITDA in our AS&I segment increased by €24 million, to €20 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from a loss of €4 million in December 31, 2010. The increase in Management Adjusted EBITDA is due to an increase in volumes shipped which contributed €14 million positively to Management Adjusted EBITDA coupled with increased pricing and product mix and the positive impact of cost saving initiatives.

Holdings and Corporate. Our Holdings and Corporate segment incurred Management Adjusted EBITDA losses of €9 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 and €6 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. These losses were incurred due to non-integral operating entities such as our forging businesses, pass-through

 

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entities for import/export or income tax purposes, corporate and head office costs, non-service related pension and other post-retirement benefit costs and other non-operating items. The increase in our 2012 Management Adjusted EBITDA loss is primarily attributed to an increase in costs accrued centrally for employees in our corporate and head office function.

We recorded a Management Adjusted EBITDA loss of €47 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 primarily due to exceptional consulting costs of €30 million as we prepared for the Acquisition.

The following table reconciles our profit or loss for the period from continuing operations to our Management Adjusted EBITDA for the years presented:

 

     Predecessor
for the year
ended
December 31,
     Successor
for the  year

ended
December 31,
 
(€ in millions unless otherwise stated)        2010              2011             2012      
                     

Profit/(loss) for the period from continuing operations

     (209      (166     142   

Finance costs—net

     7         39        60   

Income tax

     (44      (34     47   

Share of profit from joint ventures

     (2      —          5   

Depreciation and amortization

     38         2        11   

Impairment charges

     224         —          3   

Expenses related to the acquisition and separation (a)

     —           102        3   

Restructuring costs (b)

     6         20        25   

Unrealized losses on derivatives at fair value and exchange gains from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities

     38         140        (60

Pension settlement and amendment (c)

     —           —          (40

Ravenswood CBA renegotiation (d)

     —           —          7   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Management Adjusted EBITDA

     58         103        203   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(a) Represents expenses related to the Acquisition and separation of the Company from its previous owners.
(b) Restructuring costs represent one-time termination benefits or severance, plus contract termination costs, primarily related to equipment and facility lease obligations.
(c) Represents a loss generated by a settlement on withdrawal from the foundation that administered its employee benefit plan in Switzerland of €8 million and a €48 million gain due to amendments of our Ravenswood plan.
(d) Represents non-recurring professional fees, including legal fees and bonuses in relation to the successful renegotiation of the 5-year collective bargaining agreement at our Ravenswood manufacturing site in September 2012.

 

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Quarterly Financial Information

The table below presents summary financial and operating data for our quarters in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012:

 

     2012  
(€ in millions unless otherwise stated) (unaudited)    Q1     Q2     Q3     Q4  
        

Statement of income data (continuing operations):

        

Revenue

     935        976        885        814   

Cost of sales

     (813     (822     (785     (712

Gross profit

     122        154        100        102   

Income from operations

     89        13        73        82   

Income before income taxes

     88        12        71        83   

Net Income/(loss) for the year from continuing operations

     56        (17     41        62   

Other operational and financial data:

        

Net trade working capital

     470        514        463        289   

Change in net trade working capital

     (89     (44     51        174   

Capital expenditure

     32        15        23        56   

Volumes (in kt)

     265        277        256        235   

Revenue per ton (€/ kt)

     3,528        3,523        3,457        3,464   

Management Adjusted EBITDA

     58        73        32        40   

Management Adjusted EBITDA per ton (€/ kt)

     219        264        129        166   

Adjusted EBITDA

     61        83        40        44   

Adjusted EBITDA per ton (€/ kt)

     230        300        160        183   
     2012  
(€ in millions unless otherwise stated) (unaudited)    Q1     Q2     Q3     Q4  
                          

Continuing operations*

        

Net Income/(loss) for the year from continuing operations

     56        (17     41        62   

Finance costs — net

     9        28        12        11   

Income tax

     23        1        18        5   

Share of loss from joint ventures

     —          —          —          5   

Depreciation and amortization

     1        1        5        7   

Restructuring costs

     1        9        5        10   

Expenses related to the acquisition and separation

     1        1        1        —     

Unrealized/(gains) losses on derivatives at fair value and exchange gains from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities

     (41     50        (58     (11

Pension settlement and amendment

     8        —            (48

Ravenswood CBA renegotiation

     —          —          8        (1
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Management Adjusted EBITDA

     58        73        32        40   

Favorable/(unfavorable) metal price lag

     1        8        7        —     

Apollo management fee

     1        —          1        1   

Exceptional employee bonuses in relation to cost savings and turnaround plans

     1        2        —          (1

Other

     —          —          —          4   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

     61        83        40        44   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

* See footnotes (2) and (3) to the “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

 

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Covenant Compliance and Financial Ratios

Our debt agreements contain customary covenants and events of default that, among other things, restrict, subject to certain exceptions, our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries, to incur indebtedness, sell assets, make investments, engage in acquisitions, mergers or consolidations and make dividends and other restricted payments. In addition, our floating rate term loan agreement (the “Term Loan Agreement”) contains a covenant that, after this offering, will require us to maintain a consolidated secured net leverage ratio of no more than 3.0 to 1.0, tested on a quarterly basis (as determined under our Term Loan Agreement). The ratio is calculated on a pro forma basis as consolidated secured debt (including receivables financing) less unrestricted cash divided by Adjusted EBITDA. The definition of Adjusted EBITDA allows us to adjust certain non-cash or exceptional income, expenses, gains or losses that are deducted in determining net income (for example, restructuring costs) and to add the future benefit of identified cost reduction programs.

We were in compliance with our covenants as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012.

The Term Loan Agreement contains other customary affirmative and negative covenants including with respect to liens, incurrence of indebtedness, investments, asset sales and transactions and restricted payments.

Our ABL Facility described in “Description of Certain Indebtedness — U.S. Revolving Credit Facility (the “ABL Facility”)” contains a financial maintenance covenant that requires Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC to maintain excess availability of the greater of (i) $10 million and (ii) 10% of the aggregate revolving loan commitments. Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC is currently in compliance with this financial maintenance covenant. The ABL Facility also contains customary negative covenants on liens, investments and restricted payments related to Ravenswood, LLC.

Management Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation

The following tables show Constellium’s combined and consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012:

 

     Predecessor for
the year
ended
December 31,
         Successor for
the year
ended
December 31,
 
     2010                2011             2012      
                         
    

(€ in millions)

(unaudited)

 

 

A&T

     36             41        105   

P&ARP

     46             95        92   

AS&I

     (11          37        46   

Intersegment and Other

     (23          (13     (15
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Adjusted EBITDA

     48             160        228   
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA is not a presentation made in accordance with IFRS, but we believe it provides investors and other users of our financial information with useful information. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a performance measure as management believes this measure provides additional information used by our lending facilities providers with respect to the ongoing performance of our underlying business activities. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA is a component of our financial covenants under the Term Loan Agreement.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA further adjusted for favorable (unfavorable) metal price lag, exceptional consulting costs, effects of purchase accounting adjustment, standalone costs and Apollo management fees, application of our post-Acquisition hedging policy, gain on

 

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forgiveness of a related party loan, and exceptional employee bonuses in relation to cost saving implementation and targets. Adjusted EBITDA is not a presentation made in accordance with IFRS, is not a measure of financial condition, liquidity or profitability, and should not be considered as an alternative to profit or loss for the year determined in accordance with IFRS or operating cash flows determined in accordance with IFRS.

The following table reconciles our Management Adjusted EBITDA to our Adjusted EBITDA for the years presented:

 

     Predecessor          Successor  
     Year ended December 31,  
         2010                    2011              2012      
    

(€ in millions)

(unaudited)

 

 

Management Adjusted EBITDA

     58             103         203   

Favorable / (unfavorable) metal price lag (a)

     (47          12         16   

Exceptional consulting costs (b)

     30             —           —     

Transition and start-up costs (c)

     —               21         —     

Effects of Purchase Accounting adjustment ( d )

     —               12         —     

Standalone costs ( e )

     (7          1         —     

Apollo management fee ( f )

     —               1         3   

Transition to new hedging policy ( g )

     11             —           —     

Exceptional employee bonuses in relation to cost savings and turnaround plans ( h )

     —               2         2   

Other ( i )

     3             8         4   
  

 

 

        

 

 

    

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA (j)

     48             160         228   
  

 

 

        

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(a) Represents the financial impact of the timing difference between when aluminum prices included within our revenues are established and when aluminum purchase prices included in our cost of sales are established. We account for inventory using a weighted average price basis and this adjustment is to remove the effect of volatility in London Metal Exchange (“LME”) prices. This lag will, generally, increase our earnings and Adjusted EBITDA in times of rising primary aluminum prices and decrease our earnings and Adjusted EBITDA in times of declining primary aluminum prices. The calculation of our metal price lag adjustment is based on an internal standardized methodology calculated at each of our manufacturing sites and is calculated as the average value of product recorded in inventory, which approximates the spot price in the market, less the average value transferred out of inventory, which is the weighted average of the metal element of our cost of goods sold, by the quantity sold in the period.
(b) Represents exceptional external consultancy costs which relate to the preparation of the divestment of the AEP Business in 2010.
(c) Represents exceptional external consultancy costs related to the implementation of our cost savings program and set up of our IT infrastructure in 2011.
(d) Represents the non-cash step up in inventory costs on the Acquisition of €12 million.
(e) Represents the incremental standalone costs that would have been incurred if the Predecessor had operated as a standalone entity. This €19 million of corporate head office costs incurred in the six months ended June 30, 2012 was pro-rated for a twelve-month period after adjustment to remove the Predecessor corporate costs. The corporate head office costs include finance, legal, human resources and other corporate services that are now provided to our reporting segments and are principally provided at our corporate support services functions in Paris.
(f) Represents the Apollo management fee, payable annually post-Acquisition, which is equal to the greater of $2 million per annum or 1% of our Adjusted EBITDA measure before such fees, as defined in the Pre-IPO Shareholders Agreement, plus related expenses.
(g)

Prior to the Acquisition, the Predecessor did not hedge U.S. dollar denominated aerospace contracts, which resulted in exposures to fluctuating euro-to-U.S. dollar exchange rates. Following completion of the Acquisition, we have implemented a policy to fully hedge foreign currency transactions against fluctuations

 

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  in foreign currency. This adjustment is calculated based on the revenues generated by our aerospace contracts and assumes a U.S dollar: euro exchange rate of 1.2253 to 1, which is the average exchange rate for the first six months of 2006 when such contract volumes became committed and therefore this rate has been applied to revenue recorded throughout the Predecessor Period. If the U.S. dollar had weakened/strengthened by 8% against the euro, our adjustment would have been €12 million higher or lower in 2010.
(h) Represents one-off bonuses under a two-year plan, paid to selected employees in relation to the achievement of cost savings targets and the costs of a bonus plan in relation to the turnaround program at our Ravenswood site.
(i) Other adjustments are as follows: (i) in 2010, the adjustment of €3 million relates to exceptional scrap costs resulting from processing issues directly resulting from quality issues in the supply of raw materials at our Ravenswood plant; (ii) in 2011, €8 million of losses on metal purchases were attributable to the initial invoicing in U.S. dollars instead of euros by a metal supplier at inception of the contract. All invoices are now received and paid in euros. As this U.S. dollar-to-euro exposure from January through November 2011 was not effectively hedged, we consider this to be an exceptional loss and not part of our underlying trading; and (iii) in 2012, the exceptional costs incurred in respect of our IPO efforts.
(j) Our Adjusted EBITDA in 2010 does not reflect the impact of €67 million and €57 million of cost savings realized in the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012, respectively. These cost savings relate to the reduction of over 600 employees in 2011, 2012 and 2013, increased centralization in procurement and global sourcing of materials and increased efficiencies in production processes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our primary sources of cash flow have historically been cash flows from operating activities and funding or borrowings from external parties and related parties.

As part of our cash flow management, we have improved our net working capital through procurement initiatives designed to leverage economies of scale and improve terms of payment to suppliers, as well as through collection initiatives designed to improve our billings and collections processes to reduce outstanding receivables. Our net working capital as a percentage of revenue decreased from 18% in 2010 to 8% in 2012. We define net working capital days, days of inventories, days of payables and days of sales outstanding as net trade working capital, inventories, trade payables and trade receivables divided by revenues for the last quarter, multiplied by 90, respectively. Net trade working capital is inventories plus trade receivables net, less trade payables. We believe this measure helps users of the financial statements compare our cash management from period to period and against our peers in respect to our efficiency of working capital employed and the ability to provide sufficient liquidity in the short and long term.

Based on our current and anticipated levels of operations, excluding certain one-time costs such as the 2011 costs relating to the acquisition and separation of the Company, and the condition in our markets and industry, we believe that our cash on hand, cash flows from operations, and availability under our Term Loan and revolving credit facilities will enable us to meet our working capital, capital expenditures, debt service and other funding requirements for the foreseeable future. However, our ability to fund working capital needs, debt payments and other obligations, and to comply with the financial covenants in the Term Loan Agreement, depends on our future operating performance and cash flows and many factors outside of our control, including the costs of raw materials, the state of the overall industry and financial and economic conditions and other factors, including those described under “Risk Factors.”

It is our policy to hedge all highly probable or committed foreign currency operating cash flows. As we have significant third party future receivables denominated in U.S. dollars, we enter into operating-forward contracts with financial institutions, selling forward U.S. dollars against euros. In addition, as discussed in “Business—The Company—Managing our Metal Price Exposure,” when we are unable to align the price and quantity of physical aluminum purchases with that of physical aluminum sales, we enter into derivative financial instruments to pass through the exposure to metal price fluctuations to financial institutions at the time the price is set. As the U.S.

 

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dollar appreciates versus the euro or the LME price for aluminum falls, the derivative contracts entered into with financial institution counterparties have a negative mark-to-market. Our financial institution counterparties may require margin calls should our negative mark-to-market exceed a pre-agreed contractual limit. In order to protect the Company from the potential margin calls for significant market movements, we hold a significant liquidity buffer in cash or in availability under our various borrowing facilities, we enter into derivatives with a large number of financial counterparties and we monitor margin requirements on a daily basis for adverse movements in the U.S. dollar versus the euro and in aluminum prices. At December 31, 2012, the margin requirement related to foreign exchange hedges amounted to €15 million comprising of €12 million of fixed margin and €3 million of variable margin (December 31, 2011: €21 million). As of December 31, 2012, the margin requirement related to aluminum hedges was zero (as of December 31, 2011, margin posted on aluminum hedges was also zero). The highest margin made in 2012 related to foreign exchange derivatives and aluminum hedges was €60 million on July 26, 2012 and €2 million on June 29, 2012, respectively.

At December 31, 2012, we had €353 million of total liquidity, comprised of €142 million in cash and cash equivalents €50 million of undrawn credit facilities under our ABL Facility and €161 million available under our factoring arrangements. As of December 31, 2012 we have drawn €16 million under the ABL Facility, have nil letters of credit outstanding and fully utilized $200 million or €151 million under our Original Term Loan facility entered into on May 25, 2012.

Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our operating, investing and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012:

 

     Predecessor combined
for the year ended
December 31,
         Successor
consolidated for the
year ended December 31,
 
(€ in millions)    2010            2011                     2012                   

Net cash provided by /(used) in:

           

Operating activities

     (66          (29     246   

Investing activities

     161             (69     (131

Financing activities

     (86          201        (86
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

     9             103        29   
  

 

 

        

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash from operating activities

Net cash provided / (used) by operating activities increased by €275 million, to an inflow of €246 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, from an outflow of €29 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. Cash generated in the year ended December 31, 2012 reflected cash generated from net income from continuing operations as well as a decrease in net working capital of €117 million. Net working capital days decreased by 11 days to 32 days for the year ended December 31, 2012 from 43 days in the year ended December 31, 2011. Of the decrease in net working capital days, a 5-day decrease was driven by the implementation of the lean approach and specific actions to reduce inventories in our AS&I and P&ARP segments, and was partially offset by increased inventories in our A&T segment in preparation of the ramp-up of sales in Q1 2013 at Issoire. Net working capital days decreased by one more day due to the increase in days of payables outstanding associated with favorable negotiations with suppliers to our A&T segment. Our days sales outstanding metric decreased by 5 days reflecting favorable payment terms related to new contracts and early and prepayments on specific contracts in our A&T segment and significant cash collection and reduction in cash overdue at AS&I.

Net cash used in operating activities decreased by 56%, or €37 million, to an outflow of €29 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from an outflow of €66 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. In the

 

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year ended December 31, 2011 the net cash used primarily reflected a cash outflow of €102 million related to acquisition and separation costs from the previous owner offset by a small decrease in working capital of €32 million. Net working capital days decreased by 19 days to 43 days for the year ended December 31, 2011 from 62 days in the year ended December 31, 2010. Net working capital days decreased by 5 days related to days of sales outstanding primarily associated with successful cash collection efforts in our A&T segment, partially offset by specific contract payment conditions in P&ARP. Inventory days decreased by 12 days due to record low levels of inventories at P&ARP, which was only partially offset by higher inventory at Issoire.

Net cash from investing activities

Cash flows used in investing activities increased by €62 million to an outflow of €131 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, from an outflow of €69 million for the year ended December 31, 2011. Cash flows used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2012 were primarily due to €126 million of capital expenditures and other activities. Significant capital expenditure projects for the year ended December 31, 2012 included the furnace at Issoire, the new press line at Singen and the Tube Center at Aviatube.

Cash flows used in investing activities was an outflow of €69 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 primarily due to €97 million of capital expenditures. This was partially offset by the proceeds from disposal of our AIN business of €9 million and purchase of net assets on acquisition—net of cash acquired of €13 million.

Significant capital expenditure projects included the AIRWARE ® industrial facility at Issoire France in 2011 and 2012 and the stretcher at Ravenswood in 2011. For further details on capital expenditures projects, see the “Historical Capital Expenditures” section below.

Net cash provided by investing activities was an inflow of €161 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, primarily due to the receipt of €178 million relating to the repayment of related party loans, mainly by Alcan Holdings Switzerland AG, offset by €51 million of capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment.

Net cash from financing activities

Net cash provided by financing activities decreased to an outflow of €86 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, from an inflow of €201 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Net cash used in financing activities in the year ended December 31, 2012 reflected the €154 million of proceeds from the Original Term Loan, offset by €148 million of repayment of the term loan facility provided by Apollo Omega and FSI, outflows from factoring of €49 million and €28 million of interest paid. Net cash provided by financing activities in the year ended December 31, 2011 is due to the financing associated with the Acquisition described above.

Net cash provided by financing activities resulted in an inflow of €201 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 from an outflow of €86 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 as cash was utilized in 2010 to repay related party borrowings.

 

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Financing Arrangements

Historical Capital Expenditures

The following table provides a breakdown of the historical capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment by segment for the periods indicated:

 

     Predecessor combined
for the year ended
December 31,
          Successor
consolidated
for the year
ended
December 31,
 
(€ in millions)    2010             2011      2012  

A&T

     26              40         42   

AS&I

     14              20         40   

P&ARP

     10              26         39   

Intersegment and Other

     1              11         5   
  

 

 

         

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total from continuing operations

     51              97         126   
  

 

 

         

 

 

    

 

 

 

Capital expenditure in the Company predominantly relates to development, maintenance and health & safety expenditures. Main projects undertaken during the period included the equipment upgrades completed in 2011 and 2012 at Ravenswood (hot mill and new stretcher), the first phase of the AIRWARE ® casthouse at Issoire, completed in the second half of 2012, the electrical revamping of the Neuf-Brisach cold mills started in 2011 and the new Singen press line started in 2012.

Our principal capital expenditures currently in progress are expected to total approximately €295 million, for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2014 in the aggregate. We currently expect all of our capital expenditures to be financed internally.

Capital expenditures increased by €29 million or 30%, to €126 million in the year ended December 31, 2012 from €97 million in the year ended December 31, 2011, as a result of the continuation of existing projects and a number of new projects, including the furnace at Issoire, the new press line in Singen and the Tube Center Project at Aviatube.

As at December 31, 2011 we have €115 million in construction in progress which relates to modernization and rebuilding projects at our Neuf Brisach, Issoire, Ravenswood and Singen sites.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no significant off-balance sheet arrangements.

 

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Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes our estimated material contractual cash obligations and other commercial commitments at December 31, 2012:

 

            Cash payments due by period  
     Total      Less than
1  year
     1-3
years
     3-5
years
     After 5
years
 
     (unaudited, € in millions)  

Borrowings (1)

     168         18         3         3         144   

Interest (2)

     74         14         28         27         5   

Derivatives relating to currencies and aluminum

     53         24         19         10         —     

Operating lease obligations (3)

     58         16         24         15         3  

Capital expenditures

     49         49         —           —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total (4)

     402         121         74         55         152   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Borrowings include revolving credit facilities which are considered short-term in nature and are included in the category “Less than 1 year”.
(2) For this table, we have assumed a U.S. dollar LIBOR rate of 1.25% per annum, i.e. the floor rate plus 8%. Both the ABL facility and the factoring facility carry variable interest rates and variable outstanding amounts for which estimating future interest payments are not practicable. After this offering and the delivery to the administrative agent of our financial statements for the period ending March 31, 2013, the interest on the Term Loan will be equal to the aggregate of (i) the greater of the applicable euro currency rate (LIBOR) for the interest period multiplied by the statutory reserve rate and a floor of 1.25% per annum, plus (ii) a margin of 4.75% per annum for dollar-denominated borrowings and 5.25% per annum for euro-denominated borrowings.
(3) Operating leases relate to buildings, machinery and equipment.
(4) Retirement benefit obligations of €621 million are not presented above as the timing of the settlement of this obligation is uncertain.

Environmental Contingencies

Our operations, like those of other basic industries, are subject to federal, state, local and international laws, regulations and ordinances. These laws and regulations (i) govern activities or operations that may have adverse environmental effects, such as discharges to air and water, as well as waste handling and disposal practices and (ii) impose liability for costs of cleaning up, and certain damages resulting from, spills, disposals or other releases or regulated materials. From time to time, our operations have resulted, or may result, in certain non-compliance with applicable requirements under such environmental laws. To date, any such non-compliance with such environmental laws has not had a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.

Pension Obligations

Constellium operates various pension plans for the benefit of its employees across a number of countries. Some of these plans are defined benefit plans and others are defined contribution plans. The largest of these plans are in the United States, Switzerland, Germany and France. Pension benefits are generally based on the employee’s service and highest average eligible compensation before retirement, and are periodically adjusted for cost of living increases, either by practice, collective agreement or statutory requirement.

We also provide health and life insurance benefits to retired employees and in some cases to their beneficiaries and covered dependents. These plans are predominantly in the United States.

 

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United States pensions and healthcare plans

In the United States, we operate defined benefit plans, which, as of December 31, 2012, covered 1,972 active, 308 deferred and 3,772 retired employees.

There is a defined contribution (401(k)) savings plan and an unfunded post-employment benefit scheme.

Switzerland

In 2012, and as part of the separation agreement with Rio Tinto, we withdrew from the foundation that previously had administered our employee benefit plans in Switzerland and joined a new commercial multi-employee foundation for our Swiss employees. This change led to a partial liquidation of the previous scheme which triggered a settlement. At the same time there was a change in employee benefit entitlements that resulted in a decrease in past service costs. The net effect of the settlement and the change in benefits resulted in a €8 million loss recorded within other gains/losses in the income statement. As of December 31, 2012, there were 843 employees and 7 retired employees in the Swiss pension plan.

Germany

In Germany, there are a number of defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes, which, as of December 31, 2012, covered a total of 1,580 active, 472 deferred and 2,839 retired employees.

France

In France, there are unfunded defined benefit pension plans, which, as of December 31, 2012, covered 4,253 active and 310 retired employees.

Our pension liabilities and other post-retirement healthcare obligations are reviewed regularly by a firm of qualified external actuaries and are revalued taking into account changes in actuarial assumptions and experience. The assumptions include assumed discount rates on plan liabilities and expected rates of return on plan assets. Both of these require estimates and projections on a variety of factors and these can fluctuate from period to period.

For the year ended December 31, 2012, the total expense recognized in the income statement in relation to all our pension and post-retirement benefits was €44 million before the non-recurring pension plan settlements and amendments gains or losses of €40 million net (compared to €39 million for the year ended December 31, 2011). At December 31, 2012, the fair value of the plans assets was €267 million (compared to €287 million as of December 31, 2011), compared to a present value of our obligations of €878 million (compared to €865 million as of December 31, 2011), resulting in an aggregate plan deficit of €621 million (compared to €578 million as of December 31, 2011). Contributions to pension plans totaled €26 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 (compared to €28 million for the year ended December 31, 2011). Contributions for other benefits totaled €14 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 (compared to €13 million for the year ended December 31, 2011).

Our estimated funding for our funded pension plans and other post-retirement benefit plans is based on actuarial estimates using benefit assumptions for discount rates, expected long-term rates of return on assets, rates of compensation increases, and health care cost trend rates. The deficit in the pension plan and the unfunded post-retirement healthcare obligation as of December 31, 2012 were €266 million and €345 million, respectively. The net defined benefit obligation as of December 31, 2011 was €578 million. Estimating when the obligations will require settlement is not practicable and therefore these have not been included in the Contractual Obligations table above.

 

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Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

In addition to the risks inherent in our operations, we are exposed to a variety of financial risks, such as market risk (including foreign currency exchange, interest rate and commodity price risk), credit risk and liquidity risk, and further information can be found in Note 21 to our audited combined financial statements and Note 23 to our audited consolidated financial statements.

Principal Accounting Policies, Critical Accounting Estimates and Key Judgments

Our principal accounting policies are set out in Note 2 to the audited combined and consolidated financial statements which all appear elsewhere in this prospectus. New standards and interpretations not yet adopted are also disclosed in Note 2 to the audited combined financial statements and Note 2.7 to our audited consolidated financial statements.

 

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BUSINESS

The Company

Overview

We are a global leader in the design and manufacture of a broad range of innovative specialty rolled and extruded aluminum products, serving primarily the aerospace, packaging and automotive end-markets. We have a strategic footprint of manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Europe and China. Our business model is to add value by converting aluminum into semi-fabricated products. We believe we are the supplier of choice to numerous blue-chip customers for many value-added products with performance-critical applications. Our product portfolio commands higher margins as compared to less differentiated, more commoditized fabricated aluminum products, such as common alloy coils, paintstock, foilstock and soft alloys for construction and distribution.

We operate 26 production facilities, 10 administrative and commercial sites and one R&D center, and have approximately 8,845 employees. We believe our portfolio of flexible and integrated facilities is among the most technologically advanced in the industry. It is our view that our established presence in the United States and Europe and our growing presence in China strategically position us to service our global customer base. For example, based on information available to us as an industry participant, we believe we are one of only two suppliers of aluminum products to the aerospace market with facilities in both the United States and Europe. We believe this gives us a key competitive advantage in servicing the needs of our aerospace customers, including Airbus S.A.S. and The Boeing Company. We believe our well-invested facilities combined with more than 50 years of manufacturing experience, quality and innovation and pre-eminent R&D capabilities have put us in a leadership position in our core markets.

We seek to sell to end-markets that have attractive characteristics for aluminum, including (i) higher margin products, (ii) stability through economic cycles, and (iii) favorable growth fundamentals supported by customer order backlogs in aerospace and substitution trends in automotive and European can sheet. We are the leading global supplier of aerospace plates, the leading European supplier of can body stock and a leading global supplier of automotive structures. Our unique platform has enabled us to develop a stable and diversified customer base and to enjoy long-standing relationships with our largest customers. Our relationships with our top 20 customers average over 25 years, with more than 30% of our volumes for 2012 secured by contracts valid until 2015 or later. Our customer base includes market leading firms in aerospace, automotive, and packaging, like Airbus, Boeing, Rexam PLC, Ball Corporation, Crown Holdings, Inc. and several premium automotive original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, including BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG. We believe that we are a “mission critical” supplier to many of our customers due to our technological and R&D capabilities as well as the long and complex qualification process required for many of our products. Our core products require close collaboration and, in many instances, joint development with our customers.

For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, we shipped approximately 1,033 kt, 1,058 kt and 972 kt of finished products, generated revenues of €3,610 million, €3,556 million and €2,957 million, generated gains of €134 million and incurred losses of €174 million and €207 million respectively, and generated Adjusted EBITDA of €228 million, €160 million and €48 million, respectively. The financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2012 represented a 2% decrease in shipments, a 2% increase in revenues and a 43% increase in Adjusted EBITDA from the prior year. Please see the reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Covenant Compliance and Financial Ratios” and footnote (3) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

 

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Table: Overview of Operating Segments

 

    

Aerospace &

Transportation

   Packaging & Automotive
Rolled Products
   Automotive Structures &
Industry

Commercial and Manufacturing Sites

  

• 15 (France, United States, Switzerland)

  

• 3 (France, Germany, Switzerland)

  

• 18 (France, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, United States, China)

Employees (as of December 31, 2012)

  

• 3,812

  

• 1,986

  

• 2,247

Key products

  

• Aerospace plates and sheets

 

• Aerospace wingskins

 

• Aerospace extruded products

 

• Plates for general engineering

 

• Sheets for transportation applications

  

• Can Body Stock

 

• Can End Stock

 

• Auto Body Sheet

 

• Closure Stock

 

• Heat Exchangers

 

• Specialty reflective sheet (Bright)

  

• Extruded products

 

• Soft alloys

 

• Hard alloys

 

• Large profiles

 

• Automotive structures

Key customers

  

•  Aerospace : Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Dassault, Bombardier, Lockheed Martin

 

•  Transport : Ryerson, ThyssenKrupp, FreightCar America, Amari

  

•  Packaging : Rexam, Can-Pack, Ball, Crown, Amcor, Ardagh Group

 

•  Automotive : Daimler, Audi, Volkswagen, Valeo, Peugeot S.A.

  

•  Automotive : Audi, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, General Motors, Ford, Benteler, Peugeot S.A., Strojmetal Kamenice

 

•  Rail : Stadler, CAF

Key facilities

  

• Ravenswood (USA)

 

• Issoire (FR)

 

• Sierre (CH)

  

• Neuf-Brisach (FR)

 

• Singen (DE)

  

• Děčín (CZ)

 

• Levice (SK)

 

• Gottmadingen (DE)

 

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Our Operating Segments

Our business is organized into three operating segments: (i) Aerospace & Transportation, (ii) Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products, and (iii) Automotive Structures & Industry.

 

Operating Segment

  

Products

  

Description

Aerospace &

Transportation

   Rolled Products and Extrusion    Includes the production of rolled and extruded aluminum products for the aerospace market, as well as rolled products for transport and industry end-uses. We produce aluminum plate, sheet and fabricated products in our European and North American facilities. Substantially all of these aluminum products are manufactured to specific customer requirements using direct-chill ingot cast technologies that allow us to use and offer a variety of alloys and products.

Packaging &

Automotive Rolled Products

   Rolled Products    Includes the production of rolled aluminum products in our French and German facilities. We supply the packaging market with can stock and closure stock for the beverage and food industry, as well as foil stock for the flexible packaging market. In addition we supply products for a number of technically sophisticated applications such as automotive sheet, heat exchangers, and sheet and coils for the building and constructions markets.

Automotive

Structures &

Industry

   Extrusions    Includes the production of hard and soft aluminum alloy extruded profiles in Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Our extruded products are targeted at high demand end-uses in the automotive, engineering, building and construction and other transportation markets (rail and shipbuilding). In addition, we perform the value-added fabrication of highly advanced crash-management systems in Germany, the United States and China.

The following charts present our revenues by operating segment and geography for the year ended December 31, 2012:

 

LOGO

 

1  

Revenue by geographic zone is based on the destination of the shipment.

 

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The following charts present the percentage of our revenues by operating segment and geography for the year ended December 31, 2011:

 

LOGO

 

1  

Revenue by geographic zone is based on the destination of the shipment.

The following charts present the percentage of our revenues by operating segment and geography for the year ended December 31, 2010:

 

LOGO

 

1  

Revenue by geographic zone is based on the destination of the shipment.

 

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Aerospace & Transportation Operating Segment

Our Aerospace & Transportation operating segment has market leadership positions in technologically advanced aluminum and specialty materials products with wide applications across the global aerospace, defense, transportation, and industrial sectors. We offer a wide range of products including plate, sheet, extrusions and precision casting products which allows us to offer tailored solutions to our customers. We seek to differentiate our products and act as a key partner to our customers through our broad product range, advanced R&D capabilities, extensive recycling capabilities and portfolio of plants with an extensive range of capabilities across Europe and North America. In order to reinforce the competitiveness of our metal solutions, we design our processes and alloys with a view to optimizing our customers’ operations and costs. This includes offering services such as customizing alloys to our customers’ processing requirements, processing short lead time orders and providing vendor managed inventories or tolling arrangements. The Aerospace & Transportation operating segment accounted for 33% of our revenues and 45% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

 

Principal end-use/ product

category

  

Major Customers

  

Competitors

• Aerospace plates

  

• Airbus, Boeing, Dassault, Bombardier, Embraer, Lockheed Martin

  

• Alcoa, Aleris, Kaiser Aluminum

• General engineering and armor plate

  

• Thyssenkrupp

  

• Alcoa, Aleris, Austria Metall

• Sheets for aerospace and transportation

  

• Airbus, Boeing, Dassault, Ryerson, Amari

  

• Alcoa, Aleris, Kaiser Aluminum

• Other extrusions and precision casting

  

• Airbus, Boeing

  

• Universal Alloy Corporation

Eight of our manufacturing facilities produce products that are sold via our Aerospace & Transportation operating segment. Our aerospace plate manufacturing facilities in Ravenswood (West Virginia, United States), Issoire (France) and Sierre (Switzerland) offer the full spectrum of plate required by the aerospace industries (alloys, temper, dimensions, pre-machined) and have unique capabilities such as producing some wide and very high gauge plates required for some aerospace programs (civil & commercial). Sierre is in the process of becoming a new qualified aerospace heat treat plate mill. A step in this process was successfully achieved with the agreement in February 2013 by one of the largest commercial aircraft manufacturers to authorize Sierre to become a rolling and heat treat subcontractor of Issoire. We expect Sierre to become a fully qualified source for aerospace plate in 2015.

Downstream aluminum products for the aerospace market require relatively high levels of R&D investment and advanced technological capabilities, and therefore tend to command higher margins compared to more commoditized products. We work in close collaboration with our customers to develop highly engineered solutions to fulfill their specific requirements. For example, we developed AIRWARE ® , a lightweight specialty aluminum-lithium alloy for our aerospace customers to address increasing demand for lighter and more environmentally sound aircraft; it combines optimized density, corrosion resistance and strength in order to achieve up to 25% weight reduction compared to other aluminum products and significantly higher corrosion and fatigue resistance than equivalent composite products. In addition, unlike composite products, any scrap produced in the AIRWARE ® manufacturing process can be fully recycled, which reduces production costs. Since the opening of our AIRWARE ® casthouse in Issoire, we are the first company to commercialize and produce AIRWARE ® , on an industrial scale, and the material is currently being used on a number of major aircraft models, including the newest Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, the fuselage of Bombardier’s single-aisle twinjet C-Series short-haul planes, the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Aerospace products are typically subject to long development and supply lead times and the majority of our contracts with our largest aerospace customers have a term of five years or longer, which provides excellent

 

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volume and profitability visibility. In addition, demand for our aerospace products typically correlates directly with aircraft backlogs and build rates. As of January 2013, the backlog reported by Airbus and Boeing for commercial aircraft reached 9,104 units on a combined basis, representing approximately eight years of production at the current build rates.

Additionally, aerospace products are generally subject to long qualification periods. Aerospace production sites are regularly audited by external certification organizations including the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (“NADCAP”) and/or the International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”). NADCAP is a cooperative organization of numerous aerospace OEMs that defines industry-wide manufacturing standards. The NADCAP appoints private auditors who grant suppliers like Constellium a NADCAP certification, which customers tend to require. New products or alloys are certified by the OEM that uses the product. Our sites have been qualified by external certification organizations and our products have been qualified by our customers. We are typically able to obtain qualification within 6 months to one year. We believe we are able to obtain such qualifications within that time frame for two main reasons. First, some new product qualifications depend on having older qualifications regarding their alloy, temper or shape which we have already obtained through our long history of working with the main aircraft OEMs. This range of qualifications includes in excess of 100 specifications, some of which we obtained during programs dating back to the 1960s. Second, over the course of the decades that we have been working with the aerospace OEMs, we have invested in a number of capital intensive equipment and R&D programs to be able to qualify to the current industry norms and standards.

Our Ravenswood facility is a critical asset to Constellium and a central element of our strategy. A qualified AIRWARE ® platform, it runs what is in our view the industry’s most powerful stretcher and wide coil hot rolling capabilities. Despite losses in recent years, it has been subject to a very successful, three-prong turnaround plan:

 

(1) Top line : We have reduced the volumes of our low-profitability Common Alloy Coils, to rebalance our mix towards our more profitable end-markets, such as aerospace. This action was supported by our recent entry into a contract with Airbus for the provision of innovative aluminum solutions.

 

(2) Productivity : We have made significant investments in our stretcher ($37 million between 2008 and 2012) and we have improved the productivity of our plate shop by approximately 36% between 2010 and 2012.

 

(3) People : A significant portion of the local leadership has been replaced and a long-term incentive plan has been set up. A five-year collective bargaining agreement was signed in September 2012, thereby reducing the risk of strike in the plant over that period.

Based on these improvements, the plant’s Adjusted EBITDA has significantly improved from a loss of (€31 million) in 2010 to a €34 million gain in 2012.

The following table summarizes our volume, revenues, Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for our Aerospace & Transportation operating segment for the periods presented:

 

     Predecessor
for the year ended

December 31,
         Successor
for the
year ended
December 31,
 

(€ in millions, unless otherwise noted)

     2010              2011     2012  
                (unaudited)        

Aerospace & Transportation:

           

Segment Revenues

     810             1,016        1,182   

Segment Shipments (kt)

     195             216        224   

Segment Revenues (€/ton)

     4,154             4,704        5,278   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (1)

     35             26        92   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA(€/ton)

     179             120        411   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) (2)

     4          3     8

Segment Adjusted EBITDA (3)

     36             41        105   

 

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(1) Management Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Please see the reconciliation in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Performance Indicators” and also in footnote (2) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”
(2) Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is not a measure defined under IFRS. Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Segment Revenue.
(3) Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Covenant Compliance and Financial Ratios.” Please see the reconciliation in that section and in footnote (3) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products Operating Segment

In our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment, we produce and develop customized aluminum sheet and coil solutions. Approximately 79% of operating segment volume for the year ended December 31, 2012 was in packaging applications, which primarily include beverage and food can stock as well as closure stock and foil stock. The remaining 21% of operating segment volume for that period was in automotive and customized solutions, which include technologically advanced products for the automotive and industrial sectors. Our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment accounted for 43% of revenues and 39% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

 

Principal end-use/ product

category

  

Major Customers

  

Competitors

• Can stock

  

• Rexam, Crown, Ball, Can-Pack, Ardagh Group

  

• Novelis, Hydro, Alcoa

• Brazing coil and sheet ( e.g. , heat exchangers)

  

• Valeo, Denso, Behr, Visteon

  

• Aleris, Alcoa, Sapa, Hydro

• Automotive body sheet (inner, outer, and structural parts)

  

• Audi, BMW, Daimler, Peugeot S.A., Renault

  

• Novelis, Aleris, Hydro

• Foilstock

  

• Amcor, Comital, Carcano

  

• Hydro, Novelis

We are the leading European supplier of can body stock and the leading worldwide supplier of closure stock. We are also a major European player in automotive rolled products for Auto Body Sheet, and heat exchangers. We have a diverse customer base, consisting of many of the world’s largest beverage and food can manufacturers, specialty packaging producers, leading automotive firms and global industrial companies. Our customer base includes Rexam PLC, Audi AG, Daimler AG, Peugeot S.A., Ball Corporation, Can-Pack S.A., Crown Holdings, Inc., Alanod GmbH & Co. KG, Ardagh Group S.A., Amcor Ltd. and ThyssenKrupp AG. Our automotive contracts are usually valid for the lifetime of a model, which is typically six to seven years.

We have two integrated rolling operations located in Europe’s industrial heartland. Neuf-Brisach, our facility on the border of France and Germany, is, in our view, a uniquely integrated aluminum rolling and finishing facility. Singen, located in Germany, is specialized in high-margin niche applications and has an integrated hot/cold rolling line and high-grade cold mills with special surfaces capabilities that facilitate unique metallurgy and lower production costs. We believe Singen has enhanced our reputation in many product areas, most notably in the area of functional high-gloss surfaces for the automotive, lighting, solar and cosmetic industries, other decorative applications, closure stock, paintstock and foilstock.

Our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment has historically been relatively resilient during periods of economic downturn and has had relatively limited exposure to economic cycles and periods of financial instability. According to CRU, during the 2008-2009 economic crisis, can stock volumes decreased by 10% in 2009 versus 2007 levels as compared to a 24% decline for flat rolled aluminum products volumes in aggregate during the same period. This demonstrates that demand for beverage cans tends to be less correlated with general economic cycles. In addition, we believe European can body stock has an attractive long-term

 

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growth outlook due to the following trends: (i) end-market growth in beer, soft drinks and energy drinks, (ii) increasing use of cans versus glass in the beer market, (iii) increasing use of aluminum in can body stock in the European market, at the expense of steel, and (iv) increasing consumption in eastern Europe linked to purchasing power growth.

The following table summarizes our volume, revenues, Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment for the periods presented:

 

     Predecessor
for the year ended
December 31,
   

 

   Successor
for the
year
ended
December 31,
 

(€ in millions, unless otherwise noted)

   2010    

 

   2011     2012  
                (unaudited)        

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products:

           

Segment Revenues

     1,373             1,625        1,554   

Segment Shipments (kt)

     588             621        606   

Segment Revenues (€/ton)

     2,335             2,617        2,564   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (1)

     74             63        80   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (€/ton)

     126             101        132   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) (2)

     5          4     5

Segment Adjusted EBITDA (3)

     46             95        92   

 

(1) Management Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Please see the reconciliation in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Performance Indicators” and also in footnote (2) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”
(2) Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is not a measure defined under IFRS. Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Segment Revenue.
(3) Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Covenant Compliance and Financial Ratios.” Please see the reconciliation in that section and in footnote (3) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

 

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Automotive Structures & Industry Operating Segment

Our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment produces (i) technologically advanced structures for the automotive industry including crash management systems, side impact beams and cockpit carriers and (ii) soft and hard alloy extrusions and large profiles for automotive, rail, road, energy, building and industrial applications. We complement our products with a comprehensive offering of downstream technology and services, which include pre-machining, surface treatment, R&D and technical support services. Our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment accounted for 24% of revenues and 20% of Management Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2012.

 

Principal end-use/ product

category

  

Major Customers

  

Competitors

• Soft alloy extrusions

  

• Peugeot S.A., Renault

  

• Hydro Aluminum, Sapa Group

• Hard alloy extrusions

  

• Strojmetal Kamenice, Bosch, Daimler, TRW

  

• Alcoa, Aleris, Eural, Fuchs, Impol

• Large profiles (urban transport systems, high speed trains, etc.)

  

• Alstom, AnsaldoBreda, Bombardier, Siemens; Stadler; CAF

  

• Aleris, Sapa Group

• Automotive Structures

  

• Audi, Daimler, BMW, Peugeot S.A., Renault, Ford, Chrysler; Porsche; General Motors; Benteler

  

• Benteler, YKK

We believe that we are the second largest provider of automotive structures in the world and the leading supplier of hard alloys and large profiles for industrial and other transportation markets in Europe. We manufacture automotive structures products for some of the largest European and North American car manufacturers supplying a global market, including Daimler AG, BMW AG, Audi AG, Chrysler Group LLC and Ford Motor Co. We also have a strong presence in soft alloys in France and Germany, with customized solutions for a diversity of end-markets.

Eighteen of our manufacturing facilities, located in Germany, the United States, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Switzerland and China, produce products sold in our AS&I operating segment. We believe our local presence, downstream services and industry leading cycle times help to ensure that we respond to our customer demands in a timely and consistent fashion. Our two integrated remelt and casting centers in Switzerland and the Czech Republic both provide security of metal supply and contribute to our recycling efforts.

 

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The following table summarizes our volume, revenues, Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment for the periods presented:

 

     Predecessor
for the year
ended
December 31,
         Successor
for the year
ended
December 31,
 

(€ in millions, unless otherwise noted)

   2010            2011     2012  
                (unaudited)        

Automotive Structures & Industry:

           

Segment Revenues

     754             910        861   

Segment Shipments (kt)

     212             219        206   

Segment Revenues (€/ton)

     3,557             4,155        4,180   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (1)

     (4          20        40   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA (€/ton)

     (19          91        194   

Segment Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) (2)

     (1 %)           2     5

Segment Adjusted EBITDA (3)

     (11          37        46   

 

(1) Management Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Please see the reconciliation in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Performance Indicators” and also in footnote (2) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”
(2) Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is not a measure defined under IFRS. Management Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) is defined as Management Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Segment Revenue.
(3) Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure defined under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined and discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Covenant Compliance and Financial Ratios.” Please see the reconciliation in that section and in footnote (3) to “Summary Consolidated Historical Financial Data.”

Our Industry

Aluminum sector value chain

The global aluminum industry consists of (i) mining companies that produce bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is ultimately derived, (ii) primary aluminum producers that refine bauxite into alumina and smelt alumina into aluminum, (iii) aluminum semi-fabricated products manufacturers, including aluminum casters, recyclers, extruders and flat rolled products producers, and (iv) integrated companies that are present across multiple stages of the aluminum production chain.

The price of aluminum, quoted on the London Metal Exchange (which we refer to in this prospectus as “LME”), is subject to global supply and demand dynamics and moves independently of the costs of many of its inputs. Producers of primary aluminum have limited ability to manage the volatility of aluminum prices and can experience a high degree of volatility in their cash flows and profitability. We do not smelt aluminum, nor do we participate in other upstream activities such as mining or refining bauxite. We recycle aluminum, both for our own use and as a service to our customers.

Rolled and extruded aluminum product prices are generally based on the price of metal plus a conversion fee ( i.e. , the cost incurred to convert the aluminum into its semi-finished product). The price of aluminum is not a significant driver of our financial performance, in contrast to the more direct relationship of the price of aluminum to the financial performance of primary aluminum producers. Instead, the financial performance of producers of rolled and extruded aluminum products, and of Constellium as one such producer, is driven by the dynamics in the end markets that they serve, their relative positioning in those markets and the efficiency of their industrial operations.

 

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Aluminum rolled products overview

According to CRU International Limited, aluminum rolled products, i.e. , sheet, plate and foil, are semi-finished products that constitute almost 50% of all aluminum volumes used. They provide the raw material for the manufacture of finished goods ranging from packaging to automotive body panels. The packaging industry is a major consumer of the majority of sheet and foil for making beverage cans, foil containers and foil wrapping. Sheet is also used extensively in transport for airframes, road and rail vehicles, in marine applications, including offshore platforms, and superstructures and hulls of boats and in building for roofing and siding. Plate is used for airframes, military vehicles and bridges, ships and other large vessels and as tooling plate for the production of plastic products. Foil applications outside packaging include electrical equipment, insulation for buildings, lithographic plate and foil for heat exchangers.

Independent aluminum rolled products producers and integrated aluminum companies alike participate in this market. Our rolling process consists of passing aluminum through a hot-rolling mill and then transferring it to a cold-rolling mill, which can gradually reduce the thickness of the metal down to approximately 0.2-6 mm for sheet or plates, which are thicker than 6 mm.

There are three sources of input metal for aluminum rolled products:

 

   

Primary aluminum, which is primarily in the form of standard ingot

 

   

Sheet ingot or rolling slab

 

   

Recycled aluminum, which comes either from scrap from fabrication processes, known as recycled process material, or from recycled end products in their end of life phase, such as beverage cans.

We buy various types of metal, including primary metal from smelters in the form of ingots, rolling slabs or extrusion billets, remelted metal from external casthouses (in addition to our own casthouses) in the form of rolling slabs or extrusion billets, production scrap from our customers, and end of life scrap.

Primary aluminum and sheet ingot can generally be purchased at prices set on the LME plus a premium that varies by geographic region on delivery, alloying material, form (ingot or molten metal) and purity.

Recycled aluminum is also an important source of input material and is tied to LME pricing (typically sold at a 7.5%–15% discount). Aluminum is indefinitely recyclable and recycling it requires only approximately 5% of the energy required to produce primary aluminum. As a result, in regions where aluminum is widely used, manufacturers and customers are active in setting up collection processes in which used beverage cans and other end-of-life aluminum products are collected for re-melting at purpose-built plants. Manufacturers may also enter into agreements with customers who return recycled process material and pay to have it re-melted and rolled into the same product again.

 

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The following charts illustrate expected global demand for aluminum extruded and rolled products. The expected growth through 2017 for the extruded products market and the flat rolled products market is 6.2% and 5.5%, respectively.

Projected Aluminum Demand 2012-2017 (in thousand metric tons)

 

LOGO

The market for aluminum rolled products tends to be less subject to demand cyclicality than the markets for primary aluminum and sheet ingot, which are affected by commodity price movements. A significant share of aluminum rolled products is used in the production of consumer staples, which have historically experienced relatively stable demand characteristics. These factors combine to create an industry that has lower cyclicality than the primary aluminum industry.

As the aluminum rolled products industry is characterized by economies of scale, significant capital investments required to achieve and maintain technological capabilities and demanding customer qualification standards. The service and efficiency demands of large customers have encouraged consolidation among suppliers of aluminum rolled products.

The supply of aluminum rolled products has historically been affected by production capacity, alternative technology substitution and trade flows between regions. The demand for aluminum rolled products has historically been affected by economic growth, substitution trends, down-gauging, cyclicality and seasonality.

 

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Aluminum extrusions overview

Aluminum extrusion is a technique used to transform aluminum billets into objects with a definitive cross-sectional profile for a wide range of uses. Extrusions can be manufactured in many sizes and in almost any shape for which a die can be created. The extrusion process makes the most of aluminum’s unique combination of physical characteristics. Its malleability allows it to be easily machined and cast, and yet aluminum is one-third the density and stiffness of steel so the resulting products offer strength and stability, particularly when alloyed with other metals.

The process of aluminum extrusion consists of the following steps:

 

   

After designing and creating the shape of the die, a cylindrical billet of aluminum alloy is heated to 800°F-925°F.

 

   

The aluminum billet is then transferred to a loader, where a lubricant is added to prevent it from sticking to the extrusion machine, the ram or the handle.

 

   

Substantial pressure is applied to a dummy block using a ram, which pushes the aluminum billet into the container, forcing it through the die.

 

   

To avoid the formation of oxides, nitrogen in liquid or gaseous form is introduced and allowed to flow through the sections of the die. This creates an inert atmosphere and increases the life of the die.

 

   

The extruded part passes onto a run-out table as an elongated piece that is now the same shape as the die opening. It is then pulled to the cooling table where fans cool the newly created aluminum extrusion.

 

   

When the cooling is completed, the extruded aluminum is moved to a stretcher, for straightening and work hardening.

 

   

The hardened extrusions are brought to the saw table and cut according to the required lengths.

 

   

The final step is to treat the extrusions with heat in age ovens, which hardens the aluminum by speeding the ageing process.

Additional complexities may be applied during this process to further customize the extruded parts. For example, to create hollow sections, pins or piercing mandrels are placed inside the die. After the extrusion process, a variety of options are available to adjust the color, texture and brightness of the aluminum’s finish. This may include aluminum anodizing or painting.

Today, aluminum extrusion is used for a wide range of purposes, including components of the transportation and industrial markets. Virtually every type of vehicle contains aluminum extrusions, including cars, boats, bicycles and trains. Home appliances and tools take advantage of aluminum’s excellent strength-to-weight ratio. The increased focus on green building is also leading contractors and architects to use more extruded aluminum products, as aluminum extrusions are flexible and corrosion-resistant. These diverse applications are possible due to the advantageous attributes of aluminum, from its particular blend of strength and ductility to its conductivity, its non-magnetic properties and its ability to be recycled repeatedly without loss of integrity. All of these capabilities make aluminum extrusions a viable and adaptable solution for a growing number of manufacturing needs.

 

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Our Key End-markets

Within the downstream aluminum market, we have chosen to focus our product portfolio on selected end-markets that we believe have particularly attractive characteristics for aluminum and favorable growth fundamentals, including aerospace, packaging and automotive.

Aerospace

Demand for aerospace plates is primarily driven by the build rate of aircraft, which we believe will be supported for the foreseeable future by (i) necessary replacement of ageing fleets by airline operators, particularly in the United States and Western Europe, (ii) increasing global passenger air traffic (the aerospace industry publication The Airline Monitor estimates that global revenue passenger miles will grow at a compound annual growth rate (“CAGR”) of 5.4% from 2012 to 2020) and (iii) “lightweighting” (the substitution for lighter metals) to improve fuel efficiency and address increasingly rigorous environmental requirements. Due to a combination of these factors, in 2012, both Boeing and Airbus predict the need for approximately 34,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years across all categories of large commercial aircraft.

 

LOGO

 

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Data Source: Boeing publicly available information

 

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LOGO

We believe the mix shift towards larger planes is benefitting aluminum demand due to aluminum’s compelling strength-to-weight characteristics, and has been driving an increased use of aluminum in a wide spectrum of aeronautical applications. Specifically, the growth in demand of larger planes is driving average aluminum content. For example, according to Davenport & Company, wide body planes growth between 2012-2017 is estimated at 9.7% compared to narrow body planes of 2.9%. In addition, our proprietary AIRWARE ® material solution is increasingly being used by aircraft manufacturers to improve fuel efficiency of their aircraft.

According to the CRU, the aluminum demand for the Aerospace market in Western Europe and North America is expected to grow by 7% per year between 2012 and 2015 1 .

 

1   Defined as Aircraft Western Europe and Aerospace North America.

Rigid Packaging

Aluminum beverage cans represented approximately 19% of the total global aluminum flat rolled demand by volume in 2012. Aluminum is a preferred material for beverage packaging as it allows drinks to chill faster, can be stacked for transportation and storage more densely than competing formats (such as glass bottles), is highly formable for unique or differentiated branding, and offers the environmental advantage of easy, cost- and energy-efficient recycling. As a result of these benefits, aluminum is displacing glass as the preferred packaging material in certain markets, such as beer. In our core European market, aluminum is replacing steel as the standard for beverage cans. Between 2001 and 2012, aluminum’s penetration of the European can stock market versus tinplate increased from 58% to 77%, while the number of aluminum cans produced increased from

 

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34 billion to 37 billion. In addition, we are benefitting from increased consumption in Eastern Europe and growth in high margin products such as the specialty cans used for energy drinks.

 

LOGO

In addition to expected growth, demand for can sheet has been highly resilient across economic cycles. Between 2007 and 2009, during the economic crisis, European can body stock volumes decreased by less than 9% as compared to a 24% decline for total European flat rolled products volumes.

According to the CRU, the aluminum demand for the can stock market in Western and Eastern Europe is expected to grow by 3% per year between 2012 and 2015.

Automotive

We supply the automotive sector with flat rolled products out of our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment and extrusions and automotive structures out of our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment.

In our view, the main drivers of automotive sales are overall economic growth, credit availability, consumer prices and consumer confidence. According to LMC Automotive, light vehicle production is expected to grow from 50.7 million units in 2011 to 70.8 million units in 2017 in Europe, China and North America. We estimate that the U.S. market for aluminum auto body sheet is expected to grow from <100kt in 2012 to approximately 450kt by 2015 and approximately 1000kt by 2020.

Within the automotive sector, the demand for aluminum has been increasing faster than the underlying demand for light vehicles due to recent growth in the use of aluminum products in automotive applications. We believe a main reason for this is aluminum’s high strength-to-weight ratio in comparison to steel. This lightweighting facilitates better fuel economy and improved emissions performance. As a result, manufacturers are seeking additional applications where aluminum can be used in place of steel and an increased number of cars are being manufactured with aluminum panels and crash management systems. We believe that this trend will continue as increasingly stringent E.U. and U.S. regulations relating to reductions in carbon emissions, as well as high fuel prices, will force the automotive industry to increase its use of aluminum to “lightweight” vehicles. European automakers must reduce average carbon emissions across their fleets, from 135g/km currently to 130g/km, between 2012 and 2015, while similar rules in the United States are driving increases in average fleet efficiency. According to a study done by research firm Frost & Sullivan, the global market in automotive applications for aluminum is expected to more than double by 2017 from $13 billion in 2010 to $28 billion in 2017. We believe that this is a result of demanding new fuel-efficiency standards in the European Union, the United States and Japan. As an example, in the United States, the new Ford F-150 is expected to use aluminum in order to reduce its weight.

 

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LOGO

We believe that Constellium is one of only a limited number of companies that is able to produce the quality and quantity required by car manufacturers for both flat rolled products and automotive structures, and that we are therefore well positioned to take advantage of these market trends.

Our R&D-focused approach led to the development of a number of innovative automotive product solutions; for example, Constellium worked with Mercedes-Benz to develop an all-aluminum crash management system that reduced the system’s weight by 50%. In addition, increasing demand for European luxury cars in emerging markets, particularly in China, is expected to enhance the long-term growth prospects for our automotive products given our strong established relationships with the major German car manufacturers, who are particularly well placed in this region.

 

LOGO

 

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LOGO

According to the CRU, the aluminum demand for the Auto Body market in Western Europe and North America is expected to grow by 17% per year between 2012 and 2015 1 .

 

1  

Defined as NA Passenger Cars and Western Europe Auto Body

Our Competitive Strengths

Aluminum is a widely used, attractive industrial material, and several factors support fundamental long-term growth in aluminum consumption generally, including urbanization in emerging economies, economic recovery in developed economies and a global focus on sustainability. We believe that we are well positioned to benefit from this growth and increase our market share due to (i) our leading positions in attractive and complementary end-markets (aerospace, packaging and automotive), (ii) our advanced R&D technological capabilities, (iii) our global network of efficient facilities with a broad range of capabilities operated by a highly skilled workforce, (iv) our long-standing relationships with a diversified and blue-chip customer base, (v) our stable business model that delivers robust free cash flow across the cycle and (vi) our strong and experienced management team.

We believe that the following competitive strengths differentiate our business and will allow us to maintain and build upon our strong industry position:

Leading positions in each of our attractive and complementary end-markets

In our core industries—aerospace, packaging and automotive—we have market leading positions and established relationships with many of the main manufacturers. Within these attractive and diverse end-markets, we are particularly focused on product lines that require expertise, advanced R&D, and technology capabilities to produce. The drivers of demand in our core industries are varied and largely unrelated to one another.

We are the largest supplier globally of aerospace plates. We believe that our ability to fulfill the technical, R&D and quality requirements needed to supply the aerospace market gives us a significant competitive advantage. In addition, based on our knowledge as a market participant, we are one of only two suppliers of aerospace plate to have qualified facilities on two continents, which enables us to more effectively supply both Airbus and Boeing. We have sought to develop our strategic platform by making significant investments to increase our capacity and improve our capabilities and to develop our proprietary AIRWARE ® material solution. We believe we are well positioned to benefit from strong demand in the aerospace sector, as demonstrated by the currently high backlogs for Boeing and Airbus that are driven by increased global demand for air travel,

 

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especially in Asia. For example, Boeing estimates that between 2012 and 2031, 38% of sales of new airplanes will be to Asia Pacific, 22% to Europe and 18% to North America.

We are the largest supplier of European can body stock by volume with approximately 36% of the market and, in our view, we have benefited from our strong relationships with the leading European can manufacturers, our recycling capabilities and our fully integrated Neuf-Brisach facility, which has full production capabilities ranging from recycling and casting to rolling and finishing. As the leader in the European market, we believe that we are well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing trend of steel being replaced by aluminum as the material of choice for can sheet. Packaging provides a stable cash flow stream through the economic cycle that can be used to invest in attractive opportunities in the aerospace and automotive industries to drive longer term growth.

In Automotive, we believe our leading positions in the supply of aluminum products are due to our advanced design capabilities, efficient production systems and established relationships with leading automotive OEMs. This includes being the second largest global supplier of auto crash management systems by volume. We expect that E.U. and U.S. regulations requiring reductions in carbon emissions and fuel efficiency, as well as relatively high fuel prices, will continue to drive aluminum demand in the automotive industry. Whereas growth in aluminum use in vehicles has historically been driven by increased use of aluminum castings, we anticipate that future growth will be primarily in the kinds of extruded and rolled products that we supply to the OEMs.

In addition, we hold market leading positions in a number of other attractive product lines.

 

LOGO

 

(a) CRU International Limited, based on data regarding the year ended 2011
(b) Based on Company internal market analysis
* Based on volumes

 

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Advanced R&D and technological capabilities

We have made substantial investments to develop unique R&D and technological capabilities, which we believe give us a competitive advantage as a supplier of the high value-added, specialty products on which we focus and which make up the majority of our product portfolio. In particular, our R&D facility in Voreppe, France has given us a leading position in the development of proprietary next-generation specialty alloys, as evidenced by our robust intellectual property portfolio. We use our technological capabilities to develop tailored products in close partnerships with our customers, with the aim of building long-term and synergistic relationships.

One of our hallmark R&D achievements was the recent development of AIRWARE ® , a lightweight specialty aluminum-lithium alloy developed for our aerospace customers to enable them to reduce fuel consumption and costs. AIRWARE ® was developed for certain customers using our pilot cast-house in Voreppe, and following a substantial capital expenditure investment, is now being produced on an industrial scale in our aerospace facility in Issoire, France. AIRWARE ® combines optimized density, corrosion resistance and strength in order to achieve up to 25% weight reduction compared to other aluminum products and significantly higher corrosion and fatigue resistance than equivalent composite products. This technology drives incremental margin compared to tradition aluminum alloys.

 

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Global network of efficient facilities with a broad range of capabilities operated by a highly skilled workforce

We operate a network of strategically located facilities that we believe allows us to compete effectively in our selected end-markets across numerous geographies. With an estimated replacement value of over €6 billion, our facilities have enabled us to reliably produce a broad range of high-quality products. They are operated by a highly skilled workforce with decades of accumulated operational experience. We believe this collective knowledge base would be very difficult to replicate and is a key contributing factor to our ability to produce consistently high-quality products.

Our six key production sites feature industry-leading manufacturing capabilities with required industry qualifications that are in our view difficult for market outsiders to accomplish. For example, Neuf-Brisach is the most integrated downstream aluminum production facility in Europe, with capabilities spanning the recycling, casting, rolling and finishing phases of production. Our Issoire, France and Ravenswood, West Virginia, United States plants have unique capabilities for producing the specialized wide and very high gauge plates required for the aerospace sector. We spent €20 million in the two-year period ended December 31, 2012 at Ravenswood, mainly to complete significant equipment upgrades, including a hot mill and new stretcher that we believe is the most powerful stretcher in our industry. Additionally, our network of small extrusion and automotive structures plants enables us to serve many of our customers on a localized basis, allowing us to more rapidly meet demand through close proximity. We believe our portfolio of facilities provides us with a strong platform to retain and grow our global customer base.

 

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Long-standing relationships with a diversified and blue-chip customer base

 

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Our customer base includes some of the largest manufacturers in the aerospace, packaging and automotive end-markets. We believe that our ability to produce tailored, high value-added products fosters longer-term and synergistic relationships with this blue-chip customer base. We regard our relationships with our customers as partnerships in which we work together to utilize our unique R&D and technological capabilities to develop customized solutions to meet evolving requirements. This includes developing products together through long-term R&D partnerships. In addition, we collaborate with our customers to complete a rigorous process for qualifying our products, which requires substantial time and investment and creates high switching costs.

 

We have a relatively diverse customer base with our 10 largest customers representing approximately 43% of our revenues and approximately 48% of our volumes for the year ended December 31, 2012. The average length of our relationships with our top 20 customers exceeds 25 years, and in some cases goes back as far as 40 years, particularly with our aerospace and packaging customers. Most of our major packaging, aerospace and automotive customers have multi-year contracts with us ( i.e. , contracts with terms of three to five years), making us critical partners to our customers. As a result,

more than 80% of our volumes for 2013 are contracted or agreed with our customers and we estimate that approximately 50% of our volumes for 2012 are generated under multi-year contracts, more than 40% are governed by contracts valid until 2014 or later and more than 30% are governed by contracts valid until 2015 or later. In addition, more than 70% of our packaging volumes are contracted through 2014. This provides us with stability and significant visibility into our future volumes and earnings.

Stable business model that delivers robust free cash flow across the cycle

There are several ways in which our business model is designed to produce stable and consistent cash flows and profitability. For example, we seek to limit our exposure to commodity metal price volatility primarily by utilizing pass-through mechanisms or contractual arrangements and financial derivatives.

Our business also features relatively countercyclical cash flows. During an economic downturn, lower demand causes our sales volumes to decrease, which results in a corresponding reduction in our inventory purchases and a reduction in our working capital requirements. As a result, operating cash flows become positive. We believe this helps to drive robust free cash flow across cycles and provides significant downside protection for our liquidity position in the event of a downturn. For example, in 2009 during the last prolonged downturn in demand, our volumes declined from 1,058 kt to 868 kt. This decline resulted in a €276 million reduction of our total working capital, mainly driven by inventory purchases reductions of €213 million and a positive operating cash flow from continuing operations of approximately €181 million.

In addition, we have a significant presence in what have proved to be relatively stable, recession-resilient end-markets with 47% of volumes in the year ended December 31, 2012 sold into the can sheet and packaging

 

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end-markets, and 9% of volumes in that period sold into the aerospace end-market, which is driven by global demand trends rather than regional trends. Our automotive products are predominantly used in premium models manufactured by the German OEMs, which are not as dependent on the European economy and continue to benefit from rising demand in developing economies, particularly China. For example, LMC Automotive reports that in 2012, 42% of global light vehicles were sold in Asia Pacific, 22% were sold in Europe and 21% were sold in North America.

We are also focused on optimizing the cost efficiency of our operations. In 2010, we implemented a rigorous continuous improvement program with the annual goal of outperforming inflation in our non-metal cost base (labor, energy, maintenance) and lowering our breakeven level. As a result of this program, we reduced our costs by €49 million in 2010, €67 million in 2011 and €57 million in 2012.

Strong and experienced management team

We have a strong and experienced management team led by Pierre Vareille, our Chief Executive Officer, who has more than 30 years of experience in the manufacturing industry and a successful track record of leading global manufacturing companies particularly in the domain of metal transformation for industries such as automotive and aerospace. Both Mr. Vareille and our Chief Financial Officer, Didier Fontaine, have previously been involved in the management of public companies. Our executive officers and other key members of our management team have an average of more than 15 years of relevant industry experience. Our team has expertise across the commercial, technical and management aspects of our business and industry, which provides for strong customer service, rigorous quality and cost controls, and focus on health, safety and environmental improvements. Our board of directors includes current and former executives of Alcan, Rio Tinto, Bosch, Kaiser Aluminum and automotive suppliers such as Faurecia, who bring extensive experience in operations, finance, governance and corporate strategy.

Our Business Strategies

Our objective is to expand our leading position as a supplier of high value-added, technologically advanced products in which we believe that we have a competitive advantage. Our strategy to achieve this objective has three pillars: (i) selective participation, (ii) global leadership position and (iii) best-in-class efficiency and operational performance.

Selective Participation

Continue to target investment in high-return opportunities in our core markets (aerospace, packaging and automotive), with the goal of driving growth and profitability

We are focused on our three strategic end-markets—aerospace, packaging and automotive—which we believe have attractive growth prospects for aluminum. These are also markets where we believe that we can differentiate ourselves through our high value-added products, our strong customer relationships and our R&D and technological capabilities. Our capital expenditures and R&D spend are focused on these three strategic end-markets and are made in response to specific volume requirements from long-term customer contracts, which ensures relatively short payback periods and good visibility into return on investment.

For example, in aerospace, we continue to invest in expanding the capabilities of our two leading aerospace plate mills, Issoire and Ravenswood. At Issoire and Voreppe, approximately €52 million is being invested for the construction of a state-of-the-art AIRWARE ® casthouse in order to meet the strong growing volume demands for AIRWARE ® from our customers, of which approximately €21 million has been spent as of December 31, 2012. The construction is expected to be completed in 2015.

We are also investing in an expansion of our global Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment, including by making a significant investment in a new state-of-the-art 40 MegaNewton automotive extrusion

 

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press in Singen, Germany. In addition, at our Neuf-Brisach facility, we have completed substantial investments in a heat treatment and conversion line to serve growing customer demand for aluminum automotive sheets, as well as investments focused on productivity improvements, debottlenecking and recycling, each of which has helped us reinforce our presence in the European can body sheet market.

As part of our focus on our core end-markets and our strategy to improve our profitability, we also consider potential divestitures of non-strategic businesses. For example, we divested the vast majority of our AIN specialty chemicals and raw materials supply chain services division in 2011 to CellMark AB. In each of 2011 and 2012, the discontinued operations of our AIN business generated losses of €8 million, related to restructuring, separation and completion costs in 2011 and abandonment costs in 2012.

Focus on higher margin, technologically advanced products that facilitate long-term relationships as a “mission critical” supplier to our customers

Our product portfolio is predominantly focused on high value-added products, which we believe we are particularly well-suited to developing and manufacturing for our customers. These products tend to require close collaboration with our customers to develop tailored solutions, as well as significant effort and investment to adhere to rigorous qualification procedures, which enables us to foster long-term relationships with our customers. Our products typically command higher margins than more commoditized products, and are supplied to end-markets that we believe have highly attractive characteristics and long-term growth trends.

Constellium’s Product Focus

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Global Leadership Position

Continue to differentiate our products, with the goal of maintaining our leading market positions and remaining a supplier of choice to our customers

We aim to deepen our ties with our customers by consistently providing best-in-class quality, market leading supply chain integration, joint product development projects, customer technical support and scrap and recycling solutions. We believe that our product offering is differentiated by our market-leading R&D capabilities. Our key R&D programs are focused on high growth and high margin areas such as specialty material solutions, next generation alloys and sustainable engineered solutions / manufacturing technologies. Recent examples of market-leading breakthroughs include our AIRWARE ® lithium alloy technology and our Solar Surface ® Selfclean, a coating solution used in the solar industry which provides additional performance and functionality of the aluminum by chemically breaking down dirt and contaminants in contact with the surface.

Build a global footprint with a focus on expansion in Asia, particularly in China, and work to gain scale through acquisitions in Europe and the United States

We intend to selectively expand our global operations where we see opportunities to enhance our manufacturing capabilities, grow with current customers and gain new customers, or penetrate higher-growth regions. We believe disciplined expansion focused on these objectives will allow us to achieve attractive returns for our shareholders. In line with these principles, our recent expansions include:

 

   

the formation of a joint venture in China, Engley Automotive Structures Co., Ltd., which is currently producing aluminum crash-management systems in Changchun and Kunshan, China; and

 

   

the successful expansion of our Constellium Automotive USA, LLC plant, located in Novi, Michigan, which is producing highly innovative crash-management systems for the automotive market.

Best-in-Class Performance

Contain our fixed costs and offset inflation with increased productivity

We have been executing an extensive cost savings program focusing on selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”), conversion costs and purchasing. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, we realized a structural realignment of our cost structure and achieved annual costs savings of €49, €67 and €57 million, respectively. This represents approximately 4% of our estimated addressable cost base in 2012 ( i.e. , excluding raw material costs). These savings are split between operating expenses (48%), SG&A savings (21%) and procurement savings (31%). This program was designed to right-size our cost structure, increase our profitability and provide a competitive advantage against our peers. Our cost savings program will continue to be a priority as we focus on optimizing our cost base and offsetting inflation.

Establish best-in-class operations through Lean manufacturing

We believe that there are significant opportunities to improve our services and quality and to reduce our manufacturing costs by implementing Lean manufacturing initiatives. “Lean manufacturing” is a production practice that improves efficiency of operations by identifying and removing tasks and process steps that do not contribute to value creation for the end customer. We continually evaluate debottlenecking opportunities globally through modifications of and investments in existing equipment and processes. We aim to establish best-in-class operations and achieve cost reductions by standardizing manufacturing processes and the associated upstream and downstream production elements where possible, while still allowing the flexibility to respond to local market demands and volatility.

To focus our efforts, we have launched a Lean manufacturing program that is designed to improve the flow of value to customers by eliminating waste in both processes and resources. We measure operational success of

 

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this program in five key areas: (i) safety, (ii) quality, (iii) working capital, (iv) delivery performance and (v) innovation.

Our Lean manufacturing program is overseen by a dedicated team, headed by Yves Mérel. Mr. Mérel reports directly to our Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Vareille. Mr. Vareille and Mr. Mérel have long track records of successfully implementing Lean manufacturing programs at other companies they have managed in the past.

Managing Our Metal Price Exposure

Our business model is to add value by converting aluminum into semi-fabricated products. It is our policy not to speculate on metal price movements.

For all contracts, we continuously seek to eliminate the impact of aluminum price fluctuations in order to protect our net income and cash flows against the LME price variations of aluminum that we buy and sell, with the following methods:

 

•   In cases where we are able to align the price and quantity of physical aluminum purchases with that of physical aluminum sales, we do not need to employ derivative instruments to further mitigate our exposure, regardless of whether the LME portion of the price is fixed or floating.

 

•   However, when we are unable to align the price and quantity of physical aluminum purchases with that of physical aluminum sales, we enter into derivative financial instruments to pass through the exposure to financial institutions at the time the price is set.

 

•   For a small portion of our volumes, the metal is owned by our customers and we bear no metal price risk.

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We mark-to-market open derivatives at the period end giving rise to unrealized gains or losses which are classified as non-cash items. These unrealized gains/losses have no bearing on the underlying performance of the business and are removed when calculating Management Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA.

 

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Our Facilities

We operate 26 production sites serving both global and local customers, including six major facilities and one world class R&D center. Our top six sites (Ravenswood, Neuf-Brisach, Issoire, Singen, Děčín and Sierre) make up a total of approximately 990,000 square meters. A summary of the six major facilities and our R&D center is provided below:

Our Industrial Facilities and Offices

LOGO

Source: Company Information as of December 2012

Note: Headcount does not include temporary employees

(1) Novi only.

 

   

The Ravenswood, West Virginia facility has significant assets for producing aerospace plates and is a recognized supplier to the defense industry. The facility has wide-coil capabilities and stretchers that make it the only facility in the world capable of producing plates of a size needed for the largest commercial aircraft. We spent approximately €20 million from 2011 to December 31, 2012 on significant equipment upgrades (including a hot mill and new state-of-the-art stretcher), which are in the completion stages.

 

   

The Issoire, France facility is one of the world’s two leading aerospace plate mills based on volumes. It contains our AIRWARE ® industrial casthouse and currently uses recycling capabilities to take back scrap along the entire fabrication chain. Issoire works as an integrated platform with Ravenswood, providing a significant competitive advantage for us as a global supplier to the aerospace industry. We invested €43 million in the facility in the two-year period ended December 31, 2012.

 

   

The Neuf-Brisach facility is an integrated aluminum rolling, finishing and recycling facility in Europe. Our recent investments in a can body stock slitter and recycling furnace has enabled us to secure long-term can stock contracts. Additionally, the facility’s automotive furnace has allowed it to become a significant supplier of aluminum Auto Body Sheet in the automotive market. We invested €46 million in the facility in the two-year period ended December 31, 2012.

 

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The Děčín, Czech Republic facility is a large extrusion facility, mainly focusing on hard alloy extrusions for industrial applications, with significant recycling capabilities. It is located near the German border, strategically positioning it to supply the German OEMs. Its integrated casthouse allows it to offer high value-add customized hard alloys to our customers. We invested €12 million in the facility in the two-year period ended December 31, 2012.

 

   

The Singen, Germany facility has one of the largest extrusion presses in the world as well as advanced and highly productive integrated bumper manufacturing lines. We recently invested €11 million into a new state-of-the-art 40 MegaNewton automotive extrusion press. We invested €30 million in the facility in the two-year period ended December 31, 2012. The rolling part has industry leading cycle times and high-grade cold mills with special surfaces capabilities.

 

   

The Sierre, Switzerland facility is dedicated to precision plates for general engineering and is a leading supplier for high-speed train railway manufacturers. Sierre has the capacity to produce non-standard billets and a wide range of extrusions. Its recent qualification as an aerospace plate plant increases our aerospace production and will help us to support the increased build rates of commercial aircraft OEMs. We invested €10 million in the facility in the two-year period ended December 31, 2012.

Our production facilities are listed below by operating segment:

 

Operating Segment

  

Location

 

Country

  

Owned/
Leased

Aerospace & Transportation

   Ravenswood, WV   United States    Owned

Aerospace & Transportation

   Carquefou   France    Owned

Aerospace & Transportation

   Issoire   France    Owned

Aerospace & Transportation

   Montreuil-Juigné   France    Owned

Aerospace & Transportation

   Tarascon sur Ariège   France    Leased (2)

Aerospace & Transportation

   Ussel   France    Owned

Aerospace & Transportation

   Steg   Switzerland    Owned

Aerospace & Transportation

   Sierre   Switzerland    Owned

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products

   Biesheim, Neuf-Brisach   France    Owned

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products

   Singen   Germany    Owned/Leased (1)

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Novi, MI   United States    Leased

Automotive Structures & Industry

   van Buren   United States    Leased

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Changchun, Jilin Province (JV)   China    Leased

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Kunshan, Jiangsu Province (JV)   China    Leased

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Děčín   Czech Republic    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Kamenice (JV)   Czech Republic    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Ham   France    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Nuits-Saint-Georges   France    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Germigny, Saint-Florentin   France    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Burg   Germany    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Crailsheim   Germany    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Neckarsulm   Germany    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Gottmadingen   Germany    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Landau/Pfalz   Germany    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Singen   Germany    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Levice   Slovakia    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Chippis   Switzerland    Owned

Automotive Structures & Industry

   Sierre   Switzerland    Owned

 

(1) While a majority of the land is owned by us, certain plots of land are subject to a lease agreement.
(2) While the land is owned by a third party, we own the structures on the land.

 

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The current production capacity, utilization rate and planned near-term capacity expansion for our main plants are listed below:

 

Plant

   Capacity    Utilization Rate   Planned capacity
expansion by 2014
 

Neuf-Brisach

   450-460kt    80-85%     —     

Singen

   290-310kt    70-75%     —     

Issoire

   85-90kt    85-90%     10kt   

Ravenswood

   125-130kt    90-95%     10kt   

Sierre

   60kt    65-70%     —     

Děčín

   65kt    60-65%     —     
*Estimates assume currently operating equipment, current staffing configuration and current product mix.

Sales and Marketing

Our sales force is based in Europe (France, Germany, Czech Republic, United Kingdom and Italy), the United States and Asia (Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, and Singapore). In addition to the markets in which our sales force is physically based, we deliver to more than 60 countries globally. We serve our customers either directly or through distributors.

Sales of rolled and extruded products are made through our sales force, which is located to provide international coverage, and through a network of sales offices and agents in Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa.

Raw Materials and Supplies

Our primary metal supply is secured through long-term contracts with several upstream companies, including affiliates of Rio Tinto, one of our shareholders. In addition, approximately two-thirds of our slab supply is produced in our casthouses. All of our top 10 suppliers have been long-standing suppliers to our plants (in most cases for more than 10 years) and in aggregate accounted for approximately 46% of our total purchases at December 31, 2012. We typically enter into multi-year contracts with these metal suppliers pursuant to which we purchase various types of metal, including:

 

   

Primary metal from smelters in the form of ingots, rolling slabs or extrusion billets.

 

   

Remelted metal in the form of rolling slabs or extrusion billets from external casthouses, as an addition to its own casthouses.

 

   

Production scrap from customers.

 

   

End-of-life scrap ( e.g. , used beverage cans).

 

   

Specific alloying elements and prime ingots from metal traders.

Our operations use natural gas and electricity, which represent the third largest component of our cost of sales, after metal and labor costs. We purchase part of our natural gas and electricity on a spot-market basis. However, in an effort to acquire the most favorable energy costs, we have secured some of our natural gas and electricity pursuant to fixed-price commitments. In order to reduce the risks associated with our natural gas and electricity requirements, we use forward contracts with our suppliers to fix the price of energy cost. Furthermore, in our longer-term sales contracts, we try to include indexation clauses on energy prices.

Our Customers

Our customer base includes some of the largest leading manufacturers in the aerospace, packaging and automotive end-markets. We have a relatively diverse customer base with our 10 largest customers representing

 

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approximately 43% of our revenues and approximately 48% of our volumes for the year ended December 31, 2012.

The average length of our relationships with each of our top 20 customers exceeds 25 years, and in some cases goes back as far as 40 years, particularly with our aerospace and packaging customers.

Most of our major packaging, aerospace and automotive customers have multi-year contracts with us ( i.e. , contracts with terms of three to five years). We estimate that approximately 50% of our volumes for 2012 are generated under multi-year contracts, with more than 30% of our volumes for 2012 governed by contracts valid until 2015 or later. As of February 2013, 81% of volumes have been contracted or commercially agreed to with customers (but for which legal documentation has not been finalized). This provides us with significant visibility into our future volumes and earnings.

We see our relationships with our customers as partnerships where we work together to find customized solutions to meet their evolving requirements. In addition, we collaborate with our customers to complete a rigorous process for qualifying our products in each of our end-markets, which requires substantial time and investment and creates high switching costs, resulting in longer-term, mutually-beneficial relationships with our customers. For example, in the packaging industry, where qualification happens on a plant-by-plant basis, we are currently the exclusive qualified supplier to several facilities of our customers.

Competition

The worldwide aluminum industry is highly competitive and we expect this dynamic to continue for the foreseeable future. We believe the most important competitive factors in our industry are: product quality, price, timeliness of delivery and customer service, geographic coverage and product innovation. Aluminum competes with other materials such as steel, plastic, composite materials and glass for various applications. Our key competitors in our Aerospace & Transportation operating segment are Alcoa Inc., Aleris International, Inc., Kaiser Aluminum Corp., Austria Metall AG, and Universal Alloy Corporation. Our key competitors in our Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment are Novelis Inc., Norsk Hydro ASA, Alcoa, Inc., and Sapa AB. Our key competitors in our Automotive Structures & Industry operating segment are Norsk Hydro ASA, Sapa AB, Alcoa, Inc., Aleris International, Inc., Eural Gnutti S.p.A., Otto Fuchs KG, Impol Aluminum Corp., Benteler International AG and YKK.

Employees

As of December 31, 2012, we employed 8,845 employees of which approximately 7,300 were engaged in production and maintenance activities and approximately 1,500 were employed in support functions. Approximately 4,400 of our employees were employed in France, 1,900 in Germany, 1,000 in the United States, 900 in Switzerland, and 700 in Eastern Europe and other regions. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, we employed approximately 8,900 and 9,300 employees, respectively.

The vast majority of non-U.S. employees and approximately 60% of U.S. employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. These agreements are negotiated on site, regionally or on a national level and are of different durations. Except in connection with prior negotiations around our plan to restructure our plant in Ham, France, which was completed during the fourth quarter 2011, we have not experienced a prolonged labor stoppage in any of our production facilities in the past 10 years.

In addition to our employees, we employed 814, 847 and 691 temporary employees as of December 31, 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively.

Research and Development

We believe that our research and development capabilities coupled with our integrated, long-standing customer relationships create a distinctive competitive advantage versus our competition. Our R&D center is

 

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based in Voreppe, France and provides services and support to all of our facilities. The R&D center focuses on product and process development, provides technical assistance to our plants and works with our customers to develop new products. In developing new products, we focus on increased performance that aims to lower the total cost of ownership for the end users of our products, e.g. , by developing materials that decrease maintenance costs of aircraft or increase fuel efficiency in cars. The research and development center employs 263 employees, including approximately 85 scientists and 87 technicians.

Within the Voreppe facility, we also focus on the development, improvement, and testing of processes used in our plants such as melting, casting, rolling, extruding, finishing and recycling. We also develop and test technologies used by our customers, such as friction stir welding and automotive hoods bumping and provide technological support to our customers.

The key contributors to our success in establishing our R&D capabilities include:

 

   

Close interaction with key customers, including through formal partnerships or joint development teams—examples include Strongalex ® , Formalex ® and Surfalex ® , which were developed with automotive Auto Body Sheet customers (mainly Daimler and Audi) and the Fusion bottle, a draw wall ironed technology created in partnership with Rexam.

 

   

Technologically advanced equipment.

 

   

Long-term partnerships with European universities—for example, Swiss Technology Partners and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland generate significant innovation opportunities and foster new ideas.

In 2010, 2011 and 2012, we invested €53 million, €33 million and €36 million in research and development, respectively. Research and development expenses in the year ended December 31, 2010 included the expenses of the AEP Business’s facility in Neuhausen which was not part of the Acquisition.

Trademarks, Patents, Licenses and IT

In connection with the Acquisition, Rio Tinto assigned or licensed to us certain patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights. In connection with our collaborations with universities such as the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and other third parties, we occasionally obtain royalty-bearing licenses for the use of third party technologies in the ordinary course of business.

We actively review intellectual property arising from our operations and our research and development activities and, when appropriate, apply for patents in the appropriate jurisdictions. We currently hold approximately 150 active patent families and regularly apply for new ones. While these patents and patent applications are important to the business on an aggregate basis, we do not believe any single patent family or patent application is critical to the business.

We are from time to time involved in opposition and re-examination proceedings that we consider to be part of the ordinary course of our business, in particular at the European Patent Office, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China. We believe that the outcome of existing proceedings would not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Insurance

We have implemented a corporate-wide insurance program consisting of both corporate-wide master policies with worldwide coverage and local policies where required by applicable regulations. Our insurance coverage includes: (i) property damage and business interruption; (ii) general liability including operation,

 

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professional, product and environment liability; (iii) aviation product liability; (iv) marine cargo (transport); (v) business travel and personal accident; (vi) construction all risk (EAR/CAR); (vii) automobile liability and motor contingency (France); (viii) trade credit; and (ix) other specific coverages for management, employment and business practice liability.

We believe that our insurance coverage terms and conditions are customary for a business such as Constellium and are sufficient to protect us against catastrophic losses.

Governmental Regulations and Environmental, Health and Safety Matters

Our operations are subject to a number of federal, state and local regulations relating to the protection of the environment and to workplace health and safety. Our operations involve the use, handling, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous substances, and accordingly we are subject to extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations governing emissions to air, discharges to water emissions, the generation, storage, transportation, treatment or disposal of hazardous materials or wastes and employee health and safety matters. In addition, prior operations at certain of our properties have resulted in contamination of soil and groundwater which we are required to investigate and remediate pursuant to applicable environmental, health and safety (“EH&S”) laws. Environmental compliance at our key facilities is overseen by the Direction Régionale de l’Environnement de l’Aménagement et du Logement in France, the Umweltbundesamt in Germany, the Service de Protection de l’Environnement in Switzerland, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection in the United States and the Regional Authority of the Usti Region in the Czech Republic. Violations of EH&S laws, and remediation obligations arising under such laws, may result in restrictions being imposed on our operating activities as well as fines, penalties, damages or other costs. Accordingly, we have implemented EH&S policies and procedures to protect the environment and ensure compliance with these laws, and incorporate EH&S considerations into our planning for new projects. We perform regular risk assessments and EH&S reviews. We closely and systematically monitor and manage situations of non-compliance with EH&S laws and cooperate with authorities to redress any non-compliance issues. We believe that we have made adequate reserves with respect to our remediation obligations. Nevertheless, new regulations or other unforeseen increases in the number of our non-compliant situations may impose costs on us that may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Our operations also result in the emission of substantial quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is regulated under the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (“ETS”). Although compliance with the ETS to date has not resulted in material costs to our business, compliance with ETS requirements currently being developed for the 2013—2020 period, and increased energy costs due to ETS requirements imposed on our energy suppliers, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We may also be liable for personal injury claims or workers’ compensation claims relating to exposure to hazardous substances. In addition, we are, from time to time, subject to environmental reviews and investigations by relevant governmental authorities.

Additionally, some of the chemicals we use in our fabrication processes are subject to REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemical substances) in the European Union. Under REACH, we are required to register some of our products with the European Chemicals Agency, and this process could cause significant delays or costs. We are currently compliant with REACH, and expect to stay in compliance, but if the nature of the regulation changes in the future, we may be required to make significant expenditures to reformulate the chemicals that we use in our products and materials or incur costs to register such chemicals to gain and/or regain compliance. Future non-compliance could also subject us to significant fines or other civil and criminal penalties. Obtaining regulatory approvals for chemical products used in our facilities is an important part of our operations.

We accrue for costs associated with environmental investigations and remedial efforts when it becomes probable that we are liable and the associated costs can be reasonably estimated. The aggregate close down and environmental restoration costs provisions at December 31, 2012 were €56 million. All accrued amounts have

 

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been recorded without giving effect to any possible future recoveries. With respect to ongoing environmental compliance costs, including maintenance and monitoring, we expense the costs when incurred.

We have incurred, and in the future will continue to incur, operating expenses related to environmental compliance. As part of the general capital expenditure plan, we expect to incur capital expenditures for other capital projects that may, in addition to improving operations, reduce certain environmental impacts.

Litigation and Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are party to a variety of claims and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. The Company is currently not involved, nor has it been involved during the twelve-month period immediately prior to the date of this prospectus, in any governmental, legal or arbitration proceedings which may have or have had a significant effect on the Company’s business, financial position or profitability, and the Company is not aware of any such proceedings which are currently pending or threatened.

In recent years, asbestos-related claims have been filed against us relating to historic asbestos exposure in our production process. Constellium has implemented internal controls to comply with applicable environmental law. We have made reserves for potential occupational disease claims in France of €7 million as of December 31, 2012, which we believe is adequate. It is not anticipated that the reduction of such litigation and proceedings will have a material effect of on the future results of the Company.

On February 20, 2013, five retirees of Constellium Rolled Products-Ravenswood LLC and the United Steelworkers union filed a class action lawsuit against Constellium Rolled Products-Ravenswood LLC in a federal district court in West Virginia, alleging that Ravenswood improperly modified retiree health benefits. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Constellium Rolled Products-Ravenswood LLC was obligated to provide retirees with health benefits throughout their retirement at no cost, and that we improperly capped, through changes that went into effect in January 2013, the amount it would pay annually toward those benefits. In 2013, the caps will result in additional costs of $5 per month for approximately 1,800 retiree health plan participants. We believe that these claims are unfounded, and that Constellium Rolled Products-Ravenswood LLC had a legal and contractual right to make the applicable modifications.

 

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MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers and Board of Directors

The following table provides information regarding our executive officers and the members of our board of directors as of the date of this prospectus (ages are given as of May 21, 2013). The business address of each of our executive officers and directors listed below is c/o Constellium, Tupolevlaan 41-61, 1119 NW Schiphol-Rijk, the Netherlands.

 

Name

   Age     

Position

  

Date of
Appointment

Richard B. Evans

     65       Chairman    January 5, 2011

Pierre Vareille

     55       Director    March 1, 2012

Gareth N. Turner

     49       Director    May 14, 2010

Guy Maugis

     59       Director    January 5, 2011

Matthew H. Nord

     33       Director    May 14, 2010

Bret Clayton

     51       Director    January 5, 2011

Philippe Guillemot

     53       Director   

May 21, 2013

Pieter Oosthoek

     49       Director   

May 21, 2013

Werner P. Paschke

     63       Director   

May 21, 2013

Pursuant to a shareholders agreement between the Company, Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto, FSI and the other parties thereto, Messrs. Turner and Nord were selected to serve as directors by Apollo Omega, Mr. Clayton was selected to serve as a director by Rio Tinto, and Mr. Maugis was selected to serve as a director by FSI.

Richard B. Evans. Mr. Evans has served as our Chairman since December 2012. Mr. Evans is currently Non-Executive Chairman of Resolute Forest Products, a Forest Products company based in Montreal, an independent director of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation and an independent director of CGI, an IT consulting and outsourcing company. He retired in April 2009 as an Executive Director of London-based Rio Tinto plc and Melbourne-based Rio Tinto Ltd., and as Chief Executive Officer of Rio Tinto Alcan Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto. Previously, Mr. Evans was President and Chief Executive Officer of Montreal-based Alcan Inc. from March 2006 to October 2007, and led the negotiation of the acquisition of Alcan by Rio Tinto in October 2007. He was Alcan’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from September 2005 to March 2006. Prior to joining Alcan in 1997, he held various senior management positions with the Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Company during his 27 years with that company. Mr. Evans also is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Economic Symposium based in Kiel, Germany. He is a past Chairman of the International Aluminum Institute (IAI) and is a past Chairman of the Washington, DC-based U.S. Aluminum Association. He previously served as Co-Chairman of the Environmental and Climate Change Committee of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and as a member of the Board of USCAP, a Washington, DC-based coalition concerned with climate change.

Pierre Vareille . Mr. Vareille has been the Chief Executive Officer of Constellium since March 2012. Prior to joining Constellium, Mr. Vareille was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FCI, a world-leading manufacturer of connectors. Mr. Vareille is a graduate of the French engineering school Ecole Centrale de Paris and the Sorbonne University (economics and finance). He started his career in 1982 with Vallourec, holding various positions in manufacturing, controlling, sales and strategy before being appointed Chief Executive Officer of several subsidiaries. From 1995 to 2000 Mr. Vareille was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GFI Aerospace (now LISI Aerospace), after which he joined Faurecia as a member of the executive committee and Chief Executive Officer of the Exhaust Systems business. In 2002, he moved to Pechiney as a member of the executive committee in charge of the aluminum conversion sector and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rhenalu. He was then named in 2004 as Group Chief Executive of Wagon Automotive, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, where he stayed until 2008. Mr. Vareille has been a member of the Société Bic board since 2009.

 

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Gareth N. Turner . Mr. Turner is a senior partner of Apollo, having joined Apollo in 2005. From 1997 to 2005, Mr. Turner was employed by Goldman Sachs and from 2003 to 2005 as a Managing Director in its investment banking group. Mr. Turner was head of the Goldman Sachs Global Metals and Mining Group and managed the firm’s investment banking relationships with major companies in the metals and mining sector. He has a broad range of experience in both capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Turner was employed at Lehman Brothers from 1992 to 1997. He also worked for Salomon Brothers from 1991 to 1992 and RBC Dominion Securities from 1986 to 1989. Mr. Turner serves on the board of directors of The Monier Group, Ascometal SAS, and Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation. Mr. Turner received an MBA, with distinction, from the University of Western Ontario in 1991 and a BA from the University of Toronto in 1986. Mr. Turner has been actively involved in the metals sector as an advisor to many of the major metals and mining companies during his career and has over 20 years of experience in financing, analyzing and investing in public and private companies, including many in the metals and mining sector.

Guy Maugis . Mr. Maugis has been the President of Robert Bosch France SAS since January 2004. The French subsidiary covers all the activities of the Bosch Group, a leader in the domains of the Automotive Equipments, Industrial Techniques and Consumer Goods and Building Techniques. Mr. Maugis is a former graduate of École Polytechnique, Engineer of “Corps des Ponts et Chaussées” and has worked for several years at the Equipment Ministry. At Pechiney, he managed the flat rolled products factory of Rhenalu Neuf-Brisach. At PPG Industries, he became President of the European Flat Glass activities. With the purchase of PPG Glass Europe by ASAHI Glass, Mr. Maugis assumed the function of Vice-President in charge of the business development and European activities of the automotive branch of the Japanese group.

Matthew H. Nord. Mr. Nord is a partner of Apollo, having joined Apollo in 2003. Prior to that time, Mr. Nord was a member of the Investment Banking division of Salomon Smith Barney Inc. Mr. Nord serves on the board of directors of Affinion Group Inc., SOURCEHOV Holdings, Inc., Evertec, Inc., and Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation. Mr. Nord also serves on the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design. Mr. Nord graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Mr. Nord has over 10 years of experience in financing, analyzing and investing in public and private companies, including significant experience making and managing private equity investments on behalf of Apollo Funds. He has worked on numerous metals industry transactions at Apollo, particularly in the aluminum sector.

Bret Clayton . Mr. Clayton is a Group Executive for Rio Tinto with responsibility for several aluminum assets, including Pacific Aluminium, an integrated aluminum producer based in Australia, and Rio Tinto’s investment in Constellium. Mr. Clayton joined Rio Tinto in 1994 and has held as series of management positions. From 2009 through February 2013, Mr. Clayton was a member of the Executive and Investment Committees of Rio Tinto with responsibilities for Global Business Services (including procurement, information systems, shared services and group property), economics and markets, business evaluation, risk and internal audit. Mr. Clayton was also the group’s global head of copper and diamond operations, the President and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. coal operations, and the Chief Financial Officer of the group’s iron ore operations. Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Mr. Clayton worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers for approximately nine years, auditing and consulting to the mining industry. Mr. Clayton is a non-executive director of Praxair Inc. and a member of its audit and governance and nominating committees since April 2012, and has been a non-executive director of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. between 2007 and 2009, a member of the board of directors and the executive committee of the International Copper Association between 2006 and 2009, a member of the Coal Industry Advisory Board to the International Energy Agency between 2003 and 2006, and a member of the board of directors of the U.S. National Mining Association between 2002 and 2006. Mr. Clayton is also a member of the National Advisory Council for Brigham Young University.

Philippe Guillemot . Mr. Guillemot is Executive Chairman of Ascometal’s Strategic Committee and has nearly thirty years of experience in quality control and management, particularly with automotive components manufacturers and power distribution product manufacturers. From April 2010 to February 2012, he served as

 

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Chief Executive Officer of Europcar Group, the leading provider of car rental services in Europe with a presence in 150 countries. Mr. Guillemot served as Chairman and CEO of Areva T&D from 2004 to 2010, and previously served in management positions at Valeo and Faurecia. Mr. Guillemot began his career at Michelin, where he was initially responsible for production quality and plant quality at sites in Canada, France and Italy. He was a member of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Automotive Practice from 1991 to 1993 before returning to Michelin to serve as an operations manager, director of Michelin Group’s restructuring in 1995-1996, Group Quality Executive Vice-President, and Chief Information Officer. Mr. Guillemot received his undergraduate degree in 1982 from École des Mines in France and received his MBA from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA in 1991.

Pieter Oosthoek . Mr. Oosthoek is General Counsel of Intertrust (Netherlands) B.V., which provides trust and corporate management services. Mr. Oosthoek has served in this role since 2010. From 2000 to 2010, he was head of Intertrust’s Financial Governance product team, administering a broad range of securitization transactions, and from 2000 to 2002 led Intertrust’s Asian and Middle East regional team, performing trust services for clients in those regions. Prior to joining Intertrust, Mr. Oosthoek was an account manager for Equity Trust Co. N.V., responsible for a client portfolio of royalty, holding and finance companies. Mr. Oosthoek received his master’s degree in Dutch law from the University of Groningen (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) in 1988.

Werner P. Paschke . Mr. Paschke is an independent director of several companies including Monier Holding GP S.A., Conergy AG, Coperion GmbH and Schustermann & Borenstein GmbH. He is chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee of the board of Monier Holdings. Mr. Paschke is Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Chairman’s Committee at Conergy. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board at Coperion and the Advisory Board of Schustermann & Borenstein. Between 2002 and 2006, Mr. Paschke served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Demag Holding in Luxembourg, where he was responsible for actively enhancing the value of seven former Siemens and Mannesmann units. From 1973 to 1987 and from 1992 to 2003, Mr. Paschke was employed by Continental AG, specializing in finance, distribution, marketing, corporate controlling and accounting. He served as Chief Financial Officer of General Tire Inc. in Akron, Ohio from 1988 to 1992. Mr. Paschke studied economics at Universities Hannover, Hamburg and Münster/Westphalia and is a 1993 graduate of the International Senior Managers Program at Harvard University.

The following persons are our officers:

 

Name

   Age     

Title

Pierre Vareille

     55       Chief Executive Officer

Didier Fontaine

     51       Chief Financial Officer

Christophe Villemin

     44       President, Aerospace & Transportation

Laurent Musy

     46       President, Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products

Paul Warton

     52       President, Automotive Structures & Industry

Peter Basten

     37       Vice President Strategic Planning & Business Development

Marc Boone

     51       Vice-President, Human Resources

Jeremy Leach

     51       Vice President and Group General Counsel

Nicolas Brun

     47       Vice President, Communications

Yves Merel

     46       Vice President, EHS & Lean Transformation

The following paragraphs set forth biographical information regarding our officers:

Didier Fontaine . Mr. Fontaine has been the Chief Financial Officer of Constellium since September 2012. Prior to joining Constellium, Mr. Fontaine was from March 2009 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Information Technology Director of the Plastic Omnium, a world-leading automotive supplier present in 27 countries with over 20,000 employees, which is listed on Euronext Paris and is part of the CAC Mid 60. Mr. Fontaine was also a member of the executive committee during his time at Plastic Omnium and was instrumental in orchestrating the company’s post-2008 recovery by generating a strong cash position and

 

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operating margin. In 2010, Plastic Omnium was recognized as the company with the highest share price improvement on Euronext Paris. Mr. Fontaine started his career in 1987 with Crédit Lyonnais, holding various positions in Canada, France and Brazil in corporate and structured finance. From 1995 to 2001, he worked for the Schlumberger Group where he held various positions in the Treasury and Controller departments. In 2001, he joined Faurecia Exhaust System as Vice President of Finance and IT and managed the South American and South African operations up to 2004. In 2005, Mr. Fontaine joined Inergy Automotive System, a fuel tank business and a joint venture between Solvay Group and Plastic Omnium as the Chief Financial Officer and IT director (and was also a member of the company’s executive committee). Mr. Fontaine is a graduate of L’Institut d’Études Politiques of Paris “Sciences Po” (with a major in finance and tax) and has a master’s degree in econometrics from Lyon University.

Christophe Villemin . Mr. Villemin has been our President, Aerospace & Transportation since January 2011 and previously held the same role at Alcan Engineered Products since April 2008. Mr. Villemin also oversees our R&D and technology activities. Mr. Villemin joined Alcan in 1994 and held various management positions in different sectors in packaging and aluminum conversion in Europe and United States. In 2002, he was appointed General Manager, Alcan Rolled Products Valais in Switzerland and in 2005, President, Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products (EP), Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products operating segment. He became Executive Sponsor, EP Innovation Cells in October 2007. Under his leadership, the business developed and launched our AIRWARE ® material solution. In 2008, Mr. Villemin was distinguished as a “Young Global Leader” of the World Economic Forum.

Laurent Musy . Mr. Musy has served as President, Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products since January 2011 and had held the same position at Alcan Engineered products since April 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Musy worked in the upstream aluminium industry, including as General Manager of the Pechinery St-Jean smelter in France, CEO of Tomago Aluminium in Australia and President of Alcan Bauxite & Alumina’s Atlantic Operations. He led the worldwide integration of Rio Tinto and Alcan in bauxite and alumina. Earlier in his career, he worked for Bull Japan, Saint-Gobain and McKinsey. At the EAA, Mr. Musy is currently the chairman of both the packaging board and the rollers’ division. He chairs Constellium’s sustainability council. Mr. Musy is a graduate of the Ecole des Mines de Paris and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Paul Warton . Mr. Warton has served as our President, Automotive Structures & Industry since January 2011, and previously held the same role at Alcan Engineered Products since November 2009. Mr. Warton joined Alcan Engineered Aluminum Products in November 2009. Following manufacturing, sales and management positions in the automotive and construction industries, he has spent 17 years managing aluminum extrusion companies across Europe and in China. He has held the positions of President Sapa Building Systems & President Sapa North Europe Extrusions during the integration process with Alcoa soft alloy extrusions. Mr. Warton served on the Building Board of the European Aluminum Association (EAA) and was Chairman of the EAA Extruders Division. He holds an MBA from London Business School.

Peter Basten . Mr. Basten has served as our Vice President, Strategic Planning and Business Development since January 2011, and previously held the same role at Alcan Engineered Products beginning in September 2010. Mr. Basten joined Alcan in 2005 as the Director of Strategy and Business Planning at Alcan Specialty Sheet, and became Director of Sales and Marketing in 2008, responsible for the aluminum packaging applications markets. Prior to joining Alcan, Mr. Basten worked as a consultant at Monitor Group, a strategy consulting firm. His responsibilities ranged from developing marketing, corporate, pricing and competitive strategy to M&A and optimizing manufacturing operations. Mr. Basten holds degrees in Applied Physics (Delft University of Technology, Netherlands) and Economics & Corporate Management (ENSPM, France).

Marc Boone . Mr. Boone joined Constellium in June 2011 as Vice-President, Human Resources. From 2003 through 2010, Mr. Boone served as the Human Resources Director at Uniq plc, and prior to 2003 held human resources and change management positions in industrial and service companies such as Alcatel Mietec, Johnson Controls, MasterCard, General Electric and KPMG.

 

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Jeremy Leach . Mr. Leach joined Constellium as Vice President and Group General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Constellium in January 2011 and previously was Vice President and General Counsel at Alcan Engineered Products. Mr. Leach joined Pechiney in 1991 from the international law firm Richards Butler (now Reed Smith). Prior to becoming General Counsel at Alcan Engineered Products, he was the General Counsel of Alcan Packaging and has held various senior legal positions in Rio Tinto, Alcan and Pechiney. He has been admitted in a number of jurisdictions, holds a law degree from Oxford University (MA Jurisprudence) and an MBA from the London Business School.

Nicolas Brun . Mr. Brun has served as our Vice President, Communications since January 2011, and previously held the same role at Alcan Engineered Products since June 2008. From 2005 through June 2008, Mr. Brun served in the roles of Vice President, Communications for Thales Alenia Space and also as Head of Communications for Thales’ Space division. Prior to 2005, Mr. Brun held senior global communications positions as Vice President External Communications with Alcatel, Vice President Communications Framatome ANP/AREVA, and with the Carlson Wagonlit Travel Group. Mr. Brun attended University of Paris-La Sorbonne and received a degree in economics and also has a master’s degree in corporate communications from Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse and also a certificate in marketing management for distribution networks from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Paris.

Yves Mérel. Mr. Mérel has served as our Vice President, EHS and Lean Transformation, since August 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Mérel led several Lean Transformation programs with impressive improvement track records in the automotive and electronic industries. Mr. Mérel discovered the Lean principles during his 10 years at Valeo, mostly as Plant Manager and has since implemented Lean within more than 21 countries and cultures. From May 2008 until he joined Constellium he served as Group Lean Director and then as Vice President Industrial Development at FCI. He also extends his Lean expertise to functions out of the usual EHS, Quality, Supply Chain and Production areas, such as to Engineering, Purchasing, Human Resource, Finance and Sales. Mr. Mérel holds an Engineering degree from Compiegne University of Technology and a degree from Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.

Board Structure

At the time of completion of this offering, our board of directors will consist of nine directors, less than a majority of whom will be citizens or residents of the United States.

We maintain a one-tier board of directors consisting of both executive directors and non-executive directors (each a “director”). Under Dutch law, the board of directors is responsible for our policy and day-to-day management. The non-executive directors supervise and provide guidance to the executive directors. Each director owes a duty to us to properly perform the duties assigned to him and to act in our corporate interest. Under Dutch law, the corporate interest extends to the interests of all corporate stakeholders, such as shareholders, creditors, employees, customers and suppliers.

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association will provide that our shareholders acting at a general meeting (a “General Meeting”) appoint directors upon a binding nomination by the board of directors. The General Meeting may at all times overrule the binding nature of such nomination by a resolution adopted by a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast, provided that such majority represents more than 50% of our issued share capital. If the binding nomination is overruled, the non-executive directors may then make a new nomination. If such a nomination has not been made or has not been made in time, this shall be stated in the notice and the General Meeting shall be free to appoint a director in its discretion. Such a resolution of the General Meeting must be adopted by at least two-thirds of the votes cast, provided that such majority represents more than 50% of our issued share capital.

The members of our board of directors may be suspended or dismissed at any time by the General Meeting. A resolution to suspend or dismiss a director must be adopted by at least two-thirds of the votes cast, provided

 

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that such majority represents more than 50% of our issued share capital. If, however, the proposal to suspend or dismiss the directors is made by the board of directors, the proposal must be adopted by simple majority of the votes cast at the General Meeting. An executive director can at all times be suspended by the board of directors.

Director Independence

As a foreign private issuer under the NYSE rules, we are not required to have independent directors on our board of directors, except to the extent that our Audit Committee is required to consist of independent directors. However, our board of directors has determined that, under current NYSE listing standards regarding independence (which we are not currently subject to), and taking into account any applicable committee standards, Messrs. Maugis, Guillemot, Oosthoek and Paschke are independent directors.

Committees

Audit Committee

Our audit committee consists of three directors independent under the NYSE requirements. Our board of directors has determined that at least one member is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC and also meets the additional criteria for independence of audit committee members set forth in Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

The principal duties and responsibilities of our audit committee are to oversee and monitor the following:

 

   

our financial reporting process and internal control system;

 

   

the integrity of our consolidated financial statements;

 

   

the independence, qualifications and performance of our independent registered public accounting firm;

 

   

the performance of our internal audit function; and

 

   

our compliance with legal, ethical and regulatory matters.

Remuneration Committee

Our remuneration committee consists of three directors. The principal duties and responsibilities of the remuneration committee are as follows:

 

   

to review, evaluate and make recommendations to the full board of directors regarding our compensation policies and establish performance-based incentives that support our long-term goals, objectives and interests;

 

   

to review and approve the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, all employees who report directly to our Chief Executive Officer and other members of our senior management;

 

   

to review and make recommendations to the board of directors with respect to our incentive compensation plans and equity-based compensation plans;

 

   

to set and review the compensation of and reimbursement policies for members of the board of directors;

 

   

to provide oversight concerning selection of officers, management succession planning, expense accounts, indemnification and insurance matters, and separation packages; and

 

   

to provide regular reports to the board of directors and take such other actions as are necessary and consistent with our Amended and Restated Articles of Association.

 

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Nominating/Governance Committee

Our nominating/corporate governance committee consists of three directors. The principal duties and responsibilities of the nominating/corporate governance committee are as follows:

 

   

to establish criteria for board and committee membership and recommend to our board of directors proposed nominees for election to the board of directors and for membership on committees of our board of directors; and

 

   

to make recommendations to our board of directors regarding board governance matters and practices.

Compensation of Non-Employee Directors and Officers

Non-Employee Director Compensation

Following the completion of the offering, it is expected that our non-employee directors will receive fees for their service as a board member that are substantially similar to the fees paid to non-employee directors for service for the 2012 fiscal year. Mr. Evans and Mr. Maugis, two of our non-employee directors, are each paid an annual retainer of €60,000 and receive €2,000 for each meeting of the board they attend. Mr. Evans is paid €60,000 per year for his services as the chairman of the board, a position to which he was appointed on December 6, 2012. Prior to December 2012, Mr. Evans served as a lead independent director of our board of directors beginning in March 2012 and as chief executive officer of Constellium France Holdco, one of our subsidiaries. Mr. Maugis is paid €2,000 for each meeting of the Audit Committee he attends and €3,500 for each meeting of the Government and Public Affairs Committee he chairs. During 2011, Mr. Evans was paid €3,500 for chairing Audit Committee meetings and €2,000 for attendance at Government and Public Affairs Committee meetings. The remaining directors are employed by or otherwise affiliated with one of our shareholders and therefore do not receive fees for service on our board. The members of our board of directors have not entered into service contracts with the company that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.

The following table sets forth the approximate remuneration paid during our 2012 fiscal year to our non-employee directors:

 

Name

   Annual
Director Fees
     Board/Committee
Attendance Fees
     Total  

Guy Maugis

   60,000       30,000       90,000   

Richard B. Evans

   100,000       4,000       104,000   

Officer Compensation

The following table sets forth the approximate remuneration paid during our 2012 fiscal year to our executive officers, including Pierre Vareille, our Chief Executive Officer, Didier Fontaine, our Chief Financial Officer and Arnaud de Weert, our former Chief Operating Officer. Arnaud de Weert resigned from the Company on July 31, 2012. Pierre Vareille and Didier Fontaine joined the Company on March 1, 2012 and September 17, 2012, respectively. The Executive Performance Award Plan (the “EPA”) bonuses paid in March 2012 to certain of our executive officers were paid in respect of 2011 EPA awards granted to such officers, and the payments made to Mr. de Weert were paid in accordance with the provisions of his settlement agreement with the Company.

 

Name and Principal Position

   Base
Salary
Paid (1)
     Non-equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
(EPA Bonus)
     Change in
Pension Value (2)
     All Other
Compensation
    Total  

Pierre Vareille, CEO

   520,386       0       97,860       5,500 (3)     623,746   

Didier Fontaine, CFO

   112,292       150,000       71,120       3,300 (4)     336,712   

Arnaud de Weert, former COO

   300,240       440,093       139,204       1,091,458 (5)     1,970,995   

 

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(1) Amounts reflect proration for individuals who were not employed by the Company for all of 2012.
(2) Represents amounts contributed by the Company during our 2012 fiscal year to the French and Swiss states as part of the employer overall pension requirements apportioned to the base salary of these individuals.
(3) Represents €5,500 in costs to the Company of providing a Company car during our 2012 fiscal year.
(4) Represents €3,300 in costs to the Company of providing a Company car during our 2012 fiscal year.
(5) Represents the sum of (i) €2,800 in costs to the Company of providing a Company car during 2012 and (ii) €900,958 in cash severance payments and €187,700 in restrictive covenant indemnity payments provided to the officer during our 2012 fiscal year pursuant to a settlement agreement between the Company and the officer.

The total remuneration paid to our executive officers, including Messrs. Vareille and Fontaine, during our 2012 fiscal year amounted to €5,787,417, consisting of (i) an aggregate base salary of €3,443,740, (ii) aggregate short-term incentive compensation of €2,255,033, and (iii) aggregate benefits in kind in an amount equal to €88,644. The total amount contributed to the value of the pensions for our executive officers, including Messrs. Vareille and Fontaine, during our 2012 fiscal year was €499,070.

Below is a brief description of the compensation and benefit plans in which our officers participate.

Executive Performance Award Plan

Each of our officers participates in the EPA. The EPA is an annual cash bonus plan intended to provide performance-related award opportunities to employees who contribute substantially to the success of Constellium. Under the EPA, participants are granted opportunities to earn cash bonuses (expressed as a percentage of base salary) based on the level of achievement of certain financial metrics established by the Remuneration Committee for the applicable annual performance period, environmental, health and safety (EHS) performance objectives approved by the Audit Committee and individual and team objectives established by the applicable participant’s supervisor. The level of attainment of awards granted under the EPA is generally determined to be 70% based on the level of attainment of the applicable financial metrics, 10% based on the level of attainment of EHS performance objectives and 20% based on the level of attainment of individual and team objectives. Awards are paid (generally subject to continued service through the end of the applicable annual performance period) in the year following the year for which such awards were granted.

Long Term Incentive Cash Plan

The Long Term Incentive Cash Plan is intended to motivate and retain certain key senior employees of Constellium who are not eligible to participate in our management equity plan described below. Approximately 60 of our senior employees were selected by our Remuneration Committee to receive grants of cash awards under the Long Term Incentive Cash Plan during our 2012 fiscal year. Participants’ award opportunities are based on job grade, with the amount earned in respect of such awards based on the level of attainment of the applicable performance criteria for the applicable measurement years. Awards earned under the plan are generally paid in the third year following the applicable measurement year, with the awards generally vesting based on continued service through the end of the year preceding the year in which payment of the award is made.

Constellium 2013 Equity Incentive Plan

Prior to the consummation of this offering, the Company will adopt the Constellium 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Constellium 2013 Equity Plan”). The principal purposes of this plan are to focus directors, officers and other employees and consultants on business performance that creates shareholder value, to encourage innovative approaches to the business of the Company and to encourage ownership of our ordinary shares by directors, officers and other employees and consultants.

The Constellium 2013 Equity Plan provides for a variety of awards, including “incentive stock options” (within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code) (“ISOs”), nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights

 

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(“SARs”), restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance units, other stock-based awards or any combination of those awards. The Constellium 2013 Equity Plan provides that awards may be made under the plan for ten years. We will reserve 5,292,291 ordinary shares for issuance under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan, subject to adjustment in certain circumstances to prevent dilution or enlargement.

Administration

The Constellium 2013 Equity Plan will be administered by our board of directors directly, or if the board of directors elects, by our remuneration committee. The board of directors or the remuneration committee may delegate administration to one or more members of our board of directors. The remuneration committee has the power to interpret the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan and to adopt rules for the administration, interpretation and application of the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan according to its terms. The remuneration committee will determine the number of our ordinary shares that will be subject to each award granted under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan and may take into account the recommendations of our senior management in determining the award recipients and the terms and conditions of such awards. Subject to certain exceptions as may be required pursuant to Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, if applicable, our board of directors may at any time and from time to time exercise any and all rights and duties of the remuneration committee under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan.

Eligibility

Certain directors, officers, employees and consultants will be eligible to be granted awards under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan. Our remuneration committee will determine:

 

   

which directors, officers, employees and consultants are to be granted awards;

 

   

the type of award that is granted;

 

   

the number of our ordinary shares subject to the awards; and

 

   

the terms and conditions of such awards, consistent with the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan.

Our remuneration committee will have the discretion, subject to the limitations of the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan and applicable laws, to grant stock options, SARs and rights to acquire restricted stock (except that only our employees may be granted ISOs).

Stock Options

Subject to the terms and provisions of the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan, stock options to purchase our ordinary shares may be granted to eligible individuals at any time and from time to time as determined by our remuneration committee. Stock options may be granted as ISOs, which are intended to qualify for favorable treatment to the recipient under U.S. federal tax law, or as nonqualified stock options, which do not qualify for this favorable tax treatment. Subject to the limits provided in the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan, our remuneration committee will determine the number of stock options granted to each recipient. Each stock option grant will be evidenced by a stock option agreement that specifies the stock option exercise price, whether the stock options are intended to be incentive stock options or nonqualified stock options, the duration of the stock options, the number of shares to which the stock options pertain and such additional limitations, terms and conditions as our remuneration committee may determine.

Our remuneration committee will determine the exercise price for each stock option granted, except that the stock option exercise price may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of an ordinary share on the date of grant. All stock options granted under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan will expire no later than ten years from the date of grant. Stock options are nontransferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution or, in the case of nonqualified stock options, as otherwise expressly permitted by our remuneration committee. The

 

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granting of a stock option does not accord the recipient the rights of a shareholder, and such rights accrue only after the exercise of a stock option and the registration of ordinary shares in the recipient’s name.

Stock Appreciation Rights

Our remuneration committee in its discretion may grant SARs under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan. SARs may be “tandem SARs,” which are granted in conjunction with a stock option, or “free-standing SARs,” which are not granted in conjunction with a stock option. A SAR entitles the holder to receive from us, upon exercise, an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the aggregate fair market value of a specified number of our ordinary shares to which such SAR pertains over the aggregate exercise price for the underlying shares. The exercise price of a free-standing SAR will not be less than 100% of the fair market value of an ordinary share on the date of grant.

A tandem SAR may be granted at the grant date of the related stock option. A tandem SAR will be exercisable only at such time or times and to the extent that the related stock option is exercisable and will have the same exercise price as the related stock option. A tandem SAR will terminate or be forfeited upon the exercise or forfeiture of the related stock option, and the related stock option will terminate or be forfeited upon the exercise or forfeiture of the tandem SAR.

Each SAR will be evidenced by an award agreement that specifies the exercise price, the number of ordinary shares to which the SAR pertains and such additional limitations, terms and conditions as our remuneration committee may determine. We may make payment of the amount to which the participant exercising the SARs is entitled by delivering ordinary shares, cash or a combination of stock and cash as set forth in the award agreement relating to the SARs. SARs are not transferable except by will or the laws of descent and distribution or, with respect to SARs that are not granted in “tandem” with a stock option, as expressly permitted by our remuneration committee.

Restricted Stock

The Constellium 2013 Equity Plan provides for the award of ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture and restrictions on transferability to the extent permitted by applicable law and as set forth in the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan, the applicable award agreement and as may be otherwise determined by our remuneration committee. Except for these restrictions and any others imposed by our remuneration committee to the extent permitted by applicable law, upon the grant of restricted stock, the recipient will have rights of a shareholder with respect to the restricted stock, including the right to vote the restricted stock and to receive all dividends and other distributions paid or made with respect to the restricted stock on such terms as will be set forth in the applicable award agreement. During the restriction period set by our remuneration committee, the recipient will be prohibited from selling, transferring, pledging, exchanging or otherwise encumbering the restricted stock to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Restricted Stock Units

The Constellium 2013 Equity Plan authorizes our remuneration committee to grant restricted stock units. Restricted stock units are not ordinary shares and do not entitle the recipient to the rights of a shareholder, although the award agreement may provide for rights with respect to dividend equivalents. The recipient may not sell, transfer, pledge or otherwise encumber restricted stock units granted under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan prior to their vesting. Restricted stock units will be settled in cash, ordinary shares or a combination thereof as provided in the applicable award agreement, in an amount based on the fair market value of an ordinary share on the settlement date.

Performance Units

The Constellium 2013 Equity Plan provides for the award of performance units that are valued by reference to a designated amount of cash or to property other than ordinary shares. The payment of the value of a

 

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performance unit is conditioned upon the achievement of performance goals set by our remuneration committee in granting the performance unit and may be paid in cash, ordinary shares, other property or a combination thereof. Any terms relating to the termination of a participant’s employment will be set forth in the applicable award agreement.

Other Stock-Based Awards

The Constellium 2013 Equity Plan also provides for the award of ordinary shares and other awards that are valued by reference to our ordinary shares, including unrestricted stock, dividend equivalents and convertible debentures.

Performance Goals

The Constellium 2013 Equity Plan provides that performance goals may be established by our remuneration committee in connection with the grant of any award under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan.

Termination without Cause Following a Change in Control

Upon a termination of employment of a plan participant occurring upon or during the two years immediately following the date of a “change in control” (as defined in the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan) by the Company without “cause” (as defined in the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan), unless otherwise provided in the applicable award agreement, (i) all awards held by such participant will vest in full (in the case of any awards that are subject to performance goals, at target) and be free of restrictions, and (ii) any option or SAR held by the participant as of the date of the change in control that remains outstanding as of the date of such termination of employment may thereafter be exercised until (A) in the case of ISOs, the last date on which such ISOs would otherwise be exercisable or (B) in the case of nonqualified options and SARs, the later of (x) the last date on which such nonqualified option or SAR would otherwise be exercisable and (y) the earlier of (I) the second anniversary of such change in control and (II) the expiration of the term of such nonqualified option or SAR.

Amendment

Our board of directors or our remuneration committee may amend, alter or discontinue the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan, but no amendment, alteration or discontinuation will be made that would materially impair the rights of a participant with respect to a previously granted award without such participant’s consent, unless such an amendment is made to comply with applicable law, including, without limitation, Section 409A of the Code, stock exchange rules or accounting rules. In addition, no such amendment will be made without the approval of the Company’s shareholders to the extent such approval is required by applicable law or the listing standards of the applicable stock exchange.

Employment and Service Arrangements

We are party to employment or services agreements with each of our officers. We may terminate certain officers’ employment with or services to us for “cause” upon advance written notice, without compensation, for certain acts of the officer. Each officer may terminate his or her employment at any time upon advance written notice to us. In the event that the officer’s employment or service is terminated by us without cause or, in the case of certain executives, by him for “good reason,” the officer is entitled to certain payments as provided by applicable laws or collective bargaining agreements or as otherwise provided under the applicable employment or services agreements. Except for the foregoing, our officers are not entitled to any severance payments upon the termination of their employment or services for any reason.

Under such employment and services agreements, each of our officers has also agreed not to engage or participate in any business activities that compete with us or solicit our employees or customers for (depending on the officer) up to two years after the termination of his employment or services. They have further agreed not to use or disseminate any confidential information concerning us as a result of performing their duties or using our resources during their employment with or services to us.

 

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We are party to a director service contract with Christel Bories, our former Chief Executive Officer, who left Constellium in February 2012, that provides her with certain post-employment termination benefits and under which she has retained her rights in a certain pension plan for officers.

Other Information Relating to Members of Board of Directors and Executive Officers

Except as described below, with respect to each of the members of the our board of directors, executive officers and senior management we are not aware of (i) any convictions in relation to fraudulent offenses in the last five years, (ii) any bankruptcies, receiverships or liquidations of any entities in which such members held any office, directorships or senior management positions in the last five years, or (iii) any official public incrimination and/or sanctions of such person by statutory or regulatory authorities (including designated professional bodies), or disqualification by a court from acting as a member of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of an issuer or from acting in the management or conduct of the affairs of any issuer for at least the previous five years:

 

   

Mr. Evans was non-executive Chairman of AbitibiBowater in 2009 (now Resolute Forest Products), when the company sought creditor protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and the Companies’ Creditors Protection Act in Canada.

Management Equity Plan

Following the Acquisition, a management equity plan (the “MEP”) was established with effect as from February 4, 2011 to facilitate investments by our officers and other members of management in Constellium. In connection with the MEP, a German limited partnership, Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG (“Management KG”), was formed. As of December 31, 2012, Management KG held 6.85% of the issued share capital of Constellium, consisting of 167,697 Class A ordinary shares and 91,684 Class B1 and B2 ordinary shares. Management KG had the right to subscribe for up to 190,784 Class A ordinary shares and 95,392 Class B2 Shares in Constellium.

The indirect owners of the shares in Constellium held by Management KG are 55 current and former directors, officers and employees of Constellium (the “MEP Participants”) and Stichting Management Omega, a foundation under Dutch law, in accordance with their limited partnership interests in Management KG. MEP Participants who invested in April 2011 and July 2011 invested by subscribing for limited partnership interests in Management KG by way of capital contribution to Management KG in cash, which cash Management KG used to subscribe for Class A ordinary shares and Class B2 ordinary shares in Constellium. MEP Participants who joined at a later stage acquired limited partnership interests in Management KG from an existing partner, Stichting Management Omega. In acquiring limited partnership interests in Management KG (and thereby indirectly investing in Constellium), the MEP Participants have invested a total amount of approximately $5,330,539 as of December 31, 2012.

Our chairman, Mr. Evans, and certain of our executive officers, including our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Vareille, and our Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Fontaine, each participate in the MEP. As of March 31, 2013, the MEP investment of Mr. Evans represented 4,444 Class A ordinary shares; the MEP investment of Mr. Vareille represented 31,872 Class A ordinary shares, 10,535 Class B1 ordinary shares, and 12,043 Class B2 ordinary shares; and the MEP investment of Mr. Fontaine represented 3,250 Class A ordinary shares, 1,104 Class B1 ordinary shares, and 3,039 Class B2 ordinary shares. As of March 31, 2013, the MEP investment of our executive officers, including Mr. Vareille and Mr. Fontaine, represented in the aggregate 77,561 Class A ordinary shares, 24,376 Class B1 ordinary shares, and 28,318 Class B2 ordinary shares.

Once a MEP Participant invests in the MEP and becomes vested in his or her Management KG limited partnership interests, if applicable, he or she becomes eligible to receive the economic benefits relating to the proportion of shares held by Management KG attributable to his or her limited partnership interest, such as dividends (if any) on the shares, the Management KG’s annual profits and residual profits, and proceeds of sales

 

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of shares held by Management KG upon dissolution of the MEP. A MEP Participant’s benefits may be terminated if, for instance, his or her employment with Constellium terminates. A leaver, either a “good leaver” or “bad leaver” for the purpose of the MEP, may be obliged to sell his or her Management KG limited partnership interests to Stichting Management Omega. The amount paid for those limited partnership interests depends upon, among other things, the reason for the MEP Participant’s termination and the length of his or her investment and the performance of Constellium.

Management KG limited partnership interests held by MEP Participants in respect of Class B2 ordinary shares are granted in service- and performance-vesting tranches, in an amount solely in the discretion of the MEP Board (as defined below). The service-vesting tranche vests in 20% increments on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th anniversary of a MEP Participant’s effective investment date if the MEP Participant continues employment with Constellium through the applicable vesting date. The performance-vesting tranches generally vest in 20% increments in respect of the financial year that includes the MEP Participant’s effective investment date and each of the following four financial years only if the MEP Participant continues employment with Constellium through the end of the applicable year and Constellium attains certain Adjusted EBITDA targets in respect of that financial year (as shown by the audited accounts for the relevant financial year), which targets may be adjusted to account for the impact of certain non-ordinary-course transactions. If the Adjusted EBITDA targets with respect to a financial year are not attained, the performance-vesting sub-tranches that were eligible to vest during such year remain eligible to vest based on the level of Adjusted EBITDA attainment in the following year, and performance-vesting sub-tranches eligible to vest in a future year may vest earlier based on the level of Adjusted EBITDA attainment during the year prior to the scheduled vesting year, in each case subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in the partnership agreement of Management KG. Because Constellium achieved the Adjusted EBITDA targets for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, the relevant performance-vesting tranches in respect of those years vested.

The general partner of Management KG is Omega MEP GmbH (“GP GmbH”), a German limited liability company, which is wholly owned by Stichting Management Omega. The main terms and conditions of the MEP are set out in the partnership agreement of Management KG dated as of February 4, 2011, as amended from time to time, and the Investment and Shareholders Agreement dated January 28, 2011 entered into among Constellium, Stichting Management Omega, GP GmbH and Management KG, effective as of February 4, 2011. By its own terms, however, the Investment and Shareholders Agreement will terminate and cease to have effect upon the completion of this offering. An overview of the corporate structure of the MEP is set out below.

 

LOGO

 

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At the level of GP GmbH, an advisory board consisting of representatives of Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI (the “MEP Board”) decides which employees or officers of Constellium are eligible to invest in the MEP and the amount they may invest in Management KG. When an employee or officer invests in the MEP (either directly or through one or more investment vehicles), he or she acquires a limited partnership interest in Management KG that corresponds to a portion of the shares in Constellium held by Management KG.

The main function of Stichting Management Omega is to act as a “warehousing” entity following a situation in which MEP Participants cease to be employed by Constellium. In such a circumstance, Stichting Management Omega is entitled to acquire all or part of the limited partnership interest in Management KG attributable to a departing MEP Participant under the conditions of the MEP. Rio Tinto, Apollo Omega, FSI, Constellium and Stichting Management Omega have entered into an agreement (the “Funding Agreement”), effective as of July 1, 2011, that provides that limited partnership interests in Management KG held by Stichting Management Omega will be so held for the pro rata benefit and risk of Rio Tinto, Apollo Omega, and FSI. As of December 31, 2012, Stichting Management Omega held Management KG interests in respect of 15,938 Class A ordinary shares and 15,427 Class B2 ordinary shares.

In connection with the offering, the MEP Board determined that the MEP would be frozen to future participation and that no other employees, officers or directors of Constellium would be invited to become MEP Participants. In connection with the freezing of the MEP, Management KG will no longer have the right to subscribe for up to 190,784 Class A ordinary shares and 95,392 Class B2 Shares in Constellium. Also in connection with the freezing of the MEP, our board of directors approved the reacquisition and our shareholders approved the cancellation of all the Constellium shares attributable to the Management KG interests held by Stichting Management Omega, and all such shares were reacquired by us prior to the consummation of this offering. As a result of this reacquisition, the Management KG interests held by Stichting Management Omega ceased to have economic value, and Stichting Management Omega ceased to be an indirect owner of our ordinary shares.

In connection with this offering, certain changes were and will be made to the MEP. The members of the MEP Board will be appointed by our board of directors. In addition, the articles of association of Stichting Management Omega were amended to provide that our board of directors will have the power to appoint the board of Stichting Management Omega. The Funding Agreement will also be amended to provide that any limited partnership interests in Management KG acquired by Stichting Management Omega will be held for the benefit of Constellium.

Following the completion of this offering, Stichting Management Omega will continue as a limited partner of Management KG and remain entitled to acquire all or part of the limited partnership interests in Management KG attributable to any MEP Participant who ceases to be employed by Constellium. If Stichting Management Omega acquires all or a portion of such limited partnership interests, the shares held by Management KG in respect of the acquired limited partnership interests will be sold in the market and/or reacquired and cancelled by Constellium to fund the price payable to such MEP Participant.

 

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PRINCIPAL AND SELLING SHAREHOLDERS

The following table sets forth the principal shareholders of Constellium N.V. and the number and percentage of ordinary shares owned by each such shareholder, in each case as of May 20, 2013 and following this offering, in which only Class A ordinary shares will be sold and the selling shareholder private sale, in which only Class A ordinary shares will be sold. The ordinary shares beneficially owned prior to this offering have been adjusted to give effect to (i) the reacquisition by us of ordinary shares issued under our legacy management equity plan in connection with our decision to freeze new participation in the plan in anticipation of this offering, as described in “Management—Management Equity Plan,” and (ii) the pro rata share issuance, specifically the issuance of 83,945,965 additional Class A ordinary shares, 815,252 additional Class B1 ordinary shares and 923,683 additional Class B2 ordinary shares which occurred prior to consummation of this offering, as described in “Description of Capital Stock—Recapitalization and Conversion of Capital Stock in Connection with this Offering.” The selling shareholders in this offering are Apollo Funds and Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited. We are currently majority owned by Apollo Funds, which beneficially owned, as of December 31, 2012, approximately 54% of our ordinary shares. Following the completion of this offering and the selling shareholder private sale, it is expected that Apollo Funds will hold 34.0% of our ordinary shares.

Under the rules of the SEC, a person is deemed to be a “beneficial owner” of a security if that person has or shares “voting power,” which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting of such security, or “investment power,” which includes the power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of such security. A person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any securities of which that person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days. Under these rules, more than one person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of such securities as to which such person has voting or investment power. Except as described in the footnotes below, to our knowledge, each of the persons named in the table below has sole voting and investment power with respect to the ordinary shares beneficially owned, subject to community property laws where applicable. Except as otherwise indicated, the business address for each of our shareholders listed below is c/o Constellium N.V., Tupolevlaan 41-61, 1119 NW Schiphol-Rijk, the Netherlands.

The beneficial ownership percentages in this table have been calculated on the basis of, with respect to amounts prior to this offering, the total number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares, Class B1 ordinary shares and Class B2 ordinary shares, and with respect to amounts after this offering, the total number of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Prior to this offering, as described in the footnotes below, (i) the Apollo Funds may be deemed to beneficially own 100% of our Class B1 shares and Class B2 shares; (ii) Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited may be deemed to beneficially own 39% of our Class B1 shares and Class B2 shares; and (iii) Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement may be deemed to beneficially own 10% of our Class B1 shares and Class B2 shares. After completion of this offering, as described in the footnotes below, none of Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited or Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement will beneficially own any Class B ordinary shares. After completion of this offering, the Class B ordinary shares will be 100% beneficially owned by Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG (“Management KG”) and will account for 1.09% of our total ordinary shares outstanding.

Name of beneficial owner

  Number of
ordinary
shares
beneficially
owned
prior to the
offering
    Beneficial
ownership
percentage
    Number of
Class  A
ordinary

shares
being
offered in
this
offering
    Number of
Class A
ordinary

shares
being sold/
(purchased)

in the
selling
shareholder
private sale
    Number of
ordinary
shares
beneficially
owned

after the
offering
    Beneficial
Ownership
percentage
    Class A
ordinary

shares
to be
sold
assuming

exercise
of the
over-
allotment
option
    Ordinary
shares
owned after
this
offering
and selling
shareholder
private sale
assuming
full exercise

of the over-
allotment
option
    Beneficial
Ownership
percentage
 

Apollo Funds

    48,275,158 (1)       54.0     6,296,296        2,361,701        34,189,558 (4)       34.0     1,888,889        32,300,669 (7)       32.1

Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited

    34,882,542 (2)       39.0     4,814,815        1,806,007        26,144,955 (5)       26.0     1,444,444        24,700,511 (8)       24.6

Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement

    8,944,241 (3)       10.0     —          (4,167,708     12,569,189 (6)       12.5     —          12,569,189 (9)       12.5
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) Represents the aggregate of (i) 42,565,268 Class A ordinary shares held of record by Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à.r.l. (“Apollo Omega”), (ii) 282,287 Class A ordinary shares held of record by AMI (Luxembourg) S.à.r.l. (“AMI”), and (iii) 3,612,411 Class A ordinary shares, 851,003 Class B1 ordinary shares and 964,189 Class B2 ordinary shares held of record by Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG (“Management KG”).

 

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AMI holds our ordinary shares that it holds of record for the benefit of the limited partnership for which it serves as the general partner. AMI (Holdings) LLC (“AMI Holdings”) is the sole shareholder of AMI. Apollo International Management, L.P. (“Intl Management”) is the sole member and manager of AMI Holdings, and Apollo International Management GP, LLC (“International GP”) is the general partner of Intl Management.

Omega MEP GmbH (“MEP GP”) is the general partner of Management KG and as such has the authority to make investment decisions on behalf of, and vote securities held by, Management KG. Decisions made by MEP GP with respect to actions to be taken by Management KG are made by a five-member advisory board, of which three members are appointed by Apollo Omega, and must be approved by at least two of the members appointed by Apollo Omega. Upon the closing of this offering, Apollo Omega will no longer have these appointment and approval rights, and the Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares held by Management KG are not included in the number of ordinary shares beneficially owned by the Apollo Funds after the offering. Management KG will not be selling shares in this offering or in the selling shareholder private sale.

AIF VII Euro Holdings, L.P. (“Euro Holdings”) is the sole shareholder of Apollo Omega. Apollo Advisors VII (EH), L.P. (“Advisors VII (EH)”) is the general partner of Euro Holdings, and Apollo Advisors VII (EH-GP) Ltd. (“Advisors VII (EH-GP)”) is the general partner of Advisors VII (EH). Apollo Principal Holdings III, L.P. (“Principal III”) is the sole shareholder of Advisors VII (EH-GP) and Apollo Principal Holdings III GP, Ltd. (“Principal III GP”) is the general partner of Principal III. Apollo Management VII, L.P. (“Management VII”) is the manager of Euro Holdings. AIF VII Management, LLC (“AIF VII”) is the general partner of Management VII. Apollo Management, L.P. (“Apollo Management”) is the sole member and manager of AIF VII, and Apollo Management GP, LLC (“Management GP”) is the general partner of Apollo Management. Apollo Management Holdings, L.P. (“Management Holdings”) is the sole member and manager of Management GP and International GP. Apollo Management Holdings GP, LLC (“Management Holdings GP”) is the general partner of Management Holdings.

Leon Black, Joshua Harris and Marc Rowan are the managers, as well as principal executive officers, of Management Holdings GP, and the directors of Principal III GP, and as such may be deemed to have voting and dispositive control over our ordinary shares that are held by Apollo Omega, and AMI, and until the closing of this offering, by Management KG.

The principal address of each of Apollo Omega and AMI is 44 Avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1885, Luxembourg. The principal address for each of Management KG and MEP GP is Mainzer Landstrasse 46, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The principal address of each of Euro Holdings, Advisors VII (EH), Advisors VII (EH-GP), Principal III and Principal III GP is c/o Intertrust Corporate Services (Cayman) Limited, 190 Elign Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman, KY1-9005, Cayman Islands. The principal address of each of AMI Holdings, Management VII, AIF VII, Apollo Management, Management GP, Intl Management, International GP, Management Holdings, Management Holdings GP, and Messrs. Black, Harris and Rowan, is 9 West 57th Street, 43rd Floor, New York, New York 10019.

 

(2)

Represents (a) 32,765,777 shares held directly by Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited (“RTIHL”) and (b) 1,408,840 Class A ordinary shares, 331,891 Class B1 ordinary shares and 376,034 Class B2 ordinary shares held by Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG (“Management KG”). RTIHL directly holds 32,765,774 shares and has full voting and dispositive power over these securities. RTIHL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto plc and is under the common control of Rio Tinto Limited. Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited may therefore be deemed to be indirect beneficial owners of the shares held by RTIHL. Pursuant to the partnership agreement regarding Management KG, RTIHL has the ability to direct the vote of 39% of the shares held by Management KG, currently representing 1,408,840 Class A ordinary shares, 331,891 Class B1 ordinary shares and 376,034 Class B2 ordinary shares. Therefore, RTIHL is considered to be the beneficial owner of such securities, although it does not retain any dispositive power with respect to them. In connection with this offering, the partnership agreement will be amended to remove RTIHL’s ability to direct the vote of shares held by Management KG. Therefore, RTIHL’s beneficial ownership following the completion of this offering and the selling shareholder private sale does not include Class A and Class B shares held by Management KG. Management KG will not be selling shares in this offering or

 

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  in the selling shareholder private sale. The address for Rio Tinto plc and RTIHL is 2 Eastbourne Terrace, London W2 6LG, United Kingdom. The address of Rio Tinto Limited is 120 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3000. The address for Management KG is Mainzer Landstrasse 46, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

 

(3) Consists of (a) 8,401,481 shares held directly by Fonds Stratégique d’investissement (“FSI”) and (b) 361,241 Class A ordinary shares, 85,100 Class B1 ordinary shares and 96,419 Class B2 ordinary shares held by Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG (“Management KG”). FSI is owned by Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (“CDC”) (which holds 51 percent of its share capital and solely controls FSI) and the French State (which holds 49 percent of FSI’s share capital). CDC may therefore be deemed to be the indirect beneficial owner of the shares held by FSI. Pursuant to the partnership agreement regarding Management KG, FSI has the ability to direct the vote of 10% of the shares held by Management KG, currently representing approximately 361,241 Class A ordinary shares, 85,100 Class B1 ordinary shares and 96,419 Class B2 ordinary shares. Therefore, FSI is considered to be the beneficial owner of such securities, although it does not retain any dispositive power with respect to them. In connection with this offering, the partnership agreement of Management KG will be amended to remove FSI’s ability to direct the vote of shares held by Management KG. Therefore, FSI’s beneficial ownership following the completion of this offering and the selling shareholder private sale does not include Class A and Class B shares held by Management KG. The address for CDC and FSI is 56 rue de Lille, 75007 Paris, France. The address for Management KG is Mainzer Landstrasse 46, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

 

(4) Represents the aggregate of (i) 33,964,311 Class A ordinary shares held of record by Apollo Omega and (ii) 225,247 Class A ordinary shares held by AMI. Apollo Omega and AMI will not beneficially own any Class B shares after completion of this offering. See footnote (1) for further information regarding the Apollo Funds’ beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares.

 

(5) Represents 26,144,955 Class A ordinary shares held by RTIHL. RTIHL will not own any Class B shares after completion of this offering. See footnote (2) for further information regarding RITHL’s beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares.

 

(6) Consists of 12,569,189 Class A ordinary shares held directly by FSI. FSI will not own any Class B shares after completion of this offering. See footnote (3) for further information regarding FSI’s beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares.

 

(7) Represents the aggregate of (i) 33,026,089 Class A ordinary shares held of record by Apollo Omega and (ii) 219,025 Class A ordinary shares held by AMI. Apollo Omega and AMI will not beneficially own any Class B shares after completion of this offering. See footnote (1) for further information regarding the Apollo Funds’ beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares.

 

(8) Represents 25,422,733 Class A ordinary shares held by RTIHL. RTIHL will not own any Class B shares after completion of this offering. See footnote (2) for further information regarding RITHL’s beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares.

 

(9) Consists of 12,777,524 Class A ordinary shares held directly by FSI. FSI will not own any Class B shares after completion of this offering. See footnote (3) for further information regarding FSI’s beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares.

None of our ordinary shares is held of record by holders located in the United States. From May 14, 2010, the date of incorporation of Constellium, through January 4, 2011, the date on which we completed the purchase of the AEP Business, Apollo Omega was our sole shareholder. There have been no other significant changes in the percentage ownership of our ordinary shares held by our principal shareholders over the last three years. None of our principal shareholders have voting rights different from those of other shareholders.

 

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Pre-IPO Shareholders Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto, FSI and the other parties thereto entered into a pre-IPO Shareholders Agreement, dated as of January 4, 2011 (the “Pre-IPO Shareholders Agreement”). The Pre-IPO Shareholders Agreement provides for, among other items, certain restrictions on the transferability of equity ownership in Constellium as well as certain tag-along rights, drag-along rights, and piggy-back registration rights.

We expect to amend and restate the current Pre-IPO Shareholders Agreement in connection with this offering. See “—Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement.”

Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement

The Company, Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI expect to enter into an amended and restated shareholders agreement prior to the completion of this offering (the “Shareholders Agreement”). This agreement will provide for, among other things, piggyback registration rights and demand registration rights for Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI.

In addition, the Shareholders Agreement will provide that, except as otherwise required by applicable law, (a) Rio Tinto will be entitled to designate for binding nomination one director to our board of directors so long as its percentage ownership interest is equal to or greater than 10% or it continues to hold all of the ordinary shares it subscribed for at the closing of the Acquisition (such share number adjusted for the pro rata share issuance); (b) FSI will be entitled to designate for binding nomination one director to our board of directors so long as its percentage ownership interest is equal to or greater than 4% or it continues to hold all of the ordinary shares it subscribed for at the closing of the Acquisition (such share number adjusted for the pro rata share issuance) and (c) Apollo Omega will be entitled to designate for binding nomination (i) a majority of the directors comprising our board of directors for so long as its percentage ownership interest is equal to or greater than 40% or it continues to hold all of the ordinary shares it subscribed for at the closing of the Acquisition (such share number adjusted for the pro rata share issuance), and in each case provided no person who is not an affiliate of Apollo Omega holds a majority of the ordinary shares then outstanding, or (ii) in the event that Apollo Omega does not satisfy either of the foregoing requirements, two directors to our board of directors so long as its percentage ownership interest is equal to or greater than 10%. Each of Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI has agreed to use its reasonable best efforts and take such action required to effectuate the binding nominations set out above. Our directors will be elected by our shareholders acting at a general meeting upon a binding nomination by the board of directors as described in “Management—Board Structure.” Therefore, Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI will each be required to vote the ordinary shares held by them in accordance with the voting arrangement as set forth in the Shareholders Agreement at the general meeting. A shareholder’s percentage ownership interest is derived by dividing (i) the total number of ordinary shares owned by such shareholder and its affiliates by (ii) the total number of outstanding ordinary shares (but excluding ordinary shares issued pursuant to the MEP).

The Company has agreed to share financial and other information with Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI to the extent reasonably required to comply with its or their tax, investor or regulatory obligations and with a view to keeping each of Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI properly informed about the financial and business affairs of the Company. The Shareholders Agreement contains provisions to the effect that each of Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI are obliged to treat all information provided to it as confidential, and to comply with all applicable rules and regulations in relation to the use and disclosure of such information.

Agreement Relating to 2009 and 2010 Financial Statements

The financial statements relating to 2009 and 2010 and related information contained in this prospectus are the sole responsibility of Constellium N.V. In connection with the purchase of the AEP Business, Constellium has irrevocably acknowledged and agreed with Rio Tinto that Rio Tinto, in its capacity as the prior

 

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owner of our business and our subsidiaries, has no responsibility for the financial statements relating to 2009 and 2010 and has agreed to indemnify and hold harmless Rio Tinto against all claims arising out of or in connection with such financials statements. Constellium has also agreed that when providing the financial statements relating to 2009 and 2010 to third parties (other than recipients who receive such information pursuant to this prospectus), the information shall be accompanied by an acknowledgement that by receipt of such information, the recipient waives any right or claim it may have against Rio Tinto in connection with the receipt or use of such information.

Share Sale Agreement

The Share Sale Agreement between the Company and affiliates of Rio Tinto (the “SPA”), dated as of December 23, 2010, contains customary warranties and indemnities given by affiliates of Rio Tinto regarding the Constellium business. The warranties are subject to customary qualifications and limitations on Rio Tinto’s liability and expired generally at the end of March 2013, except for those with respect to certain environmental matters which survive for five years following completion of the Acquisition, certain warranties relating to retirement benefit arrangements and antitrust warranties which survive for three years following completion of the Acquisition and certain warranties regarding taxes and ownership of shares which generally survive until the statutory limitations date. The SPA and certain indemnity agreements executed pursuant to the SPA provide for certain other specific indemnities, in each case subject to specified conditions and limitations.

Shareholder Term Loan Facility

In connection with the Acquisition, Apollo Omega and FSI entered into a term loan facility which provided for an aggregate funding commitment amount of $275 million (equivalent to €212 million at the 2011 year-end exchange rate). See “Description of Certain Indebtedness.” This term loan facility was terminated on May 25, 2012 and all indebtedness outstanding thereunder was repaid in full.

Transitional Services Agreements and Sublease

At the closing of the Acquisition, Constellium Switzerland AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Constellium, and Alcan France SAS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcan Holdings Switzerland AG, the seller in the Constellium SPA, entered into a Transitional Services Agreement to provide, on a transitional basis, certain administrative, information technology, accounting, payroll, human resources, compliance, finance, and treasury services and other assistance, consistent with the services provided by Rio Tinto before the transaction. The charges for the transitional services generally were intended to allow Rio Tinto to fully recover the costs directly associated with providing the services, plus an additional charge for administrative costs for services that were provided beyond the original service term specified in the Transitional Services Agreement.

The services provided under the Transitional Services Agreement terminated at various times specified in the agreement (generally one year after the completion of the Acquisition). Constellium had the right to terminate services by giving prior written notice to the provider of such services and paying any applicable termination charge.

Subject to certain exceptions, the liability of Rio Tinto under the Transitional Services Agreement was generally limited to the aggregate charges actually paid to Rio Tinto by Constellium pursuant to the Transitional Services Agreement. The Transitional Services Agreement also provided that Rio Tinto will be liable to Constellium under the agreement only to the extent any liabilities arise from Rio Tinto’s willful and intentional breach, willful misconduct, fraud or gross negligence, and that Rio Tinto will not be liable to the recipient of such service for any indirect or consequential damages. All services under this agreement have terminated.

In connection with the Acquisition, an affiliate of Constellium also entered into a sublease of premises in La Défense Paris France, leased by an affiliate of Rio Tinto. The sublease provided for a reimbursement of certain costs under certain conditions to such Constellium affiliate by the Rio Tinto affiliate. The sublease was terminated on November 30, 2011.

 

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Management Agreement with Apollo

Prior to this offering, and in connection with the Acquisition, Apollo entered into a management agreement with Constellium relating to the provision of certain financial and strategic advisory services and consulting services. Constellium agreed to pay Apollo an annual fee equal to the greater of $2 million and 1% of an adjusted EBITDA measure as defined in the Pre-IPO Shareholders Agreement discussed above, plus related expenses. The Apollo management fee was $3 million or €2 million in 2012 and $2 million or €1.5 million in 2011. Constellium also agreed to indemnify Apollo and its affiliates, as well as their respective directors, officers and representatives, for any losses relating to the services contemplated by the management agreement. Upon consummation of the offering, the Company and Apollo will agree to terminate the management agreement. The Company will pay Apollo a $20 million (€16 million) fee to terminate the agreement, payable upon consummation of this offering. Upon such payment, we will have no further fee obligations pursuant to the management agreement.

Acquisition Expense Reimbursement Agreement

One of the Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and the FSI entered into an agreement, dated as of August 4, 2010, pursuant to which they agreed that Constellium would reimburse certain transaction costs incurred by them in connection with the Acquisition up to a cap of approximately $90 million. In addition, the agreement provided that upon completion of the Acquisition, a transaction fee of up to $12.5 million payable by Constellium would be split between Apollo, Rio Tinto and the FSI in proportion to their initial equity ownership in Constellium Holdco. These fees were paid by Constellium on or shortly after completion of the Acquisition on January 4, 2011.

Metal Supply Agreements

In connection with the Acquisition, Constellium Switzerland AG (“Constellium Switzerland”), a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Constellium N.V., entered into certain agreements dated as of January 4, 2011 with Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. (“Rio Tinto Alcan”), Aluminium Pechiney and Alcan Holdings Switzerland AG (“AHS”), each of which is an affiliate of Rio Tinto, which provide for, among other things, the supply of metal by Rio Tinto affiliates to Constellium Switzerland, the provision of certain technical assistance and other services relating to aluminum-lithium, a covenant by Rio Tinto Alcan to refrain from producing, supplying or selling aluminum-lithium alloys to third parties and certain cost reimbursement obligations of AHS. Constellium has provided a guarantee to Rio Tinto Alcan and Aluminium Pechiney in respect of Constellium Switzerland’s obligations under the supply agreements. Under the metal supply agreements, Constellium’s credit requirements would become more stringent following an IPO in which Apollo Omega’s and Rio Tinto’s shareholdings each fall below 10%.

European Slab Supply Agreement . Constellium Switzerland and Rio Tinto Alcan have a multi-year supply agreement for the supply of sheet ingot. The agreement provides for certain representations and warranties, audit and inspection rights, on-time shipment requirements and other customary terms and conditions. Each party is required to pay certain penalty or reimbursement amounts in the event it fails or is unable to purchase or supply, as applicable, specified minimum annual quantities of metal.

Billets Supply Agreement . Constellium Switzerland and Aluminium Pechiney entered into an agreement for the supply of extrusion ingot for an initial term that ended in 2011, and thereafter automatically renews for one-year terms unless a notice of non-renewal is given at least six months prior to expiration of the then-current term. No non-renewal notice has been given for this agreement to date, and thus the agreement is still in effect. In the event of non-renewal, the agreement will continue for a two-year step-down period, with annual volumes generally reduced to two-thirds in the first year and one-third in the second year. The earliest year in which the agreement may be fully stepped down is the beginning of 2015. The metal will be supplied to Constellium’s French facilities in Saint Florentin, Ham and Nuits-Saint-Georges, as well as to other Constellium facilities

 

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located in Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia and Czech Republic. The agreement provides for certain representations and warranties, audit and inspection rights, on-time shipment requirements and other customary terms and conditions.

Aluminum-Lithium Supply Agreement . Constellium Switzerland and Rio Tinto Alcan entered into a multi-year supply agreement for the supply of aluminum-lithium ingots. The amount of metal to be supplied to Constellium Switzerland is calculated as a percentage of Constellium Switzerland’s aluminum-lithium customer orders, subject to a monthly cap of 58 slabs on Rio Tinto Alcan’s supply obligation. The metal will be supplied to Constellium’s facilities at Ravenswood (United States), Issoire (France) and Montreuil Juigné (France). Constellium Switzerland is required to pay certain penalty amounts in the event it fails to purchase specified minimum annual quantities of metal. The agreement provides for certain representations and warranties, audit and inspection rights, on-time shipment requirements and other customary terms and conditions. Constellium Switzerland has granted Rio Tinto Alcan a license to use certain aluminum-lithium know-how of Constellium in the casting and production of metal alloys. In addition, Constellium Switzerland and Rio Tinto Alcan entered into an agreement for the provision of certain technical assistance and other services by Rio Tinto Alcan to Constellium Switzerland. The agreement expired at the end of 2012.

Rod Supply Agreement . Constellium Switzerland and Aluminium Pechiney entered into an agreement for the supply of aluminum rod that will expire at the end of 2014. The agreement provides for an annual supply of aluminum rod to Constellium’s facility at Montreuil Juigné. The agreement provides for certain representations and warranties, audit and inspection rights, on-time shipment requirements and other customary terms and conditions.

Intellectual Property Licenses

In connection with the Acquisition, affiliates of Rio Tinto have granted a license to Constellium Switzerland to use certain “Pechiney” and “Alcan” trade names and trademarks, subject to terms and conditions specified in the license agreements, for a limited transitional period of two years and three years, respectively, from and after January 4, 2011.

Environmental Liabilities Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, Constellium Valais SA (formerly Alcan Aluminium Valais SA) and the Canton du Valais entered into an agreement providing for the transfer of land and allocation of costs and risk regarding environmental liabilities pertaining to certain plots at the Valais site (Chippis, Sierre and Steg). Certain plots of land and environmental liabilities relating to land no longer used for operations by Constellium Valais SA were transferred to Metallwerke Refonda AG, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, and AHS provided a guarantee for the performance of such obligations by Metallwerke Refonda AG.

Stichting Reacquisition

Rio Tinto, Apollo Omega, FSI, Constellium and Stichting Management Omega have entered into an agreement (the “Funding Agreement”), effective as of July 1, 2011, that provides that limited partnership interests in Management KG held by Stichting Management Omega will be so held for the pro rata benefit and risk of Rio Tinto, Apollo Omega, and FSI. In connection with the freezing of the MEP, our board of directors approved the reacquisition and our shareholders approved the cancellation of all Class A ordinary shares and Class B2 ordinary shares attributable to the Management KG interests held by Stichting Management Omega, and all such shares were reacquired by us prior to the completion of this offering for an acquisition amount of approximately €900,000. As a result of this reacquisition, the Management KG interests held by Stichting Management Omega ceased to have economic value, and Stichting Management Omega ceased to be an indirect owner of our ordinary shares. In connection with this offering, the Funding Agreement will be amended to provide that any limited partnership interests in Management KG acquired by Stichting Management Omega following the completion of this offering will be held for the benefit of Constellium.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN INDEBTEDNESS

The following summary of the material terms of certain financing arrangements to which we and certain of our subsidiaries will be party following the offering contemplated hereby does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, the underlying documents. For further information regarding our existing indebtedness, see “Capitalization” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Term Loan

On March 25, 2013, the Company and Constellium France S.A.S. (together, the “Borrowers”) entered into a $360 million and €75 million secured term loan (equivalent to €347 million in the aggregate at the year end exchange rate), maturing on March 25, 2020, with the lenders from time to time party thereto and Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”). The proceeds of the Term Loan were used to repay the outstanding amounts under the Original Term Loan (which facility was thereafter terminated) and to pay fees and expenses associated with the refinancing, and the remainder will be used towards funding of the distributions to the equity holders of Constellium N.V. of approximately €250 million in the aggregate.

Interest under the Term Loan is calculated, at our election, based on either the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or base rate (as calculated by the Administrative Agent in accordance with the Term Loan). LIBOR loans accrue interest at a rate of LIBOR, subject to a 1.25% floor, plus 5.00% per annum in the case of dollar-denominated borrowings and 5.50% per annum in the case of euro-denominated borrowings. Base rate loans accrue interest at the base rate, subject to a 2.25% floor, plus 4.00% per annum. The interest rate for all LIBOR loans and base rate loans will be reduced by 0.25% per annum after this offering and the delivery to the Administrative Agent of our financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2013.

We are required to prepay the Term Loan, subject to certain exceptions and adjustments, with:

 

   

in the event that our consolidated total net leverage ratio is (i) greater than 2.00, 50% of excess cash flow (as defined in the agreement governing the Term Loan), (ii) less than or equal to 2.00 but greater than 1.00, 25% of excess cash flow, and (iii) less than or equal to 1.00, 0% of excess cash flow; and

 

   

100% of the net cash proceeds above $20 million in any fiscal year of all non-ordinary course asset sales and casualty and condemnation events, if we do not reinvest or commit to reinvest those proceeds in assets to be used in the business or to make certain other permitted investments within 12-months (and, if committed to be reinvested, actually reinvested within 18-months).

Subject to certain exceptions, if the Term Loan (or any portion thereof) is prepaid or repriced on or prior to the third anniversary of the Term Loan, the Term Loan (or such portion thereof) must be prepaid or repriced at:

 

   

if such prepayment or repricing occurs on or prior to the first anniversary of the Term Loan, (i) if prepaid or repriced with the proceeds of an initial public offering, (x) 101% of the first 35% of term loans prepaid or repriced and (y) 102% of any additional term loans prepaid or repriced, (ii) in connection with a qualified M&A transaction, 102% of the amounts prepaid or repriced, or (iii) otherwise, 102% of the amount prepaid or repriced plus a make-whole premium set forth in the Term Loan;

 

   

if such prepayment or repricing occurs after the first anniversary of the Term Loan and on or prior to the second anniversary of the Term Loan, (i) if prepaid or repriced with the proceeds of an initial public offering, 101% of the first 35% of term loans repaid or repriced, or (ii) otherwise, 102% of the amount prepaid or repriced; and

 

   

if such prepayment or repricing occurs after the second anniversary of the Term Loan and on or prior to the third anniversary of the Term Loan, 101% of the amount prepaid or repriced.

 

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The Term Loan may be prepaid at any time after the third anniversary of the Term Loan without premium or penalty, other than customary “breakage” costs with respect to LIBOR loans. The Term Loan amortizes at a rate of 0.25% per quarter.

The Borrowers’ obligations under the Term Loan are guaranteed by our material subsidiaries located in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, United States and Czech Republic. The Borrowers’ obligations under the Term Loan are secured on a first priority basis by (i) a pledge of the capital stock of all guarantors (including Constellium France S.A.S.), (ii) subject to limited exceptions, a pledge of the bank accounts of all guarantors and the Borrowers, (iii) subject to limited exceptions, a pledge of all intra-group receivables owing to guarantors and the Borrowers and (iv) subject to certain prior governmental liens on the property, plant and equipment of Ravenswood (as defined below), substantially all assets of Ravenswood and U.S. Holdings I (as defined below), other than the accounts receivable, inventory and cash of Ravenswood and U.S. Holdings I. The Borrowers’ obligations under the Term Loan are secured on a second priority basis by the accounts receivable, inventory and cash of Ravenswood and U.S. Holdings I.

The Term Loan contains customary terms and conditions including, among other things, negative covenants limiting our and our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to incur debt, grant liens, enter into sale and lease-back transactions, make investments, loans and advances, make acquisitions, sell assets, pay dividends and other restricted payments, prepay certain debt, merge, consolidate or amalgamate and engage in affiliate transactions.

In addition, after this offering, the Term Loan will require us to maintain a consolidated secured net leverage ratio of no more than 3.00 to 1.00, tested on a quarterly basis. We are currently in compliance with our financial maintenance covenant under the Term Loan.

The Term Loan also contains customary events of default.

U.S. Revolving Credit Facility (the “ABL Facility”)

On May 25, 2012, Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC (“Ravenswood, LLC”) entered into a $100 million (equivalent to €76 million at the period closing exchange rate) secured asset-based revolving credit facility (the “U.S. Revolving Credit Facility”), maturing on May 25, 2017, with the lenders from time to time party thereto and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”) and collateral agent. The U.S. Revolving Credit Facility has sublimits of $25 million for letters of credit and 10% of the revolving credit facility commitments for swingline loans. The U.S. Revolving Credit Facility provides Ravenswood, LLC a working capital facility for its operations. The proceeds from the ABL Facility were used to repay a previous ABL facility entered into on January 4, 2011 with Ravenswood, LLC as borrower.

Ravenswood, LLC’s ability to borrow under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility is limited to a borrowing base equal to the sum of (a) 85% of eligible accounts receivable plus (b) up to the lesser of (i) 80% of the lesser of cost or market value of eligible inventory and (ii) 85% of the net orderly liquidation value of eligible inventory minus (c) applicable reserves, and is subject to other conditions, limitations (including a limitation that the amount of the borrowing base attributed to eligible inventory be no more than 70% of the total borrowing base) and reserve requirements.

Interest under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility is calculated, at Ravenswood, LLC’s election, based on either the LIBOR or base rate (as calculated by the Administrative Agent in accordance with the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility). LIBOR loans accrue interest at a rate of LIBOR plus a margin of 2.00—2.50% per annum (determined based on average quarterly excess availability). Base rate loans accrue interest at the base rate plus a margin of 1.00—1.50% per annum (determined based on average quarterly excess availability). Ravenswood, LLC is required to pay a commitment fee on the unused portion of the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility of 0.375%—or 0.50% per annum (determined on a ratio of unutilized revolving credit commitments to available revolving credit commitments).

 

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Subject to customary “breakage” costs with respect to LIBOR loans, borrowings under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility may be repaid from time to time without premium or penalty.

Ravenswood, LLC’s obligations under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility are guaranteed by Constellium U.S. Holdings I, LLC (“U.S. Holdings I”) and Constellium Holdco II B.V. (“Holdco II”). Ravenswood, LLC’s obligations under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility are not guaranteed by the Issuer or any of Holdco II’s subsidiaries organized outside of the United States. Ravenswood, LLC’s obligations under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility are secured on a first priority basis by all accounts receivable, inventory and cash of Ravenswood, LLC and U.S. Holdings I. Ravenswood, LLC’s obligations under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility are secured on a second priority basis, subject to certain prior governmental liens on the property, plant and equipment of Ravenswood, LLC, by substantially all other assets of Ravenswood, LLC and U.S. Holdings I. Ravenswood, LLC’s obligations under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility are not secured by any assets of the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries organized outside of the United States.

The U.S. Revolving Credit Facility contains customary terms and conditions, including among other things, negative covenants limiting Ravenswood, LLC and U.S. Holdings I’s ability to incur debt, grant liens, enter into sale and lease-back transactions, make investments, loans and advances (including to other Constellium group companies), make acquisitions, sell assets, pay dividends and other restricted payments, prepay certain debt, merge, consolidate or amalgamate and engage in affiliate transactions. The negative covenants contained in the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility do not apply to the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries organized outside of the United States.

The U.S. Revolving Credit Facility also contains a minimum availability covenant that requires Ravenswood, LLC to maintain excess availability under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility of at least the greater of (a) $10 million and (b) 10% of the aggregate revolving loan commitments. As of December 31, 2012, there was (i) $21 million or €16 million of borrowings outstanding and (ii) $12 million of undrawn letters of credit issued under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility. Also, as of December 31, 2012, Ravenswood, LLC had excess availability of approximately $66 million or €50 million under the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility and was in compliance with all applicable covenants thereunder.

The U.S. Revolving Credit Facility also contains customary events of default.

Factoring Agreements

On January 4, 2011, certain of our French subsidiaries (the “French Sellers”) entered into a €200 million factoring agreement (the “French Factoring Agreement”) with GE Factofrance S.A.S., as factor (the “French Factor”). On December 16, 2010, certain of our German and Swiss subsidiaries (the “German/Swiss Sellers” together with the French Sellers, the “Sellers”) entered into €100 million factoring agreements (the “German/Swiss Factoring Agreement,” together with the French Factoring Agreement, the “Factoring Agreements”) with GE Capital Bank AG, as factor (the “German/Swiss Factor” together with the French Factor, the “Factors”). The Factoring Agreements provide for the sale by the Sellers to the Factors of receivables originated by the Sellers, subject to the maximum amount of the facilities. The Factoring Agreements have a five-year term, ending on January 4, 2016. The funding made available to the Sellers by the Factors will be used by the Sellers for general corporate purposes.

Generally speaking, receivables sold to the Factors under the Factoring Agreements are with limited recourse to the Sellers in the event of a payment default by the relevant customer to the extent that such receivables are covered by credit insurance purchased for the benefit of the Factor. The Factors are, however, entitled to claim the repayment of any amount financed by them in respect of a receivable by withdrawing the financing provided against such assigned receivable or requiring the Sellers to repurchase such receivable under certain circumstances, including when (i) the non-payment of that receivable arises from a dispute between a Seller and the relevant customer, (ii) in relation to the French Factoring Agreement only, the French Factor cannot recover from a credit insurer for such non-payment or (iii) the receivable proves not to have satisfied the

 

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eligibility criteria set forth in the Factoring Agreements. Constellium Holdco II B.V. has provided a performance guaranty for the Sellers’ obligations under the Factoring Agreements.

The Sellers will collect the transferred receivables on behalf of the Factors pursuant to a receivables collection mandate granted by the Sellers pursuant to the Factoring Agreements. The receivables collection mandate may be terminated upon the occurrence of certain events. In the event that the receivables collection mandate is terminated, the Factors will be entitled to notify the account debtors of the assignment of receivables and collect directly from the account debtors the assigned receivables.

The Factoring Agreements contain customary fees, including (i) a financing fee on the outstanding amount financed in respect of the assigned receivables, (ii) a non-utilization fee on the portion of the facilities not utilized by the Factors and (iii) a factoring fee on all assigned receivables. In addition, the Sellers incur the cost of maintaining the necessary credit insurance (as stipulated in the Factoring Agreements) on assigned receivables.

The Factoring Agreements contain certain affirmative and negative covenants, including relating to the administration and collection of the assigned receivables, the terms of the invoices and the exchange of information, but do not contain restrictive financial covenants other than a group level minimum liquidity covenant that is tested quarterly. As of and for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2012, the Sellers were in compliance with all applicable covenants under the Factoring Agreements.

As of December 31, 2012, there were (i) no euros financed under the French Factoring Agreement and (ii) no euros financed under the German/Swiss Factoring Agreement. As of December 31, 2012, the Sellers had availability of (i) €200 million under the French Factoring Agreement and (ii) €100 million under the German/Swiss Factoring Agreement.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

This section of the prospectus includes a description of the material terms of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association as they will be in effect as of the completion of this offering, and of specific provisions of the Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code (Boek 2 van het Nederlands Burgerlijk Wetboek) , which governs the rights of holders of our ordinary shares, which we refer to as the “Dutch Civil Code.” The following description is intended as a summary only and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, which will be attached as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We urge you to read the full text of that exhibit.

Outstanding Capital Stock

Currently, our authorized share capital consists of 17,300,000 Class A ordinary shares, 100,000 Class B1 ordinary shares and 100,000 Class B2 ordinary shares, each with a nominal value of €0.01. As of January 1, 2012, there were 3,697,197 Class A ordinary shares and 91,684 Class B2 ordinary shares outstanding. As of December 31, 2012, there were 3,697,197 Class A ordinary shares, 13,666 Class B1 ordinary shares and 78,018 Class B2 ordinary shares outstanding, which were held of record by five shareholders. References to our “ordinary shares” refer to our Class A ordinary shares offered pursuant to this prospectus.

Each of the Class A ordinary shares, Class B1 ordinary shares and Class B2 ordinary shares has one vote. The Class B1 and Class B2 ordinary shares can only be held by a German limited partnership that has entered into an agreement relating to the management participation plan or by the Company.

The Class A ordinary shares, Class B1 ordinary shares and Class B2 ordinary shares are entitled to the profits pro rated to reflect the total number of shares of each class held by each shareholder. We maintain separate share premium reserves and dividend reserves for each of the classes of shares. Distributions from each of these reserves may only be made following the approval of the holders of the relevant class of shares and, with respect to the Class B2 reserves, the board of directors.

Upon liquidation of Constellium, any liquidation surplus will be paid out in the following order: (i) first, the balance of the share premium reserve for Class A ordinary shares and the share premium reserve for Class B1 ordinary shares will be paid out to the holders of the shares of Class A and Class B1, respectively; (ii) second, the balance of the dividend reserve for Class A ordinary shares and the dividend reserve for Class B1 ordinary shares will be paid out to the holders of the shares of Class A and Class B1, respectively; (iii) third, the balance of the share premium reserve for Class B2 ordinary shares will be paid out to the holders of the Class B2 ordinary shares; (iv) fourth, the balance of the dividend reserve for Class B2 shares will be paid out to the holders of the Class B2 shares and (v) the profits which remain after application of the above, if any, shall be distributed to the shareholders in proportion to the aggregate nominal amount of shares held by each shareholder.

Recapitalization and Conversion of Capital Stock in Connection with this Offering

Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, our authorized share capital consists of 398,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, 1,500,000 Class B ordinary shares and five preference shares, each with a nominal value of €0.02. Each of the Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and preference shares has one vote. Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI will hold or exercise voting power over approximately 72.5% of our ordinary shares after the consummation of this offering. See “Risk Factors—We are principally owned by Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI, and their interests may conflict with or differ from your interests as a shareholder” for more information.

Prior to this offering, we effected a pro rata share issuance of Class A ordinary shares, Class B1 ordinary shares and Class B2 ordinary shares to our existing shareholders, which was implemented through the issuance of 22.8 new Class A ordinary shares, 22.8 Class B1 ordinary shares and 22.8 Class B2 ordinary shares for each

 

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outstanding Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 ordinary share, respectively. As a result, the Company issued an aggregate amount of 83,945,965 additional Class A ordinary shares, 815,252 additional Class B1 ordinary shares and 923,683 additional Class B2 ordinary shares, nominal value €0.02 per share, prior to consummation of this offering, as described in “Description of Capital Stock—Recapitalization and Conversion of Capital Stock in Connection with this Offering.” The pro rata share issuance was undertaken in order to provide the proper per-share valuation in respect of the offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and will have no dilutive effect. We refer to this issuance throughout this document as the “pro rata share issuance.” The pro rata share issuance took place after the 31,365 shares held by the Stichting (consisting of 15,938 Class A ordinary shares, 2,441 Class B1 ordinary shares and 12,986 Class B2 ordinary shares) were reacquired at an acquisition amount of approximately €0.9 million, thereby decreasing the total number of outstanding shares upon which the pro rata share issuance will be made.

Immediately following the pro rata share issuance, we changed both our name and corporate form, from Constellium Holdco B.V., a Netherlands private limited liability company ( besloten vennootschap ), to Constellium N.V., a Netherlands public limited liability company ( naamloze vennootschap ). In connection with the conversion from one type of legal entity to another, each outstanding Class A and Class B1 ordinary share of Constellium Holdco B.V. was converted, on a one-to-one basis, into a Class A ordinary share of Constellium N.V., and each Class B2 ordinary share of Constellium Holdco B.V. was converted, on a one-to-one basis, into a Class B ordinary share of Constellium N.V.

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association provide that our board of directors, at the request of a holder of a Class B ordinary share, may resolve to convert a Class B ordinary share into a Class A ordinary share. Immediately prior to conversion into a Class A ordinary share, a pro rata part of the Class B dividend reserve was paid out to the holder of the Class B share.

The Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and preference shares are entitled to the profits in the following order: (i) first, an aggregate amount of approximately €147 million is paid to holders of preference shares (which amount was paid on May 21, 2013), and (ii) second, the remaining profits, to the extent not reserved by our board of directors, will be paid to each shareholder in proportion to the total number of shares of the Class A ordinary shares, Class B ordinary shares and preference shares held by each shareholder provided that the pro rata part of the remaining profits that accrue to the Class B ordinary shares will be added to the dividend reserve B.

The distribution of approximately €147 million was paid on the preference shares on May 21, 2013. All rights attached to the preference shares, including voting rights and rights to profit, have automatically and immediately become equal to the rights attached to the ordinary shares. However, it is likely the holders of the preference shares will not have an opportunity to exercise or benefit from any of these rights as we have agreed with our existing shareholders to repurchase the preference shares for no consideration simultaneously with or shortly after the payment in full of the distribution amount of approximately €147 million. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association and Dutch law provide that so long as the preference shares are held by the Company, they will have no voting rights and no right to profits.

Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, upon liquidation of Constellium, any liquidation surplus shall be distributed to the shareholders in proportion to the aggregate nominal amount of shares held by each shareholder.

A shareholder, by reason only of its holdings in Constellium, will not become personally liable for legal acts (rechtshandelingen) performed in the name of Constellium and will not be obliged to contribute to losses of Constellium in excess of the amount which must be paid up on the shares issued to it.

 

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Form of Shares

Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, our ordinary shares and preference shares are available in the form of an entry in the share register without issuance of a share certificate and—to the extent the board of directors so decides—in the form of an entry in the share register with the issuance of a share certificate. Our preference shares exist in registered form. The board of directors may determine that, to facilitate trading of our ordinary shares on foreign stock exchanges, share certificates will be issued that comply with the requirements set by such foreign stock exchange(s). All of our ordinary shares are registered in a register maintained by us and on our behalf by our transfer agent. Transfers of registered shares require a written deed of transfer and an acknowledgement by Constellium N.V. to be effective. Immediately after the consummation of this offering, our ordinary shares will be freely transferable except as otherwise restricted under U.S. or other applicable securities laws.

Issuance of Ordinary Shares

We may issue ordinary and preference shares subject to the maximum amounts prescribed by our authorized share capital contained in our Amended and Restated Articles of Association. Our board of directors has the power to issue ordinary and preference shares if and to the extent that the general meeting of shareholders has delegated such authority to the board of directors. A delegation of authority to the board of directors to issue ordinary and preference shares remains effective for the period specified by the general meeting of shareholders and may be up to five years from the date of delegation. The general meeting of shareholders may renew this delegation annually. Without this delegation, only our shareholders acting at a general meeting of shareholders have the power to authorize the issuance of ordinary and preference shares. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering the general meeting of shareholders will adopt a resolution pursuant to which our board of directors is authorized to issue ordinary and preference shares for a period of five years from the date of such resolution up to a maximum of the amount of shares included in the authorized share capital as it will read from time to time.

Prior to completion of this offering, our shareholders adopted a resolution in connection with the issuance of a maximum of 83,945,965 Class A ordinary shares, 815,252 Class B1 ordinary shares and 923,683 Class B2 ordinary shares in connection with this offering and the issuance of five preference shares, all of which have been issued against payment of the nominal value of €0.02 and paid out of our retained earnings.

Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, our general meeting of shareholders will adopt a resolution in connection with the issuance of 11,111,111 Class A ordinary shares and the exclusion of pre-emptive rights of the shareholders in relation thereto in connection with this offering. The shares will be issued upon the consummation of this offering.

Any increase in the number of authorized shares would require the approval of an amendment to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association in order to effectuate such increase. To be effective, any such amendment would need to be proposed by the board of directors and adopted by the shareholders at a general meeting by a majority vote.

Preemptive Rights

Each holder of ordinary shares has a preemptive right to subscribe for ordinary shares that we issue for cash unless the general meeting of shareholders, or its delegate, limits or excludes this right. A holder of ordinary shares does not have a preemptive right to subscribe for preference shares. Furthermore, no preemptive rights exist with respect to ordinary shares issued (i) for consideration other than cash, (ii) to our employees or the employees of our group of companies or, (iii) to a party exercising a previously obtained right to acquire shares.

 

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The right of our shareholders to subscribe for shares pursuant to this preemptive right may be excluded or limited by the general meeting of shareholders. If the general meeting of shareholders delegates its authority to the board of directors for this purpose, then the board of directors will have the power to limit or exclude the preemptive rights of shareholders. Such a delegation requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by shareholders at a general meeting of shareholders where less than half of the issued share capital is represented or a majority of the votes cast at the general meeting of shareholders where more than half of the share capital is represented. Designations of authority to the board of directors may remain in effect for up to five years and may be renewed for additional periods of up to five years.

Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, the general meeting of shareholders will adopt a resolution pursuant to which our board of directors is authorized to limit or exclude the preemptive rights of holders of ordinary shares for a period of five years from the date of such resolution.

Repurchases of our Shares

We may acquire our shares, subject to applicable provisions of Dutch law and our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, to the extent:

 

   

our shareholders’ equity, less the amount to be paid for the shares to be acquired, exceeds the sum of (i) our share capital account plus (ii) any reserves required to be maintained by Dutch law or our Amended and Restated Articles of Association; and

 

   

after the acquisition of shares, we and our subsidiaries would not hold, or would not hold as pledgees, shares having an aggregate nominal value that exceeds 50% of our issued share capital.

Our board of directors may repurchase shares only if our shareholders have authorized the board of directors to do so. Immediately prior to the completion of this offering, the general meeting of shareholders will adopt a resolution pursuant to which our board of directors is authorized to repurchase the maximum permissible amount of ordinary shares on the NYSE and Euronext Paris for an 18-month period from the date of such resolution, which is the maximum initial term under Dutch law, at prices between an amount equal to the nominal value of the shares and an amount equal to greater of 110% of the market price of the shares on the NYSE and 110% of the market price of the shares on Euronext Paris (with the market price deemed to be the average of the closing price on each of the five consecutive days of trading preceding the three trading days prior to the date of repurchase). The authorization is not required for the acquisition of our shares listed on the NYSE market or the Euronext Paris market for the purpose of transferring the shares to employees under our management equity incentive plan.

We have agreed with our existing shareholders to repurchase the preference shares against nil consideration following the payment of the approximately €147 million, which amount was paid on May 21, 2013.

Capital Reductions; Cancellation

Upon a proposal of the board of directors, at a general meeting, our shareholders may vote to reduce our issued share capital by (i) cancelling shares or (ii) by reducing the nominal value of the shares by amendment to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association. In either case, this reduction would be subject to applicable statutory provisions. A resolution to cancel shares can only relate to (a) shares held in treasury by the company; (b) all shares of a particular class; or (c) when relating to our preference shares, upon repayment of the nominal value of such shares and payment of the approximately €147 million. In order to be approved, a resolution to reduce the capital requires approval of a majority of the votes cast at a general meeting of shareholders if at least half the issued capital is represented at the meeting or at least two-thirds of the votes cast at the general meeting of shareholders if less than half of the issued capital is represented at the general meeting of shareholders.

A reduction in the number of shares without repayment and without release from the obligation to pay up the shares must be effectuated proportionally on shares of the same class. A resolution that would result in a

 

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reduction of capital requires approval of the meeting of each group of holders of shares of the same class whose rights are prejudiced by the reduction. In addition, a resolution to reduce capital requires notice to our creditors, who have a right to object to a reduction in capital under specified circumstances.

General Meetings of Shareholders

Each shareholder has a right to attend general meetings, either in person or by proxy, and to exercise voting rights in accordance with the provisions of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association. We must hold at least one general meeting of shareholders each year. This meeting must be convened at one of four specified locations in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague and Haarlemmermeer (Schiphol)) within six months after the end of our fiscal year. Our board of directors may convene additional general meetings of shareholders as often as they deem necessary. Pursuant to Dutch law, one or more shareholders representing at least 10 percent of our issued share capital may request the Dutch courts to order that a general meeting of shareholders be held if our board of directors has not met the request of such shareholders to convene a general meeting of shareholders. Dutch law does not restrict the rights of holders of ordinary shares who do not reside in the Netherlands from holding or voting their shares.

We will give notice of each meeting of shareholders by publication on our website and in any other manner that we may be required to follow in order to comply with applicable stock exchange and SEC requirements. We will give notice at least 42 calendar days prior to a general meeting of shareholders and we are required to publish the following information on our website, and leave such information available on our website for a period of at least one year: (i) the notice convening the general meeting of shareholders, including the place and time of the meeting, the agenda for the meeting and the right to attend the meeting, (ii) any documents to be submitted to the general meeting of shareholders, (iii) any proposals with respect to resolutions to be adopted by the general meeting of shareholders or, if no proposal will be submitted to the general meeting of shareholders, an explanation by the board with respect to the items on the agenda, (iv) to the extent applicable, any draft resolutions with respect to items on the agenda proposed by a shareholder, (v) to the extent applicable, a format proxy statement and a form to exercise voting rights in writing and (vi) the total number of outstanding shares and voting rights in our capital on the date of the notice convening the general meeting of shareholders.

Pursuant to Dutch law in effect as at July 1, 2013, shareholders representing at 3% of the issued share capital have the right to request the inclusion of additional items on the agenda of shareholder meetings, provided that such request is received by us no later than 60 days before the day the relevant shareholder meeting is held and such request is not contrary to a significant interest of ours. Our board of directors may decide that shareholders are entitled to participate in, to address and to vote in the general meeting of shareholders by way of an electronic means of communication, in person or by proxy, provided the shareholder may by the electronic means of communication be identified, directly take notice of the discussion in the meeting and participate in the deliberations. Our board of directors may adopt a resolution containing conditions for the use of electronic means of communication in writing. If our board of directors has adopted such regulations, they will be disclosed with the notice of the meeting as provided to shareholders.

The board may determine a record date ( registratiedatum ) of 28 calendar days prior to a general meeting of shareholders to establish which shareholders are entitled to attend and vote in the general meeting of shareholders. If and to the extent that the total number of outstanding shares and voting rights in our capital are changed on the record date, we have to publish on our website on the first business day following the record date such total number of outstanding shares and voting rights on the record date.

At least within 15 calendar days after the general meeting of shareholders we are required to publish the established voting results for each resolution on our website.

 

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Voting Rights

Each share is entitled to one vote. Voting rights may be exercised by registered shareholders or by a duly appointed proxy of a registered shareholder, which proxy need not be a shareholder. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association do not limit the number of registered shares that may be voted by a single shareholder. Treasury shares, whether owned by us or one of our majority-owned subsidiaries, will not be entitled to vote at general meetings of shareholders. Resolutions of the general meeting of shareholders are adopted by a simple majority of votes cast, except where Dutch law or our Amended and Restated Articles of Association provide for a special majority. No shareholder has the right of cumulative voting under Dutch law or our Amended and Restated Articles of Association.

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association and Dutch law provide that decisions of our board of directors involving a significant change in our identity or character are subject to the approval of the general meeting of shareholders. Such changes include:

 

   

the transfer of all or substantially all of our business to a third party;

 

   

the entry into or termination of a longstanding joint venture by us or by any of our subsidiaries with another legal entity or company, or of our position as a fully liable partner in a limited partnership or a general partnership if the joint venture is of a major significance to us; or

 

   

the acquisition or disposal, by us or any of our subsidiaries, of a participating interest in the capital of a company valued at one-third or more of our assets according to our most recently adopted consolidated annual balance sheet with explanatory notes thereto.

Matters requiring a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast, which majority votes also represent more than 50% of our issued share capital include, among others:

 

   

a resolution to cancel a binding nomination for the appointment of members of the board of directors;

 

   

a resolution to appoint members of the board of directors, if the board of directors fails to exercise its right to submit a binding nomination, or if the binding nomination is set aside; and

 

   

a resolution to dismiss or suspend members of the board of directors other than pursuant to a proposal by the board of directors.

Matters requiring a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast, if less than 50% of our issued share capital is represented include, among others:

 

   

a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders regarding restricting and excluding preemptive rights, or decisions to designate the board of directors as the body authorized to exclude or restrict pre-emptive rights; and

 

   

a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders to reduce our outstanding share capital.

Anti-takeover Provisions

Under Dutch law, protective measures against takeovers are possible and permissible, within the boundaries set by Dutch law and Dutch case law. See “Risk Factors—Provisions of our organizational documents and applicable law may impede or discourage a takeover, which could deprive our investors of the opportunity to receive a premium for their ordinary shares or to make changes in our board of directors.”

Adoption of Annual Accounts and Discharge of Management Liability

We are required to publish our annual accounts within four-months after the end of each financial year and our half-yearly figures within two-months after the end of the first six months of each financial year. Furthermore, we are required to publish interim management statements (containing, among other things, an

 

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overview of important transactions and their financial consequences) in the period starting ten weeks after and six weeks before the first and second half of each financial year, or, alternatively, to publish quarterly financial statements. Within five calendar days after adoption of our annual accounts, we are required to submit our adopted annual accounts to the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, or AFM.

The annual accounts must be accompanied by an auditor’s certificate, an annual report and certain other mandatory information and must be made available for inspection by our shareholders at our offices within the same period. Under Dutch law, our shareholders must approve the appointment and removal of our independent auditors, as referred to in Article 2:393 Dutch Civil Code, to audit the annual accounts. The annual accounts are adopted by our shareholders at the general meeting of shareholders and will be prepared in accordance with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Netherlands Civil Code.

The adoption of the annual accounts by our shareholders does not release the members of our board of directors from liability for acts reflected in those documents. Any such release from liability requires a separate shareholders’ resolution.

Our financial reporting will be subject to the supervision of the AFM. The AFM will review the content of the financial reports and has the authority to approach us with requests for information in case on the basis of publicly available information it has reasonable doubts as to the integrity of our financial reporting.

Management Indemnification

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association provide that we will indemnify our directors against all adverse financial effects incurred by such person in connection with any action, suit or proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably could believe to be in or not opposed to our best interests. In addition, upon completion of this offering, we may enter into indemnification agreements with our directors and officers.

Dividends

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association provide that dividends may only be paid out of profit as shown in the adopted annual accounts. We will have the ability to make distributions to shareholders and other persons entitled to distributable profits only to the extent that our equity exceeds the sum of the paid and called-up portion of the ordinary share capital and the reserves that must be maintained in accordance with provisions of Dutch law or our Amended and Restated Articles of Association. The profits must first be used to set up and maintain reserves required by law and must then be set off against certain financial losses. From the profits, an aggregate amount of approximately €147 million must first be paid to the holders of the preference shares; such amount was paid on May 21, 2013. Distributions in cash that have not been collected within five years and one day after they have become due and payable will revert to us. We may not make any distribution of profits on shares that we hold. Our board of directors will determine whether and how much of the remaining profit they will reserve and the manner and date of such distribution and will notify shareholders thereof. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association provide that our board of directors will reserve a pro rata part attributable to the Class B ordinary shares of the profits available for distribution to the shareholders and add such amount to the Class B dividend reserve. Immediately prior to conversion into a Class A ordinary share, a pro rata part of the Class B dividend reserve was paid out to the holder of the Class B share.

All calculations to determine the amounts available for dividends will be based on our annual accounts, which may be different from our consolidated financial statements, such as those included in this prospectus. Our statutory accounts have to date been prepared and will continue to be prepared under EU IFRS and are deposited with the Commercial Register in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

 

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Liquidation Rights and Dissolution

Under our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, we may be dissolved by a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders, subject to a proposal by the board of directors.

In the event of a dissolution and liquidation, the assets remaining after payment of all debts and liquidation expenses are to be distributed to shareholders in proportion to the aggregate nominal amount of shares held by each shareholder. All distributions referred to in this paragraph will be made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the laws of the Netherlands.

Limitations on Non-residents and Exchange Controls

There are no limits under the laws of the Netherlands or in our Amended and Restated Articles of Association on non-residents of the Netherlands holding or voting our ordinary shares. Currently, there are no exchange controls under the laws of the Netherlands on the conduct of our operations or affecting the remittance of dividends.

Netherlands Squeeze-Out Proceedings

Pursuant to Section 2:92a of the Dutch Civil Code, a shareholder who for its own account holds at least 95% of our issued capital may institute proceedings against our other shareholders jointly for the transfer of their shares to the claimant. The proceedings are held before the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ( Ondernemingskamer ) and can be instituted by means of a writ of summons served upon each of the minority shareholders in accordance with the provisions of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure ( Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering ). The Enterprise Chamber may grant the claim for squeeze-out in relation to all minority shareholders and will determine the price to be paid for the shares, if necessary after appointment of one or three experts who will offer an opinion to the Enterprise Chamber on the value to be paid for the shares of the minority shareholders. Once the order to transfer by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal becomes irrevocable, the person acquiring the shares will give written notice of the date and place of payment and the price to the holders of the shares to be acquired whose addresses are known to him. Unless the addresses of all of them are known to him, he will also publish the same in a newspaper with a national circulation.

Registrar and Transfer Agent

A register of holders of the ordinary shares will be maintained by us at our offices in the Netherlands, and a branch register will be maintained in the United States by Computershare Trust Company, N.A., which will serve as branch registrar and transfer agent.

Dutch Corporate Governance Code

On admission to trading on Euronext Paris, since we will be listing our ordinary shares on a regulated market, we will be subjected to comply with the Dutch Code. The Dutch Code, as amended, became effective on January 1, 2009, and applies to all Dutch companies listed on a government-recognized stock exchange, whether in the Netherlands or elsewhere.

The code is based on a “comply or explain” principle. Accordingly, companies are required to disclose in their annual report filed in the Netherlands whether or not they are complying with the various rules of the Dutch Code that are addressed to the board of directors or, if any, the supervisory board of the company and, if they do not apply those provisions, to give the reasons for such non-application. The Code contains principles and best practice provisions for managing boards, supervisory boards, shareholders and general meetings of shareholders, financial reporting, auditors, disclosure, compliance and enforcement standards.

 

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We acknowledge the importance of good corporate governance. The board of directors agrees with the general approach and with the majority of the provisions of the Dutch Code. However, considering our interests and the interest of our stakeholders, at this stage, we do not apply a limited number of best practice provisions either because such provisions conflict with or are inconsistent with the corporate governance rules of the NYSE and U.S. securities laws that apply to us, or because such provisions do not reflect best practices of global companies listed on the NYSE.

The best practice provisions we do not apply include the following:

 

   

An executive board member may not be a member of the supervisory board (or be a non-executive board member) of more than two Dutch listed companies. Nor may an executive board member be the chairman of the supervisory board (or a board) of a listed company. Membership of the supervisory board (or non-executive board positions) of other companies within the group to which the Company belongs does not count for this purpose. The acceptance by an executive board member of membership of the supervisory board or acceptance of a position as non-executive member of the board of a listed company requires the approval of the non-executive board members. Other important positions held by an executive board member shall be notified to the board (best practice provision II.1.8).

Our board of directors will adopt a policy with respect to the number of additional board memberships that a board member will have. We will comply with applicable NYSE and SEC rules and the relevant provisions of Dutch law.

 

   

Remuneration (Principles II.2, III.7 and associated best practice provisions).

We believe that our remuneration policy will help to focus directors, officers and other employees and consultants on business performance that creates shareholder value, to encourage innovative approaches to the business of the Company and to encourage ownership of our ordinary shares by directors, officers and other employees and consultants. The remuneration policy may include, among other things, incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance units, other stock-based awards or any combination of those awards to board members that enables better identification with shareholder interests. In determining the remuneration policy, our board may deviate from the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.

The remuneration committee will prepare a remuneration policy which will subsequently be approved by the board of directors. The remuneration policy will be disclosed in accordance with applicable law. We will comply with applicable NYSE and SEC rules and will deviate from the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.

 

   

Conflicts of interest and related party transactions (Principles II.3, III.6 and associated best practice provisions).

We will have a policy on conflicts of interests and related party transactions which will be published on our website. The policy will provide that the determination of whether a conflict of interests exists will be made in accordance with Dutch law and on a case-by-case basis. We believe that it is not in the interest of the Company to provide for deemed conflicts of interests.

 

   

Independence (Principle III.2 and associated best practice provisions).

We may need to deviate from the Dutch Corporate Governance Code’s independence definition for board members either because such provisions conflict with or are inconsistent with the corporate governance rules of the NYSE and U.S. securities laws that apply to us, or because such provisions do not reflect best practices of global companies listed on the NYSE.

 

   

The chairman of the board may not also be or have been an executive board member (best practice provisions III.4.2 and III.8.1).

Mr. Evans has served as our Chairman since December 2012. Mr. Evans has also served as our interim chief executive officer from December 2011 until the appointment of Mr. Pierre Vareille in March

 

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2012. We believe the deviation from the Dutch Corporate Governance Code is justified considering the short period during which Mr. Evans acted as executive board member.

 

   

The remuneration committee may not be chaired by the chairman of the board or by a former executive member of the board, or by a non-executive board member who is a member of the management board of another listed company (best practice provision III.5.11).

We may elect to appoint Mr. Nord or Mr. Turner as chairman of the remuneration committee, both of whom served briefly as executive board members between the date of incorporation of the company on May 14, 2010 and January 4, 2011, the date on which we completed the purchase of the AEP Business. Both Mr. Nord and Mr. Turner have extensive experience on Boards of publicly listed companies, including with respect to compensation matters, and the Company may therefore decide to deviate from the Dutch Corporate Governance Code

 

   

The vice-chairman of the board shall deputize for the chairman when the occasion arises. By way of addition to best practice provision III.1.7, the vice-chairman shall act as contact for individual board members concerning the functioning of the chairman of the board (best practice provision III.4.4).

We intend to comply with certain corporate governance requirements of the NYSE in lieu of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code. Under the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, we are not required to appoint a vice-chairman. If the chairman of our board of directors is absent, the directors that are present will elect a non-executive board member to chair the meeting.

 

   

The terms of reference of the board shall contain rules on dealing with conflicts of interest and potential conflicts of interest between board members and the external auditor on the one hand and the company on the other. The terms of reference shall also stipulate which transactions require the approval of the non-executive board members. The company shall draw up regulations governing ownership of and transactions in securities by board members, other than securities issued by their “own” company (best practice provision III.6.5).

The Company believes that board members should not be further limited by internal regulations in addition to the rules and restrictions under applicable securities laws.

 

   

The majority of the members of the board of directors shall be non-executive directors and are independent within the meaning of best practice provision III.2.2 (best practice provision III.8.4).

We expect that three to four non-executive members of our board will be independent. It is our view that given the nature of our business and the practice in our industry and considering our shareholder structure, it is justified that only three to four non-executive directors will be independent. We may need to deviate from the Dutch Corporate Governance Code’s independence definition for board members either because such provisions conflict with or are inconsistent with the corporate governance rules of the NYSE and U.S. securities laws that apply to us, or because such provisions do not reflect best practices of global companies listed on the NYSE, or because such provisions do not reflect best practices of global companies listed on the NYSE. We may need to further deviate from the Dutch Corporate Governance Code’s independence definition for board members when looking for the most suitable candidates or in retaining our pre-IPO board members. For example, a current board member or future board candidate may have particular knowledge of, or experience in, the downstream aluminum rolled and extruded products and related businesses, but may not meet the definition of independence in the Dutch Corporate Governance Code. As such background is very important to the efficacy of our board of directors in managing a highly technical business, and because our industry has relatively few participants, our board may decide to nominate candidates for appointment who do not fully comply with the criteria as listed under best practice provision III.2.2 of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.

 

   

The company shall formulate an “outline policy on bilateral contacts,” as described in the Dutch Corporate Governance Code, with the shareholders and publish this policy on its website (best practice provision IV.3.13).

 

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We will not formulate an “outline policy on bilateral contacts” with the shareholders. We will comply with applicable NYSE and SEC rules and the relevant provisions of applicable law with respect to contacts with our shareholders. We believe that all contacts with our shareholders should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

 

   

Pursuant to best practice provision IV.1.1, a general meeting of shareholders is empowered to cancel binding nominations of candidates for the board, and to dismiss members of the board by a simple majority of votes of those in attendance, although the company may require a quorum of at least one-third of the voting rights outstanding. If such quorum is not represented, but a majority of those in attendance vote in favor of the proposal, a second meeting may be convened and its vote will be binding, even without a one-third quorum. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association currently provide that a general meeting of shareholders may at all times overrule a binding nomination by a resolution adopted by at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if such majority represents more than half of the issued share capital. Although this constitutes a deviation from provision IV.1.1 of the Dutch Code, we hold the view that these provisions will enhance the continuity of our management and policies.

 

   

Pursuant to best practice provision IV.3.1, we will enable the shareholders to follow in real time all meetings with analysts, investors and press conferences. We believe that enabling shareholders to follow in real time all the meetings with analysts, presentations to analysts, presentations to investors as referred to in best practice provision IV.3.1 of the Dutch Code would create an excessive burden on our resources. We will ensure that analyst presentations made after the offering are posted on our website after meetings with analysts.

Obligations of Shareholders to Make a Public Offer

The European Directive on Takeover Bids (2004/25/EC) has been implemented in Dutch legislation in the Dutch Financial Supervision Act. Pursuant to the Dutch Financial Supervision Act a shareholder who has acquired 30% of the shares in the company or the voting rights attached to the shares has the obligation to launch a public offering for all shares in the company. The legislation also applies to persons acting in concert who jointly acquire 30% of the shares in the company or the voting rights attached to the shares.

 

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Differences in Corporate Law

We are incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands. The following discussion summarizes material differences between the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and the rights of holders of the common stock of a typical corporation incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware, which result from differences in governing documents and the laws of the Netherlands and Delaware.

This discussion does not purport to be a complete statement of the rights of holders of our ordinary shares under applicable Dutch law and our Amended and Restated Articles of Association or the rights of holders of the common stock of a typical corporation under applicable Delaware law and a typical certificate of incorporation and bylaws.

 

Delaware    The Netherlands
Duties of directors

The board of directors of a Delaware corporation bears the ultimate responsibility for managing the business and affairs of a corporation. There is generally only one board of directors.

 

In discharging this function, directors of a Delaware corporation owe fiduciary duties of care and loyalty to the corporation and to its shareholders. The duty of care generally requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director act in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. In general, but subject to certain exceptions, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Delaware courts have also imposed a heightened standard of conduct upon directors of a Delaware corporation who take any action designed to defeat a threatened change in control of the corporation.

 

In addition, under Delaware law, when the board of directors of a Delaware corporation approves the sale or break-up of a corporation, the board of directors may, in certain circumstances, have a duty to obtain the highest value reasonably available to the shareholders.

  

In the Netherlands, a listed company typically has a two-tier board structure with a management board comprising the executive directors and a supervisory board comprising the non-executive directors. It is, however, also possible to have a single-tier board, comprising both executive directors and non-executive directors. We have a single-tier board.

 

Under Dutch law the board of directors is collectively responsible for the policy and day-to-day management of the company. The non-executive directors will be assigned the task of supervising the executive directors and providing them with advice. Each director has a duty towards the company to properly perform the duties assigned to him. Furthermore, each board member has a duty to act in the corporate interest of the company.

 

Unlike under Delaware law, under Dutch law the corporate interest extends to the interests of all corporate stakeholders, such as shareholders, creditors, employees, customers and suppliers. The duty to act in the corporate interest of the company also applies in the event of a proposed sale or break-up of the company, whereby the circumstances generally dictate how such duty is to be applied. Any board resolution regarding a significant change in the identity or character of the company requires shareholders’ approval. The board of directors may decide in its sole discretion, within the confines of Dutch law and our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, to incur additional indebtedness subject to any contractual restrictions pursuant to our existing financing arrangements.

 

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association do not impose any obligation on the members of the board of directors to hold shares in Constellium.

 

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Director terms
The Delaware General Corporation Law generally provides for a one-year term for directors, but permits directorships to be divided into up to three classes with up to three-year terms, with the years for each class expiring in different years, if permitted by the certificate of incorporation, an initial bylaw or a bylaw adopted by the shareholders. A director elected to serve a term on a “classified” board may not be removed by shareholders without cause. There is no limit to the number of terms a director may serve.    In contrast to Delaware law, under Dutch law a director of a listed company is generally appointed for a maximum term of four years. There is no statutory limit to the number of terms a director may serve. It is currently anticipated that our directors will serve terms of three years. A director may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the shareholders’ meeting. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association do not include any provisions regarding the mandatory retirement age of a member of the board of directors.
Director vacancies
The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that vacancies and newly created directorships may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office (even though less than a quorum) or by a sole remaining director unless (a) otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the corporation or (b) the certificate of incorporation directs that a particular class of stock is to elect such director, in which case a majority of the other directors elected by such class, or a sole remaining director elected by such class, will fill such vacancy.    Under Dutch law, new members of the board of directors of a company such as ours are appointed by the general meeting, rather than appointed by the board of directors as is typical for a Delaware corporation. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association provide that such occurs from a binding nomination by the board of directors, in which case the general meeting may override the binding nature of such nomination by a resolution of two-thirds of the votes cast, which votes also represent more than 50% of the issued share capital.
Conflict-of-interest transactions
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, transactions with directors must be approved by disinterested directors or by the shareholders, or otherwise proven to be fair to the company as of the time it is approved. Such transaction will be void or voidable, unless (1) the material facts of any interested directors’ interests are disclosed or are known to the board of directors and the transaction is approved by the affirmative votes of a majority of the disinterested directors, even though the disinterested directors constitute less than a quorum; (2) the material facts of any interested directors’ interests are disclosed or are known to the shareholders entitled to vote thereon, and the transaction is specifically approved in good faith by vote of the shareholders; or (3) the transaction is fair to the company as of the time it is approved.   

Under Dutch law, a board member with a conflicting interest must abstain from participating in the decision-making process with respect to the relevant matter. If, however, it becomes apparent that such member was indeed involved in the decision-making process, then such decision may be nullified. Only if all board members have a conflicting interest with the company, will the board nonetheless have the authority to decide on the matter.

 

Executive board members with a conflict of interest remain authorized to represent the company. However, the relevant executive board members may under certain circumstances be held personally liable for any damage suffered by the company as a consequence of the transaction.

 

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Agreements entered into with third parties contrary to the new rules on decision-making in the case of a conflict of interest, may as a rule not be annulled. Only under special circumstances will a company be able to annul an agreement or claim damages if a third party misuses a conflict of interest situation.

 

Under our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, a board member may not participate in internal discussions and decision-making on a subject or a transaction in relation to which he or she has a direct or indirect personal conflict of interest with Constellium. In case all board members have a conflict of interest, the board and all of its conflicted board members will retain decision-making authority. Whether or not a potential conflict of interest exists must initially be assessed by that board member. Each board member will immediately disclose any

(potential) conflict of interests to the chairman and the other members of the board. The board member with a possible conflict of interest must provide the chairman and the board all information relevant to assessing whether a conflict of interest exists. The non-executive board members will determine—without the potentially conflicted board member taking part in such discussions and decision—whether a disclosed (potential) conflict situation qualifies as a conflict of interest. If the non-executive board members determine that the potential conflict situation of such board member does not qualify as a conflict of interest, such board member will remain authorized to participate in the discussions and decision-making on the matter that gave rise to the potential conflict situation. If the non-executive board members determine that the potential conflict situation of a board member does qualify as a conflict of interest, such board member may not participate in the discussions and decision-making on the subject. If the conflicted board member is prevented from participating in the decision making as a result of a conflict of interest, our Amended and Restated Articles of Association provide that the conflicted board member may temporarily designate an entrusted independent individual (who does not as such have a conflict of interests) to replace him in the decision-making for the matter at hand. Executive board members with a conflict of interest remain authorized to represent the company. However, the relevant executive board members may under certain circumstances be held personally liable for any

 

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   damage suffered by the company as a consequence of the transaction.
  

 

Agreements entered into with third parties contrary to the rules on decision-making in the case of a conflict of interest, may as a rule not be annulled. Only under special circumstances will a company be able to annul an agreement or claim damages if a third party misuses a conflict of interest situation.

Proxy voting by directors
A director of a Delaware corporation may not issue a proxy representing the director’s voting rights as a director.    An absent director may issue a proxy for a specific board meeting but only in writing to another director.
Voting rights

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share of stock, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Either the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws may specify the number of shares or the amount of other securities that must be represented at a meeting in order to constitute a quorum, but in no event will a quorum

consist of less than one-third of the shares entitled to vote at a meeting, except that, where a separate vote by a class or series or classes or series is required, a quorum will consist of no less than 1/3 of the shares of such class or series or classes or series.

Shareholders as of the record date for the meeting are entitled to vote at the meeting, and the board of directors may fix a record date that is no more than 60 days nor less than 10 days before the date of the meeting, and if no record date is set then the record date is the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which

  

Under Dutch law, shares have one vote per share, provided such shares have the same nominal value. Certain exceptions may be provided in the Amended and Restated Articles of Association of a company (which is currently not the case in our Amended and Restated Articles of Association). All shareholder resolutions are taken by an absolute majority of the votes cast, unless the articles of association or Dutch law prescribe otherwise. Dutch law does not provide for cumulative voting.

 

If so resolved by the board of directors, shareholders as of the record date for a shareholders’ meeting are entitled to vote at that meeting, and the record date established by the board of directors may not be determined earlier than the 28th day before the meeting. There is no specific provision in Dutch law for adjournments.

Shareholder proposals
Delaware law does not provide shareholders an express right to put any proposal before a meeting of shareholders, but it provides that a corporation’s bylaws may provide that if the corporation solicits proxies with respect to the election of directors, it may be required to include in its proxy solicitation materials one or more individuals nominated by a shareholder. In keeping with common law, Delaware corporations generally afford shareholders an opportunity to make proposals and   

Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, extraordinary shareholders’ meetings will be held as often as the board of directors deem such necessary. Pursuant to Dutch law and our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, one or more shareholders representing at least 10% of the issued share capital may request the Dutch Courts to order that a general meeting be held.

 

 

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nominations provided that they comply with the notice provisions in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws. Additionally, if a Delaware corporation is subject to the SEC’s proxy rules, a stockholder who owns at least $2,000 in market value or 1% of the corporation’s securities entitled to vote for a continuous period of one year as of the date he submits a proposal, may propose a matter for a vote at an annual or special meeting in accordance with those rules.   

The agenda for a meeting of shareholders must contain such items as the board of directors or the person or persons convening the meeting decide. Pursuant to Dutch law in effect as at July 1, 2013, unlike under Delaware law, the agenda will also include such other items as one or more shareholders, representing at least 3% of the issued share capital may request of the board of directors in writing, at least 60 days before the date of the meeting.

 

Until July 1, 2013, shareholders representing at least 1% of the issued share capital or the equivalent of at least €50 million in aggregate market value will have the right to request the inclusion of additional items on the agenda of shareholder meetings.

Action by written consent
Unless otherwise provided in the corporation’s certificate of incorporation, any action required or permitted to be taken at any annual or special meeting of shareholders of a corporation may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if one or more consents in writing, setting forth the action to be so taken, are signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted.    Under Dutch law, shareholders’ resolutions may be adopted in writing without holding a meeting of shareholders, provided (a) the articles of association expressly so allow, (b) no bearer shares or depositary receipts are issued, (c) there are no persons entitled to the same rights as holders of depositary receipts, (d) the board of directors has been given the opportunity to give its advice on the resolution, and (e) the resolution is adopted unanimously by all shareholders that are entitled to vote. The requirement of unanimity therefore renders the adoption of shareholder resolutions without holding a meeting not feasible.
Shareholder suits
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder may bring a derivative action on behalf of the corporation to enforce the rights of the corporation. An individual also may commence a class action suit on behalf of himself and other similarly situated    Unlike under Delaware law, in the event a third party is liable to a Dutch company, only the company itself can bring a civil action against that party. Individual shareholders do not have the right to bring an action on behalf of the company. Only in the event that the
shareholders where the requirements for maintaining a class action under Delaware law have been met. A person may institute and maintain such a suit only if that person was a shareholder at the time of the transaction which is the subject of the suit. In addition, under Delaware case law, the plaintiff normally must be a shareholder not only at the time of the transaction that is the subject of the suit, but also throughout the duration of the derivative suit. Delaware law also requires that the derivative plaintiff make a demand on the directors of the corporation to assert the corporate claim before the suit may be prosecuted by the derivative plaintiff in court, unless such a demand would be futile.    cause for the liability of a third party to the company also constitutes a tortious act directly against a shareholder does that shareholder have an individual right of action against such third party in its own name. The Dutch Civil Code provides for the possibility to initiate such actions collectively. A foundation or an association whose objective is to protect the rights of a group of persons having similar interests can institute a collective action. The collective action itself cannot result in an order for payment of monetary damages but may only result in a declaratory judgment ( verklaring voor recht ). In order to obtain compensation for damages, the foundation or association and the defendant may

 

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   reach—often on the basis of such declaratory judgment—a settlement. A Dutch court may declare the settlement agreement binding upon all the injured parties with an opt-out choice for an individual injured party. An individual injured party may also itself institute a civil claim for damages.
Repurchase of shares
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may purchase or redeem its own shares unless the capital of the corporation is impaired or the purchase or redemption would cause an impairment of the capital of the corporation. A Delaware corporation may, however, purchase or redeem out of capital any of its preferred shares or, if no preferred shares are outstanding, any of its own shares if such shares will be retired upon acquisition and the capital of the corporation will be reduced in accordance with specified limitations.   

Under Dutch law, a company such as ours may not subscribe for newly issued shares in its own capital. Such company may, however, repurchase its existing and outstanding shares or depositary receipts if permitted under its articles of association. We may acquire our own shares either without paying any consideration, or, in the event any consideration must be paid, only if the following requirements are met: (a) the shareholders’ equity less the payment required to make the acquisition is not less than the sum of called and paid-up capital and any reserve required by Dutch law and our Amended and Restated

Articles of Association, (b) we and our subsidiaries would not thereafter hold or hold as a pledgee shares with an aggregate nominal value exceeding 50% of the nominal value of our issued share capital, (c) our Amended and Restated Articles of Association permit such acquisition, which currently is the case, and (d) the general meeting has authorized the board of directors to do so, which authorization has been granted for the maximum period allowed under Dutch law and our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, that period being 18 months.

Anti-takeover provisions

In addition to other aspects of Delaware law governing fiduciary duties of directors during a potential takeover, the Delaware General Corporation Law also contains a business combination statute that protects Delaware companies from hostile takeovers and from actions following the takeover by prohibiting some transactions once an acquirer has gained a significant holding in the corporation.

 

  

Several provisions of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association and the laws of the Netherlands could make it difficult for our shareholders to change the composition of our board of directors, thereby preventing them from changing the composition of our management. In addition, the same provisions may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, consolidation or acquisition that shareholders may consider favorable. Provisions of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association impose various procedural and other requirements, which could make it more difficult for shareholders to effect certain corporate actions. These anti-takeover provisions could substantially impede the ability of our shareholders to benefit from a change in control

 

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Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits “business combinations,” including mergers, sales and leases of assets, issuances of securities and similar transactions by a corporation or a subsidiary with an interested shareholder that beneficially owns 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock (or which is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and

owned 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock within the past three years), within three years after the person becomes an interested shareholder, unless:

 

•     the transaction that will cause the person to become an interested shareholder is approved by the board of directors of the target prior to the transactions;

 

•     after the completion of the transaction in which the person becomes an interested shareholder, the interested shareholder holds at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation not including shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers of interested shareholders and shares owned by specified employee benefit plans; or

 

•     after the person becomes an interested shareholder, the business combination is approved by the board of directors of the corporation and holders of at least 66.67% of the outstanding voting stock, excluding shares held by the interested shareholder.

 

A Delaware corporation may elect not to be governed by Section 203 by a provision contained in the original certificate of incorporation of the corporation or an amendment to the original certificate of incorporation or to the bylaws of the company, which amendment must

  

and, as a result, may materially adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares and your ability to realize any potential change of control premium.

 

Our general meeting of shareholders has empowered our board of directors to issue shares and restrict or exclude preemptive rights on those shares for a period of five years. Accordingly, an issue of new shares may make it more difficult for a shareholder to obtain control over our general meeting of shareholders.

Inspection of books and records
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, any shareholder may inspect for any proper purpose the corporation’s stock ledger, a list of its shareholders and its other books and records during the corporation’s usual hours of business.    The board of directors provides all information desired by the shareholders’ meeting, but not to individual shareholders, unless a significant interest of the company dictates otherwise. Our shareholders’ register is available for inspection by the shareholders, although such does not apply to the part of our shareholders’ register that is kept in the United States pursuant to U.S. listing requirements.

 

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Removal of directors
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, any director or the entire board of directors may be removed, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors, except (a) unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise, in the case of a corporation whose board is classified, shareholders may effect such removal only for cause, or (b) in the case of a corporation having cumulative voting, if less than the entire board is to be removed, no director may be removed without cause if the votes cast against his removal would be sufficient to elect him if then cumulatively voted at an election of the entire board of directors, or, if there are classes of directors, at an election of the class of directors of which he is a part.   

Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, the general meeting has the authority to suspend or remove members of the board of directors at any time by adopting either: (a) a resolution, approved by an absolute majority of the votes cast at a meeting, if such suspension or removal is made pursuant to a proposal by the board of directors or (b) a resolution, approved by two-thirds of the votes cast at a meeting representing more than half of our issued capital, if such suspension or removal is not pursuant to a proposal by the board of directors.

 

An executive director can at all times be suspended by the board of directors.

Preemptive rights
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, shareholders have no preemptive rights to subscribe to additional issues of stock or to any security convertible into such stock unless, and except to the extent that, such rights are expressly provided for in the certificate of incorporation.   

Under Dutch law, in the event of an issuance of ordinary shares, each shareholder will have a pro-rata preemptive right to the number of ordinary shares held by such shareholder (with the exception of shares to be issued to employees or shares issued against a contribution other than in cash). Pre-emptive rights in respect of newly issued ordinary

shares may be limited or excluded by the general meeting or by the board of directors if designated thereto by the general meeting or by the articles of association for a period not exceeding five years.

  

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association conform to Dutch law and authorize the general meeting or the board of directors, if so designated by a resolution of the general meeting or by amended articles of association, to limit or exclude pre-emptive rights for holders of our shares for a period not exceeding five years. In order for such a

resolution to be adopted, a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast in a meeting of shareholders is required, if less than half of the issued share capital is present or represented or a majority of the votes cast at a general meeting where more than half of the share capital is represented. The authority to limit or exclude preemptive rights relating to issues of our shares was delegated to our board of directors for a period of five years.

 

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Dividends
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a Delaware corporation may, subject to any restrictions contained in its certificate of incorporation, pay dividends out of its surplus (the excess of net assets over capital), or in case there is no surplus, out of its net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared or the preceding fiscal year (provided that the amount of the capital of the corporation is not less than the aggregate amount of the capital represented by the issued and outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets). In determining the amount of surplus of a Delaware corporation, the assets of the corporation, including stock of subsidiaries owned by the corporation, must be valued at their fair market value as determined by the board of directors, without regard to their historical book value. Dividends may be paid in the form of ordinary shares, property or cash.   

Dutch law provides that dividends may only be distributed after adoption of the annual accounts by the general meeting from which it appears that such dividend distribution is allowed. Moreover, dividends may be distributed only to the extent the shareholders’ equity exceeds the sum of the amount of issued and paid-up capital and increased by reserves that must be maintained under the law or the articles of association. Interim dividends may be declared as provided in the articles of association and may be distributed to the extent that the shareholders’ equity exceeds the amount of the issued and paid-up capital plus required legal reserves as described hereinbefore as apparent from an (interim) financial statement. Interim dividends should be regarded as advances on the final dividend to be declared with respect to the financial year in which the interim dividends have been declared. Should it be determined after adoption of the annual accounts with respect to the relevant financial year that the distribution was not permissible, the Company may reclaim the paid interim dividends as unduly paid. Under Dutch law, the articles of association may prescribe that the board of directors decide what portion of the profits are to be held as reserves. Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, our board of directors may reserve a

portion of our annual profits since an aggregate amount of approximately €147 million was paid on the preference shares. The portion of our annual profits that remains unreserved will be distributed to holders of our ordinary shares and preference shares in accordance with the provisions of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association. Our board of directors may resolve to make distributions out of our general share premium account or out of any other reserves available for distributions under Dutch law, not being a reserve that must be maintained under Dutch law or pursuant to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, subject to the approval of the shareholders’ meeting. Dividends may be paid in the form of shares as well as in cash.

 

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Shareholder vote on certain reorganizations

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote thereon generally is necessary to approve a merger or consolidation or the sale of substantially all of the assets of a corporation. The Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a provision requiring for any corporate action the vote of a larger portion of the stock or of any class or series of stock than would otherwise be required.

 

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, no vote of the shareholders of a surviving corporation to a merger is needed; however, unless required by the certificate of incorporation, if (a) the agreement of merger does not amend in any respect the certificate of incorporation of the surviving corporation, (b) the shares of stock of the surviving corporation are not changed in the merger and (c) the number of ordinary shares of the surviving corporation into which any other shares, securities or obligations to be issued in the merger may be converted does not exceed 20% of the surviving corporation’s common shares outstanding immediately prior to the effective date of the merger. In addition, shareholders may not be entitled to vote in certain mergers with other corporations that own 90% or more of the outstanding shares of each class of stock of such corporation, but the shareholders will be entitled to appraisal rights.

  

Under our amended articles of association, the general meeting may resolve, upon a proposal of the board of directors, that we conclude a legal merger ( juridische fusie ) or a demerger ( splitsing ). In addition, the general meeting must approve resolutions of the board of directors concerning an important change in the identity or character of us or our business, in any event including:

 

•   the transfer of the enterprise or a substantial part thereof to a third party;

 

•   the entering into or ending of a long-lasting co-operation of the company or a subsidiary with a third party, if this co-operation or the ending thereof is of far-reaching significance for the company; and

 

•   the acquiring or disposing of an interest in the share capital of a company with a value of at least one-third of the company’s assets according to the most recent annual accounts, by the company or a subsidiary.

 

Under Dutch law, a shareholder who owns at least 95% of the company’s issued capital may institute proceedings against the company’s other shareholders jointly for the transfer of their shares to

that shareholder. The proceedings are held before the Enterprise Chamber ( Ondernemingskamer ), which may grant the claim for squeeze out in relation to all minority shareholders and will determine the price to be paid for the shares, if necessary after appointment of one or three experts who will offer an opinion to the Enterprise Chamber on the value of the shares.

Compensation of board of directors
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, the shareholders do not generally have the right to approve the compensation policy for the board of directors or the senior management of the corporation, although certain aspects of the compensation policy may be subject to shareholder vote due to the provisions of federal securities and tax law.   

In contrast to Delaware law, under Dutch law the shareholders must adopt the compensation policy for the board of directors, which includes the outlines of the compensation of any members who serve on our board of directors.

 

Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Articles of Association, the general meeting will determine the remuneration of non-executive board members. The non-executive board members will determine the level and structure of the remuneration of the executive board members.

 

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Market Abuse

The (i) Dutch Financial Supervision Act ( Wet op het financieel toezicht ), or the FSA and (ii) Articles L.465-1 & seq . of the French monetary and financial code and the book VI of the general regulation of the French Autorité des marchés financiers , implementing the EU Market Abuse Directive 2003/6/EC and related Commission Directives 2003/124/EC, 2003/125/EC and 2004/72/EC, provides for specific rules that intend to prevent market abuse, such as the prohibitions on insider trading, divulging inside information and tipping, and market manipulation (the “EU Market Abuse Rules”). We are subject to the EU Market Abuse Rules and non-compliance with these rules may lead to criminal fines, administrative fines, imprisonment or other sanctions. The EU Market Abuse Rules on market manipulation may restrict our ability to buy back our shares. In certain circumstances, our investors can also be subject to the EU Market Abuse Rules.

Pursuant to the FSA, members of our board of directors and any other person who has (co)managerial responsibilities in respect of us or who has the authority to make decisions affecting our future developments and business prospects and who may have regular access to inside information relating, directly or indirectly, to us, must notify the AFM of all transactions with respect to the shares or in financial instruments the value of which is (co)determined by the value of the shares, conducted for its own account.

In addition, certain persons closely associated with members of our board of directors or any of the other persons as described above and designated by the FSA Decree on Market Abuse ( Besluit Marktmisbruik Wft ), or the Decree, must also notify the AFM of any transactions conducted for their own account relating to the shares or in financial instruments the value of which is (co)determined by the value of the shares. The Decree determines the following categories of persons: (i) the spouse or any partner considered by national law as equivalent to the spouse, (ii) dependent children, (iii) other relatives who have shared the same household for at least one year at the relevant transaction date and (iv) any legal person, trust or partnership whose, among other things, managerial responsibilities are discharged by a person referred to under (i), (ii) or (iii) above or by the relevant member of the board of directors or other person with any authority in respect of us as described above.

These notifications must be made no later than on the fifth business day following the transaction date and by means of a standard form. The notification may be postponed until the moment that the value of the transactions performed for that person’s own account, together with the transactions carried out by the persons closely associated with that person, reaches or exceeds an amount of €5,000 in the calendar year in question.

The AFM keeps a public register of all notifications under the FSA. Third parties can request to be notified automatically by e-mail of changes to the public register. Pursuant to the FSA, we will maintain a list of our insiders and adopt an internal code of conduct relating to the possession of and transactions by members of our board of directors and employees in the shares or in financial instruments the value that is (co)determined by the value of the shares, which will be available on our website.

Obligations of Shareholders and Members of the Board to Disclose Holdings and other Notification Requirements

Shareholders may be subject to notification obligations under the Dutch Financial Supervision Act. The Dutch Financial Supervision Act came into force on January 1, 2007 and implements several provisions of Directive 2004/109/EC on the harmonization of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market. The following description summarizes those obligations. Pursuant to chapter 5.3 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act, any person who, directly or indirectly, acquires or disposes of an actual or potential capital interest and/or voting rights in the Company must immediately give written notice to the AFM of such acquisition or disposal by means of a standard form if, as a result of such acquisition or disposal, the percentage of capital interest and/or voting rights held by such person reaches, exceeds or falls below the following thresholds: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75% and 95%. The Dutch Senate passed a bill that would add a 3% threshold as well, which will likely take effect as of July 2013.

 

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For the purpose of calculating the percentage of capital interest or voting rights, the following interests must, inter alia , be taken into account: (i) shares and/or voting rights directly held (or acquired or disposed of) by any person, (ii) shares and/or voting rights held (or acquired or disposed of) by such person’s controlled entities or by a third party for such person’s account, (iii) voting rights held (or acquired or disposed of) by a third party with whom such person has concluded an oral or written voting agreement, (iv) voting rights acquired pursuant to an agreement providing for a temporary transfer of voting rights in consideration for a payment, and (v) shares and/or voting rights which such person, or any controlled entity or third party referred to above, may acquire pursuant to any option or other right to acquire shares and/or the attached voting rights.

Controlled entities (within the meaning of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act) do not themselves have notification obligations under the Dutch Financial Supervision Act as their direct and indirect interests are attributed to their (ultimate) parent. If a person who has a 5% or larger interest in the Company’s share capital or voting rights ceases to be a controlled entity it must immediately notify the AFM and all notification obligations under the Dutch Financial Supervision Act will become applicable to such former controlled entity.

Special rules apply to the attribution of shares and/or voting rights which are part of the property of a partnership or other form of joint ownership. A holder of a pledge or right of usufruct in respect of shares can also be subject to notification obligations, if such person has, or can acquire, the right to vote on the shares. The acquisition of (conditional) voting rights by a pledgee or beneficial owner may also trigger notification obligations as if the pledgee or beneficial owner were the legal holder of the shares and/or voting rights. Under the Dutch Financial Supervision Act, we are required to file a report with the AFM promptly after the date of listing our ordinary shares setting out our issued and outstanding share capital and voting rights. Thereafter, we are required to notify the AFM promptly of any change of 1% or more in our issued and outstanding share capital or voting rights since the previous notification. The AFM must be notified of other changes in our issued and outstanding share capital or voting rights within eight days after the end of the quarter in which the change occurred. The AFM will publish all our notifications of its issued and outstanding share capital and voting rights in a public register. If a person’s capital interest and/or voting rights reach, exceed or fall below the above-mentioned thresholds as a result of a change in our issued and outstanding share capital or voting rights, such person is required to make a notification not later than on the fourth trading day after the AFM has published our notification as described above.

Each person whose holding of capital interest or voting rights amounts to 5% or more of the Company’s issued and outstanding share capital at the date of listing our ordinary shares must notify the AFM of such holding without delay.

Furthermore, each member of the board must notify the AFM (a) immediately after the listing of the number of shares he/she holds and the number of votes he/she is entitled to cast in respect of the Company’s issued and outstanding share capital, and (b) subsequently of each change in the number of shares he/she holds and of each change in the number of votes he/she is entitled to cast in respect of the Company’s issued and outstanding share capital, immediately after the relevant change.

The AFM keeps a public register of all notifications made pursuant to these disclosure obligations and publishes any notification received.

 

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Non-compliance with these disclosure obligations is an economic offense and may lead to criminal prosecution. The AFM may impose administrative penalties for non-compliance, and the publication thereof. In addition, a civil court can impose measures against any person who fails to notify or incorrectly notifies the AFM of matters required to be notified. A claim requiring that such measures be imposed may be instituted by the Company, and/or by one or more shareholders who alone or together with others represent at least 5% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Company or are able to exercise at least 5% of the voting rights. The measures that the civil court may impose include:

 

   

an order requiring the person with a duty to disclose to make the appropriate disclosure;

 

   

suspension of the right to exercise the voting rights by the person with a duty to disclose for a period of up to three years as determined by the court;

 

   

voiding a resolution adopted by the general meeting of shareholders, if the court determines that the resolution would not have been adopted but for the exercise of the voting rights of the person with a duty to disclose, or suspension of a resolution adopted by the general meeting of shareholders until the court makes a decision about such voiding; and

 

   

an order to the person with a duty to disclose to refrain, during a period of up to five years as determined by the court, from acquiring shares and/or voting rights in the Company.

Shareholders are advised to consult with their own legal advisers to determine whether the disclosure obligations apply to them.

Transparency Directive

On admission of our ordinary shares to listing on Euronext Paris, the Company will be a public limited liability company ( naamloze vennootschap ) incorporated and existing under the laws of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is the home member state of the Company for the purposes of Directive 2004/109/EC (the “Transparency Directive”) as a consequence of which the Company will be subject to the Dutch Financial Supervision Act in respect of certain ongoing transparency and disclosure obligations upon admission to listing and trading of our ordinary shares on Euronext Paris.

Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act

The Dutch Financial Reporting Supervision Act ( Wet toezicht financiële verslaggeving ) (the “FRSA”) applies to financial years starting from January 1, 2006. On the basis of the FRSA, the AFM supervises the application of financial reporting standards by, among others, companies whose corporate seat is in the Netherlands and whose securities are listed on a regulated Dutch or foreign stock exchange.

Pursuant to the FRSA, the AFM has an independent right to (i) request an explanation from us regarding our application of the applicable financial reporting standards if, based on publicly known facts or circumstances, it has reason to doubt our financial reporting meets such standards and (ii) recommend to us the making available of further explanations. If we do not comply with such a request or recommendation, the AFM may request that the Enterprise Chamber order us to (i) provide an explanation of the way we have applied the applicable financial reporting standards to our financial reports or (ii) prepare our financial reports in accordance with the Enterprise Chamber’s instructions.

 

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ORDINARY SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our ordinary shares, and we cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of ordinary shares or the availability of ordinary shares for sale will have on the market price of our ordinary shares prevailing from time to time. Nevertheless, sales of substantial amounts of ordinary shares, including shares issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could materially and adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares and could impair our future ability to raise capital through the sale of our equity or equity-related securities at a time and price that we deem appropriate.

Upon completion of this offering, we will have a total of 99,589,338 Class A ordinary shares and 964,189 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding ordinary shares. The ordinary shares sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except that any ordinary shares purchased by our “affiliates” (as defined under Rule 144) may only be sold in compliance with the limitations described below. The remaining outstanding ordinary shares will also be deemed restricted securities, as defined under Rule 144. Restricted securities may be sold in the public market only if registered or if they qualify for an exemption from registration under Rule 144 or Regulation S.

Rule 144

The availability of Rule 144 will vary depending on whether restricted shares are held by an affiliate or a non-affiliate. Under Rule 144 as in effect on the date of this prospectus an affiliate who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares for at least six months would be entitled to sell within any three-month period a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of either of the following:

 

   

1% of the number of ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal ordinary shares immediately after this offering; and

 

   

the average weekly trading volume of our ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.

Any sales by affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and the availability of current public information about us.

The volume limitation, manner of sale and notice provisions described above will not apply to sales by non-affiliates. For purposes of Rule 144, a non-affiliate is any person or entity who is not our affiliate at the time of sale and has not been our affiliate during the preceding three-months. A non-affiliate who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares for six months may rely on Rule 144 provided that certain public information regarding us is available. A non-affiliate who has beneficially owned the restricted shares proposed to be sold for at least one year will not be subject to any restrictions under Rule 144.

Regulation S

Regulation S under the Securities Act provides that offers or sales, and reoffers or resales, of securities may occur without registration under Section 5 of the Securities Act, provided that the offer or sale is effected in an offshore transaction and no directed selling efforts are made in the U.S. (as these terms are defined in Regulation S), subject to certain other conditions. In general, this means that our shares may be sold in some other manner outside the U.S. without requiring registration in the U.S.

Equity Incentive Plan

Following the completion of this offering, we intend to file a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act with the SEC to register 5,292,291 of our ordinary shares reserved for issuance under our

 

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Constellium 2013 Equity Plan. Subject to the expiration of any lock-up or other restrictions as described above and following the completion of any vesting periods, our ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options or settlement of restricted stock units to be granted under the Constellium 2013 Equity Plan will be freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, unless such shares are held by any of our affiliates.

Registration Rights

Our Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement with Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto and FSI will provide for certain registration rights. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement.”

Selling Shareholder Private Sale

Under the Agreement between Apollo Funds, Rio Tinto and FSI for the selling shareholder private sale, following the closing of such sale, FSI will be restricted from buying additional shares in the company for one year following the closing of this offering, unless this restriction is waived by both Apollo Funds and Rio Tinto or certain specified events occur. See “Summary—Recent Developments—Selling Shareholder Private Sale.”

 

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MATERIAL TAX CONSEQUENCES

The following discussion contains a description of certain U.S. federal income tax and Dutch tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our ordinary shares, but it does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all the tax considerations that may be relevant to a decision to purchase ordinary shares. The discussion is based upon the federal income tax laws of the U.S. and regulations thereunder and the tax laws of the Netherlands and regulations thereunder as of the date hereof, which are subject to change and possibly with retroactive effect.

Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following discussion describes the material U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to acquiring, owning and disposing of our ordinary shares by a U.S. Holder (as defined below) that will acquire our ordinary shares in the offering and will hold the ordinary shares as “capital assets” (generally, property held for investment) under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion is based upon existing U.S. federal income tax law, including the Code, U.S. Treasury regulations thereunder, rulings and court decisions, all of which are subject to differing interpretations or change, possibly with retroactive effect. No ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has been sought with respect to any U.S. federal income tax consequences described below, and there can be no assurance that the IRS or a court will not take a contrary position.

This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances, including investors subject to special tax rules (for example, financial institutions, insurance companies, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, broker-dealers, traders in securities that elect mark-to-market treatment, partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes and their partners and investors, tax-exempt organizations (including private foundations), investors who are not U.S. Holders, U.S. Holders who own (directly, indirectly or constructively) 10% or more of our stock (by vote or value), U.S. Holders that acquire their ordinary shares pursuant to any employee share option or otherwise as compensation, U.S. Holders that will hold their ordinary shares as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion, wash sale, constructive sale or other integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes or U.S. Holders that have a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar, all of whom may be subject to tax rules that differ significantly from those summarized below). In addition, this discussion does not discuss any U.S. federal estate, gift or alternative minimum tax consequences, any tax consequences of the Medicare tax on certain investment income pursuant to the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or any non-U.S. tax consequences. Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. income and other tax considerations of an investment in our ordinary shares.

If you are considering acquiring, owning or disposing of our ordinary shares, you should consult your own tax advisors concerning the U.S. federal income tax consequences to you in light of your particular situation as well as any consequences arising under the laws of any other jurisdiction.

General

For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of our ordinary shares that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (i) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created in, or organized under the law of, the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust (A) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and which has one or more U.S. persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) that has otherwise validly elected to be treated as a U.S. person under the Code.

 

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If a partnership (or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of our ordinary shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. Partnerships holding our ordinary shares, and partners in such partnerships, are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding an investment in our ordinary shares.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Consequences

We believe that we will not be a “passive foreign investment company” for U.S. federal income tax purposes (“PFIC”) for the current taxable year and that we have not been a PFIC for prior taxable years and we expect that we will not become a PFIC in the foreseeable future, although there can be no assurance in this regard. A foreign corporation will be a PFIC in any taxable year in which, after taking into account the income and assets of the corporation and certain subsidiaries pursuant to applicable “look-through rules,” either (i) at least 75% of its gross income is “passive income,” or (ii) at least 50% of its assets produce or are held for the production of “passive income.” For this purpose, “passive income” generally includes dividends, interest, royalties and rents and certain other categories of income, subject to certain exceptions. The determination of whether we are a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination that includes ascertaining the fair market value (or, in certain circumstances, tax basis) of all of our assets on a quarterly basis and the character of each item of income we earn. This determination is made annually and cannot be completed until the close of a taxable year. It depends upon the portion of our assets (including goodwill) and income characterized as passive under the PFIC rules, as described above. Accordingly, it is possible that we may become a PFIC due to changes in our income or asset composition or a decline in the market value of our equity. Because PFIC status is a fact-intensive determination, no assurance can be given that we are not, have not been, or will not become, classified as a PFIC.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year, U.S. Holders generally will be subject to special tax rules that could result in materially adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences. In such event, a U.S. Holder may be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the highest applicable ordinary income tax rates on (i) any “excess distribution” that we make to the U.S. Holder (which generally means any distribution paid during a taxable year to a U.S. Holder that is greater than 125% of the average annual distributions paid in the three preceding taxable years or, if shorter, the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares), or (ii) any gain realized on the disposition of our ordinary shares. In addition, a U.S. Holder may be subject to an interest charge on such “excess distribution” or gain. Furthermore, the favorable dividend tax rates that may apply to certain U.S. Holders on our dividends will not apply if we are a PFIC during the taxable year in which such dividend was paid, or the preceding taxable year.

As an alternative to the foregoing rules, a U.S. Holder may make a mark-to-market election with respect to our ordinary shares, provided that the listing of the ordinary shares on the NYSE is approved and that the ordinary shares are regularly traded. Although no assurances may be given, we expect that our ordinary shares should qualify as being regularly traded. If a U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election, the U.S. Holder will generally (i) include as ordinary income for each taxable year that we are a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of our ordinary shares held at the end of the taxable year over the adjusted tax basis of such ordinary shares and (ii) deduct as an ordinary loss the excess, if any, of the adjusted tax basis of the ordinary shares over the fair market value of such ordinary shares held at the end of the taxable year, but only to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. The U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares would be adjusted to reflect any income or loss resulting from the mark-to-market election. Gain on the sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares would be treated as ordinary income, and loss on the sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares would be treated as an ordinary loss, but only to the extent of the amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election in respect of a corporation classified as a PFIC and such corporation ceases to be classified as a PFIC, the holder will not be required to take into account the gain or loss described above during any period that such corporation is not classified as a PFIC. Because a mark-to-market election cannot be made for any lower-tier PFICs that we may own, a U.S. Holder may continue to be subject to the PFIC rules with respect to such U.S. Holder’s indirect interest in any investment held by us that is treated as an equity interest in a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

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Subject to certain limitations, a U.S. Holder may make a “qualified electing fund” election (“QEF election”), which serves as a further alternative to the foregoing rules, with respect to its investment in a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder owns shares (directly or indirectly) of the PFIC. In order for a U.S. Holder to be able to make a QEF election, we must provide such U.S. Holders with certain information. Because we do not intend to provide U.S. Holders with the information needed to make such an election, prospective investors should assume that the QEF election will not be available.

Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult its tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax consequences of acquiring, owning or disposing of our ordinary shares if we are or become classified as a PFIC, including the possibility of making a mark-to-market election.

The remainder of the discussion below assumes that we are not a PFIC, have not been a PFIC and will not become a PFIC in the future.

Distributions

The gross amount of distributions with respect to our ordinary shares (including the amount of any non-U.S. withholding taxes) will be taxable as dividends, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Such distributions will be includable in a U.S. Holder’s gross income as ordinary dividend income on the day actually or constructively received by the U.S. Holder. Such dividends will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations under the Code.

To the extent that the amount of the distribution exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits for a taxable year, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, the distribution will be treated first as a tax-free return of a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in our ordinary shares, and to the extent the amount of the distribution exceeds the U.S. Holder’s tax basis, the excess will be taxed as capital gain recognized on a sale or exchange. Because we do not expect to determine our earnings and profits in accordance with U.S. federal income tax principles, U.S. Holders should expect that a distribution will generally be reported as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes, even if that distribution would otherwise be treated as a tax-free return of capital or as capital gain under the rules described above.

With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, certain dividends received from a qualified foreign corporation may be subject to reduced rates of U.S. federal income taxation. A non-U.S. corporation is treated as a qualified foreign corporation with respect to dividends paid by that corporation on shares that are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Although we expect our ordinary shares, which we intend to list on the NYSE, will be considered to be readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States as a result of such listing, there can be no assurance that our ordinary shares will continue to be considered readily tradable on an established securities market. Non-corporate U.S. Holders that do not meet a minimum holding period requirement during which they are not protected from the risk of loss, or that elect to treat the dividend income as “investment income” pursuant to Section 163(d)(4) of the Code, will not be eligible for the reduced rates of taxation regardless of our status as a qualified foreign corporation. In addition, even if the minimum holding period requirement has been met, the rate reduction will not apply to dividends if the recipient of a dividend is obligated to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property. You should consult your own tax advisors regarding the application of these rules given your particular circumstances.

In the event that a U.S. Holder is subject to non-U.S. withholding taxes on dividends paid to such U.S. Holder with respect to our ordinary shares, such U.S. Holder may be eligible, subject to certain conditions and limitations, to claim a foreign tax credit for such non-U.S. withholding taxes against the U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability or otherwise deduct such non-U.S. withholding taxes in computing such U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability. Dividends paid to a U.S. Holder with respect to our ordinary shares are

 

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expected to constitute “foreign source income” and to be treated as “passive category income” or, in the case of some U.S. Holders, “general category income,” for purposes of the foreign tax credit. The rules governing the foreign tax credit and ability to deduct such non-U.S. withholding taxes are complex and involve the application of rules that depend upon your particular circumstances. You are urged to consult your own tax advisors regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit or deduction under your particular circumstances.

Sale, Exchange or Other Disposition

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize taxable gain or loss on any sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of our ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized for our ordinary shares and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in such ordinary shares. Such gain or loss will generally be capital gain or loss. Capital gains of individuals derived with respect to capital assets held for more than one year generally are eligible for reduced rates of U.S. federal income taxation. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations. Any gain or loss recognized by a U.S. Holder will generally be treated as U.S. source gain or loss. You are urged to consult your tax advisors regarding the tax consequences if a non-U.S. tax is imposed on a sale, exchange or other disposition of our ordinary shares, including the availability of the foreign tax credit or deduction under your particular circumstances.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Pursuant to recently enacted legislation, a U.S. Holder with interests in “specified foreign financial assets” (including, among other assets, our ordinary shares, unless such shares were held on such U.S. Holder’s behalf through a financial institution) may be required to file an information report with the IRS if the aggregate value of all such assets exceeds $50,000 on the last day of the taxable year or $75,000 at any time during the taxable year (or such higher dollar amount as may be prescribed by applicable IRS guidance). A U.S. Holder may be required to file additional information reports with the IRS in connection with certain transfers of cash to us pursuant to the offering. You should consult your own tax advisor as to the possible obligation to file such information reports in light of your particular circumstances.

Moreover, information reporting generally will apply to dividends in respect of our ordinary shares and the proceeds from the sale, exchange or other disposition of our ordinary shares that are paid to a U.S. Holder within the United States (and in certain cases, outside the United States), unless the U.S. Holder is an exempt recipient. Backup withholding (currently at a rate of 28%) may also apply to such payments if the U.S. Holder fails to provide an appropriate certification with such U.S. Holder’s taxpayer identification number or certification of exempt status. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules generally will be allowed as a refund or a credit against a U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS. You should consult your tax advisors regarding the application of the U.S. information reporting and backup withholding rules to your particular circumstances.

Material Dutch Tax Consequences

General

The information set out below is a summary of certain material Dutch tax consequences in connection with the acquisition, ownership and transfer of our ordinary shares that will be acquired in the offering. The summary does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all the Dutch tax considerations that may be relevant to a particular holder of our ordinary shares. Such holders may be subject to special tax treatment under any applicable law and this summary is not intended to be applicable in respect of all categories of holders of our shares.

This summary is based on the tax laws of the Netherlands as in effect on the date of this prospectus, as well as regulations, rulings and decisions of the Netherlands or of its taxing and other authorities available on or before such date and now in effect, and as applied and interpreted by Netherlands courts, without prejudice to

 

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any amendments introduced at a later date and implemented with or without retroactive effect. All of the foregoing is subject to change, which change could apply retroactively and could affect the continued validity of this summary.

Because it is a general summary, prospective holders of our ordinary shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the Dutch or other tax consequences of the acquisition, holding and transfer of the ordinary shares including, in particular, the application to their particular situations of the tax considerations discussed below, as well as the application foreign or other tax laws.

This summary does not describe any tax consequences arising under the laws of any taxing jurisdiction other than the Netherlands in connection with the acquisition, ownership and transfer of our ordinary shares. The Netherlands means the part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in Europe.

Any reference hereafter made to a treaty for the avoidance of double taxation concluded by the Netherlands, includes the Tax Arrangement for the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( Belastingregeling voor het Koninkrijk) and the Tax Arrangement for the country of the Netherlands ( Belastingregeling voor het land Nederland ).

Dividend Withholding Tax

Dividends paid on our ordinary shares to a holder of ordinary shares are generally subject to withholding tax of 15% imposed by the Netherlands. Generally, the dividend withholding tax will not be borne by us, but we will withhold from the gross dividends paid on our ordinary shares. The term “dividends” for this purpose includes, but is not limited to:

 

   

distributions in cash or in kind, deemed and constructive distributions and repayments of paid-in capital not recognized for Dutch dividend withholding tax purposes;

 

   

liquidation proceeds, proceeds of redemption of shares or, generally, consideration for the repurchase of shares in excess of the average paid-in capital recognized for Dutch dividend withholding tax purposes;

 

   

the nominal value of shares issued to a shareholder or an increase of the nominal value of shares, as the case may be, to the extent that it does not appear that a contribution to the capital recognized for Dutch dividend withholding tax purposes was made or will be made; and

 

   

partial repayment of paid-in capital, recognized for Dutch dividend withholding tax purposes, if and to the extent that there are net profits ( zuivere winst ), within the meaning of the Dutch Dividend Withholding Tax Act 1965 ( Wet op de dividendbelasting 1965 ), unless the general meeting of shareholders has resolved in advance to make such a repayment and provided that the nominal value of the shares concerned has been reduced by a corresponding amount by way of an amendment of our Amended and Restated Articles of Association.

A holder of our ordinary shares who is, or who is deemed to be, a resident of the Netherlands can generally credit the withholding tax against his Dutch income tax or Dutch corporate income tax liability and is generally entitled to a refund of dividend withholding taxes exceeding his aggregate Dutch income tax or Dutch corporate income tax liability, provided certain conditions are met, unless such holder of our ordinary shares is not considered to be the beneficial owner of the dividends.

A holder of our ordinary shares who is the recipient of dividends (the “Recipient”) will not be considered the beneficial owner of the dividends for this purpose if:

 

   

as a consequence of a combination of transactions, a person other than the Recipient wholly or partly benefits from the dividends;

 

   

whereby such other person retains, directly or indirectly, an interest similar to that in the ordinary shares on which the dividends were paid; and

 

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that other person is entitled to a credit, reduction or refund of dividend withholding tax that is less than that of the Recipient (“Dividend Stripping”).

With respect to a holder of our ordinary shares, who is not and is not deemed to be a resident of the Netherlands for purposes of Dutch taxation and who is considered to be a resident of a country other than the Netherlands under the provisions of a double taxation convention the Netherlands has concluded with such country, the following may apply. Such holder of our ordinary shares may, depending on the terms of and subject to compliance with the procedures for claiming benefits under such double taxation convention, be eligible for a full or partial exemption from or a reduction or refund of Dutch dividend withholding tax.

In addition, an exemption from Dutch dividend withholding tax will generally apply to dividends distributed to certain qualifying entities, provided that the following tests are satisfied:

 

  (i) the entity is a resident of another EU member state or of a designated state that is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (currently Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein), according to the tax laws of such state;

 

  (ii) the entity at the time of the distribution has an interest in us to which the participation exemption as meant in article 13 of the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act 1969 or to which the participation credit as meant in article 13aa of the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act 1969 ( Wet op de vennootschapsbelasting 1969 ) would have been applicable, had such entity been a tax resident of the Netherlands;

 

  (iii) the entity does not perform a similar function as an exempt investment institution ( vrijgestelde beleggingsinstelling ) or fiscal investment institution ( fiscale beleggingsinstelling ), as defined in the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act 1969; and

 

  (iv) the entity is, in its state of residence, not considered to be resident outside the EU member states or the designated states that are party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area under the terms of a double taxation convention concluded with a third state.

The exemption from Dutch dividend withholding tax is not available if pursuant to a provision for the prevention of fraud or abuse included in a double taxation treaty between the Netherlands and the country of residence of the non-resident holder of our ordinary shares, such holder would not be entitled to the reduction of tax on dividends provided for by such treaty. Furthermore, the exemption from Dutch dividend withholding tax will only be available to the beneficial owner of the dividend.

Furthermore, certain entities that are resident in another EU member state or in a designated state that is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (currently Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) and that are not subject to taxation levied by reference to profits in their state of residence, may be entitled to a refund of Dutch dividend withholding tax, provided:

 

  (i) such entity, had it been a resident in the Netherlands, would not be subject to corporate income tax in the Netherlands;

 

  (ii) such entity can be considered to be the beneficial owner of the dividends;

 

  (iii) such entity does not perform a similar function to that of a fiscal investment institution ( fiscale beleggingsinstelling ) or an exempt investment institution ( vrijgestelde beleggingsinstelling ) as defined in the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act 1969; and

 

  (iv) certain administrative conditions are met.

Dividend distributions to a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares (with an interest of less than 10% of the voting rights in us) are subject to 15% dividend withholding tax, which is equal to the rate such U.S. holder may be entitled to under the Convention Between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, executed

 

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in Washington on December 18, 1992, as amended from time to time (the “Netherlands-U.S. Convention”). As such, there is no need to claim a refund of the excess of the amount withheld over the tax treaty rate.

On the basis of article 35 of the Netherlands-U.S. Convention, qualifying U.S. pension trusts are under certain conditions entitled to a full exemption from Dutch dividend withholding tax. Such qualifying exempt U.S. pension trusts must provide us form IB 96 USA, along with a valid certificate, for the application of relief at source from dividend withholding tax. If we receive the required documentation prior to the relevant dividend payment date, then we may apply such relief at source. If a qualifying exempt U.S. pension trust fails to satisfy these requirements prior to the payment of a dividend, then such qualifying exempt pension trust may claim a refund of Dutch withholding tax by filing form IB 96 USA with the Dutch tax authorities. On the basis of article 36 of the Netherlands-U.S. Convention, qualifying exempt U.S. organizations are under certain conditions entitled to a full exemption from Dutch dividend withholding tax. Such qualifying exempt U.S. organizations are not entitled to claim relief at source, and instead must claim a refund of Dutch withholding tax by filing form IB 95 USA with the Dutch tax authorities.

The concept of Dividend Stripping, described above, may also be applied to determine whether a holder of our ordinary shares may be eligible for a full or partial exemption from, reduction or refund of Dutch dividend withholding tax, as described in the preceding paragraphs.

In general, we will be required to remit all amounts withheld as Dutch dividend withholding tax to the Dutch tax authorities. However, in connection with distributions received by us from our foreign subsidiaries, we are allowed, subject to certain conditions, to reduce the amount to be remitted to Dutch tax authorities by the lesser of:

 

  (i) 3% of the portion of the distribution paid by us that is subject to Dutch dividend withholding tax; and

 

  (ii) 3% of the dividends and profit distributions, before deduction of non-Dutch withholding taxes, received by us from qualifying foreign subsidiaries in the current calendar year (up to the date of the distribution by us) and the two preceding calendar years, insofar as such dividends and profit distributions have not yet been taken into account for purposes of establishing the above-mentioned deductions.

For purposes of determining the 3% threshold under (i) above, a distribution by us is not taken into account in case the Dutch dividend withholding tax withheld in respect thereof may be fully refunded, unless the recipient of such distribution is a qualifying entity that is not subject to corporate income tax.

Although this reduction reduces the amount of Dutch dividend withholding tax that we are required to pay to Dutch tax authorities, it does not reduce the amount of tax that we are required to withhold from dividends.

Tax on Income and Capital Gains

General

The description of taxation set out in this section of this prospectus is not intended for any holder of our ordinary shares, who:

 

  (i) is an individual and for whom the income or capital gains derived from the ordinary shares are attributable to employment activities the income from which is taxable in the Netherlands;

 

  (ii) is an entity that is a resident or deemed to be a resident of the Netherlands and that is, in whole or in part, not subject to or exempt from Netherlands corporate income tax;

 

  (iii) is an entity that has an interest in us to which the participation exemption ( deelnemingsvrijstelling ) or the participation credit ( deelnemingsverrekening ) is applicable as set out in the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act 1969;

 

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  (iv) is a fiscal investment institution ( fiscale beleggingsinstelling ) or an exempt investment institution ( vrijgestelde beleggingsinstelling ) as defined in the Netherlands Corporate Income Tax Act 1969; or

 

  (v) has a substantial interest ( aanmerkelijk belang ) or a deemed substantial interest as defined in the Netherlands Income Tax Act 2001 ( Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001 ) in us.

Generally a holder of our ordinary shares will have a substantial interest in us in the meaning of paragraph (v) above if he holds, alone or together with his partner (statutorily defined term), whether directly or indirectly, the ownership of, or certain other rights over shares representing 5% or more of our total issued and outstanding capital (or the issued and outstanding capital of any class of our shares), or rights to acquire shares, whether or not already issued, which represent at any time 5% or more of our total issued and outstanding capital (or the issued and outstanding capital of any class of our shares) or the ownership of certain profit participating certificates that relate to 5% or more of the annual profit and/or to 5% or more of the liquidation proceeds of us. A holder of our ordinary shares will also have a substantial interest in us if one of certain relatives of that holder or of his partner (a statutory defined term) has a substantial interest in us.

If a holder of our ordinary shares does not have a substantial interest, a deemed substantial interest will be present if (part of) a substantial interest has been disposed of, or is deemed to have been disposed of, without recognizing taxable gain.

Residents of the Netherlands

Individuals

An individual who is resident or deemed to be resident in the Netherlands, or who opts to be taxed as a resident of the Netherlands for purposes of Dutch taxation (a “Dutch Resident Individual”) will be subject to Netherlands income tax on income and/or capital gains derived from our ordinary shares at the progressive rate (up to 52%; rate for 2013) if:

 

  (i) the holder derives profits from an enterprise or deemed enterprise, whether as an entrepreneur ( ondernemer ) or pursuant to a co-entitlement to the net worth of such enterprise (other than as an entrepreneur or a shareholder), to which enterprise the ordinary shares are attributable; or

 

  (ii) the holder derives income or capital gains from the ordinary shares that are taxable as benefits from “miscellaneous activities” ( resultaat uit overige werkzaamheden , as defined in the Netherlands Income Tax Act 2001), which include the performance of activities with respect to the ordinary shares that exceed regular, active portfolio management ( normaal, actief vermogensbeheer ).

If conditions (i) and (ii) above do not apply, any holder of our ordinary shares who is a Dutch Resident Individual will be subject to Netherlands income tax on a deemed return regardless of the actual income and/or capital gains derived from our ordinary shares. This deemed return has been fixed at a rate of 4% of the individual’s yield basis ( rendementsgrondslag ) insofar as this exceeds a certain threshold ( heffingvrij vermogen ). The individual’s yield basis is determined as the fair market value of certain qualifying assets (including, as the case may be, the ordinary shares) held by the Dutch Resident Individual less the fair market value of certain qualifying liabilities, both determined on January 1 of the relevant year. The deemed return of 4% will be taxed at a rate of 30% (rate for 2013).

Entities

An entity that is resident or deemed to be resident in the Netherlands (a “Dutch Resident Entity”) will generally be subject to Netherlands corporate income tax with respect to income and capital gains derived from the ordinary shares. The Netherlands corporate income tax rate is 20% for the first € 200,000 of the taxable amount, and 25% for the excess of the taxable amount over € 200,000 (rates applicable for 2013).

 

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Non-Residents of the Netherlands

A person who is neither a Dutch Resident Individual nor Dutch Resident Entity (a “Non-Dutch Resident”) and who holds our ordinary shares is generally not subject to Netherlands income tax or corporate income tax (other than dividend withholding tax described above) on the income and capital gains derived from the ordinary shares, provided that:

 

  (i) such Non-Dutch Resident does not derive profits from an enterprise or deemed enterprise, whether as an entrepreneur ( ondernemer ) or pursuant to a co-entitlement to the net worth of such enterprise (other than as an entrepreneur or a shareholder) which enterprise is, in whole or in part, carried on through a permanent establishment or a permanent representative in the Netherlands and to which enterprise or part of an enterprise, as the case may be, the ordinary shares are attributable or deemed attributable;

 

  (ii) in the case of a Non-Dutch Resident who is an individual, such individual does not derive income or capital gains from the Shares that are taxable as benefits from “miscellaneous activities” ( resultaat uit overige werkzaamheden , as defined in the Netherlands Income Tax Act 2001) performed or deemed to be performed in the Netherlands, which include the performance of activities with respect to the ordinary shares that exceed regular, active portfolio management ( normaal, actief vermogensbeheer ); and

 

  (iii) such Non-Dutch Resident is neither entitled to a share in the profits of an enterprise nor co-entitled to the net worth of such enterprise effectively managed in the Netherlands, other than by way of the holding of securities or, in the case of an individual, through an employment contract, to which enterprise the ordinary shares or payments in respect of the ordinary shares are attributable.

A Non-Dutch Resident that nevertheless falls under any of the paragraphs (i) through (iii) mentioned above, may be subject to Netherlands income tax or corporate income tax on income and capital gains derived from our ordinary shares. In case such holder of our ordinary shares is considered to be a resident of a country other than the Netherlands under the provisions of a double taxation convention the Netherlands has concluded with such country, the following may apply. Such holder of ordinary shares may, depending on the terms of and subject to compliance with the procedures for claiming benefits under such double taxation convention, be eligible for a full or partial exemption from Netherlands taxes (if any) on (deemed) income or capital gains in respect of the ordinary shares, provided such holder is entitled to the benefits of such double taxation convention.

Gift or Inheritance Tax

No Netherlands gift or inheritance taxes will be levied on the transfer of our ordinary shares by way of gift by or on the death of a holder of our ordinary shares, who is neither a resident nor deemed to be a resident of the Netherlands for the purpose of the relevant provisions, unless:

 

  (i) the transfer is construed as an inheritance or bequest or as a gift made by or on behalf of a person who, at the time of the gift or death, is or is deemed to be a resident of the Netherlands for the purpose of the relevant provisions; or

 

  (ii) such holder dies while being a resident or deemed resident of the Netherlands within 180 days after the date of a gift of the ordinary shares.

For purposes of Netherlands gift and inheritance tax, an individual who is of Dutch nationality will be deemed to be a resident of the Netherlands if he has been a resident in the Netherlands at any time during the ten years preceding the date of the gift or his death.

For purposes of Netherlands gift tax, an individual will, irrespective of his nationality, be deemed to be resident of the Netherlands if he has been a resident in the Netherlands at any time during the 12-months preceding the date of the gift.

 

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Value Added Tax

No Netherlands value added tax will be payable by a holder of our ordinary shares in consideration for the offer of the ordinary shares (other than value added taxes on fees payable in respect of services not exempt from Netherlands value added tax).

Other Taxes or Duties

No Netherlands registration tax, custom duty, stamp duty or any other similar tax or duty, other than court fees, will be payable in the Netherlands by a holder of our ordinary shares in respect of or in connection with the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the ordinary shares.

 

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UNDERWRITING (CONFLICTS OF INTEREST)

Goldman, Sachs & Co., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as representatives of each of the underwriters named below. Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s address is 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.’s address is 60 Wall Street, New York, New York 10005 and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC’s address is 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in an underwriting agreement among us, the selling shareholders and the underwriters, we and the selling shareholders have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us and the selling shareholders the number of ordinary shares set forth opposite its name below.

 

Underwriter

   Number of
Shares

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

  

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

  

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

  

Barclays Capital Inc.

  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

  

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

  

BNP Paribas Securities Corp.

  

UBS Securities LLC

  

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

  

HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

  

SG Americas Securities, LLC

  

Lazard Capital Markets LLC

  

Apollo Global Securities, LLC

  

Moelis & Company LLC

  

Rothschild Inc.

  

Davenport & Company LLC

  
  

 

Total

  
  

 

Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the shares sold under the underwriting agreement if any of these shares are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or in certain circumstances the underwriting agreement may be terminated.

We and the selling shareholders have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and we have agreed to indemnify the selling shareholders against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.

The selling shareholders may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to the shares they are offering for resale.

The underwriters are offering the shares, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the shares, and other conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, such as the absence of any material adverse change in our business, the receipt by the underwriters of officers’ certificates and certain certificates, letters and opinions from our local and international counsel and our independent auditors. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.

Certain of the underwriters or their affiliates may have an indirect ownership interest in us through various private equity funds, including funds affiliated with Apollo.

 

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Lazard Fréres & Co. LLC referred this transaction to Lazard Capital Markets LLC and will receive a referral fee from Lazard Capital Markets LLC in connection therewith.

Commissions and Discounts

The representatives have advised us and the selling shareholders that the underwriters propose initially to offer the shares to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and to dealers at that price less a concession not in excess of $         per ordinary share. After the initial offering, the public offering price, concession or any other term of the offering may be changed.

The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds before expenses to us and the selling shareholders. The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option.

 

     Per Share    Without
Option
   With
Option

Public offering price

        

Underwriting discount

        

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

        

Proceeds, before expenses, to the selling shareholders

        

The expenses of the offering, including expenses incurred by the selling shareholders but not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $             million and are payable by us. We have also agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain of their expenses in an amount up to $50,000.

Over-allotment Option

We and the selling shareholders have granted an option to the underwriters, exercisable for 30 days after the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 3,333,333 additional shares from the selling shareholders at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option solely to cover any over-allotments. If the underwriters exercise this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, to purchase a number of additional shares proportionate to that underwriter’s initial amount as reflected in the above table.

No Sales of Similar Securities

We and our officers, directors, and holders of all of our ordinary shares, including the selling shareholders, have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions (including an exception to permit the selling shareholder private sale), not to dispose of or hedge any of their ordinary shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of ordinary shares for 180 days after the date of this prospectus, except with the prior written consent of Goldman, Sachs & Co. See “Ordinary Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for a discussion of certain transfer restrictions.

The 180-day restricted period described in the preceding paragraph will be automatically extended if: (1) during the last 17 days of the 180-day restricted period, we issue an earnings release or announce material news or a material event; or (2) prior to the expiration of the 180-day restricted period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 15-day period following the last day of the 180-day period, in which case the restrictions described in the preceding paragraph will continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release of the announcement of the material news or material event, unless Goldman Sachs waives, in writing, such extension. We have agreed to give prior notice to Goldman Sachs, and under certain circumstances, the selling shareholders, of any announcement that would give rise to an extension of the restricted period.

 

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Stock Exchange Listings

We have applied for listing of our shares on the NYSE under the symbol “CSTM.” In order to meet the requirements for listing on that exchange, the underwriters have undertaken to sell a minimum number of shares to a minimum number of beneficial owners as required by that exchange.

We also intend to apply for listing of our shares on Euronext Paris under the symbol “CSTM.”

Initial Offering Price

Before this offering, there has been no public market for our ordinary shares. The initial public offering price will be determined through negotiations among us, the selling shareholders and the representatives. In addition to prevailing market conditions, the factors to be considered in determining the initial public offering price are:

 

   

the valuation multiples of publicly traded companies that we believe to be comparable to us after consultation with the underwriters;

 

   

our financial information;

 

   

the history of, and the prospects for, our company and the industry in which we compete;

 

   

an assessment of our management, its past and present operations, and the prospects for, and timing of, our future revenues;

 

   

the present state of our development; and

 

   

the above factors in relation to market values and various valuation measures of other companies engaged in activities similar to ours.

An active trading market for the shares may not develop. It is also possible that after the offering the shares will not trade in the public market at or above the initial public offering price.

The underwriters do not expect to sell more than 5% of the shares in the aggregate to accounts over which they exercise discretionary authority.

Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids

Until the distribution of the shares is completed, SEC rules may limit underwriters and selling group members from bidding for and purchasing our ordinary shares. However, the representatives may engage in transactions that stabilize the price of the ordinary shares, such as bids or purchases to peg, fix or maintain that price. Such stabilization transactions may occur at any time prior to the completion of the offering.

In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell our ordinary shares in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ over-allotment option described above. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the over-allotment option. “Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the over-allotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our ordinary shares in the open market after pricing that could adversely

 

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affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of ordinary shares made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.

The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our ordinary shares or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our ordinary shares. As a result, the price of our ordinary shares may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.

Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our ordinary shares. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.

Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Shares

In connection with the offering, certain of the underwriters or securities dealers may distribute prospectuses by electronic means, such as e-mail. In addition, certain of the underwriters may facilitate Internet distribution for this offering to certain of their Internet subscription customers. Certain of the underwriters may allocate a limited number of shares for sale to their online brokerage customers. An electronic prospectus is available on the Internet website maintained by certain of the underwriters. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on certain of the underwriters’ websites is not part of this prospectus.

Conflicts of Interest

Apollo Funds own in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. In addition, Apollo Funds, as selling stockholders, will receive more than 5% of the proceeds of this offering. Because Apollo Global Securities, LLC is an underwriter and its affiliated funds own in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common ordinary shares and will receive in excess of 5% of the proceeds of the offering, Apollo Global Securities, LLC is deemed to have “conflicts of interest” under FINRA Rule 5121. Accordingly, this offering is being made in compliance with the requirements of FINRA Rule 5121. Pursuant to that rule, the appointment of a “qualified independent underwriter” is not required in connection with this offering as the members primarily responsible for managing the public offering do not have a conflict of interest, are not affiliates of any member that has a conflict of interest and meet the requirements of paragraph (f)(12)(E) of FINRA Rule 5121. Apollo Global Securities, LLC will not confirm sales of the securities to any account over which it exercises discretionary authority without the specific written approval of the account holder. See “Principal and Selling Shareholders” and “Use of Proceeds.”

Other Relationships

Some of the underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking, commercial banking, financial advisory, and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Barclays Capital Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, UBS Securities LLC, Lazard Capital Markets LLC, Moelis & Company LLC and Apollo Global Securities LLC, and/or their respectives affiliates, act in

 

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various capacities and/or are lenders under our Term Loan. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and/or their respective affiliates, act in various capacities and/or are lenders under our U.S. Revolving Credit Facility. To the extent the proceeds of this offering are used to repay borrowings under our Term Loan or U.S. Revolving Credit Facility, each will receive its proportionate share of the repayment of such borrowings.

Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and Lazard Frères SAS are acting together as our financial advisor in connection with the offering. We have agreed to pay Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and Lazard Frères SAS a fee of $1,000,000 in connection with the financial advisory services Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and Lazard Frères SAS are providing to us in connection with the offering. Lazard Capital Markets LLC is acting as an underwriter and co-manager in the offering. The relationship between Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and Lazard Frères SAS, on the one hand, and Lazard Capital Markets LLC, on the other hand, is governed by a business alliance agreement between their respective parent companies.

Rothschild Inc. is acting as our financial advisor in connection with the offering. We have agreed to pay Rothschild Inc., upon successful completion of this offering, a fee of $500,000 for its services. Rothschild Inc. is acting as an underwriter and co-manager in the offering.

The underwriters may enter into derivative transactions in connection with our shares, acting at the order and for the account of their clients. The underwriters may also purchase some of our shares offered hereby to hedge their risk exposure in connection with these transactions. Such transactions may have an effect on demand, price or offer terms of the offering without, however, creating an artificial demand during the offering.

In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. If the underwriters or their affiliates have a lending relationship with us, they routinely hedge their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, the underwriters and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of a short position in our securities including the ordinary shares offered hereby. Any such short position could adversely affect future trading prices of our ordinary shares. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

No Public Offering

No action has been taken or will be taken in any jurisdiction by us or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of our ordinary shares, or possession or distribution of this prospectus or any other offering or publicity material relating to the ordinary shares, in any country or jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required.

The distribution of this prospectus and the offer of the ordinary shares in any jurisdiction may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this prospectus comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions, including those in the paragraphs that follow. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area (the “EEA”)

In relation to each Member State of the EEA which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”) an offer to the public of the ordinary shares has not been and may not be made in that Relevant Member State, except that an offer in that Relevant Member State of the ordinary shares may be made at any time to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive, if the qualified

 

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investor prospectus exemption has been implemented in that Relevant Member State and provided that no such offer shall result in a requirement for the publication of a prospectus in that Member State.

Each person in a Relevant Member State who receives any communication in respect of, or who acquires any ordinary shares under, the offers contemplated in this prospectus will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with the Lead Manager and the Company that:

 

   

it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the law in that Relevant Member State implementing Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive; and

 

   

in the case of any ordinary shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, (i) the ordinary shares acquired by it in the Offering have not been acquired on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in any Relevant Member State other than qualified investors, as that term is defined in the Prospectus Directive, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the Lead Manager has been given to the offer or resale; or (ii) where ordinary shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in any Relevant Member State other than qualified investors, the offer of those new ordinary shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Directive as having been made to such persons.

For the purposes of the above, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to the ordinary shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the ordinary shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase the ordinary shares, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State. The expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71EC (and any amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive” means European Union (EU) Directive 2010/73/EC.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the Netherlands

We have applied for admission to listing and trading (the “French Admission”) of our ordinary shares on the professional segment of NYSE Euronext Paris. The French Admission shall take place concurrently with the primary listing of our ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange, based on a prospectus approved by the Dutch Autoriteit Financiële Markten and notified to the French Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) in accordance with Articles 212-40 and 212-41 of the general regulation of the AMF.

Pursuant to Article 516-19 of the general regulation of the AMF, an investor other than a qualified investor (as defined below), may not purchase our ordinary shares on the professional segment of Euronext Paris unless such investor takes the initiative to do so and has been duly informed by the investment services provider about the characteristics of the professional segment.

No offer of ordinary shares, which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus, has been made or will be made in the Netherlands, unless in reliance on Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive and provided:

 

   

such offer is made exclusively to legal entities which are qualified investors (as defined in the Prospectus Directive) in the Netherlands; or

 

   

standard exemption logo and wording are disclosed as required by article 5:20(5) of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act ( Wet op het financieel toezicht , the “FSA”); or

 

   

such offer is otherwise made in circumstances in which article 5:20(5) of the FSA is not applicable.

 

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Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom

This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (each such person being referred to as a “relevant person”). This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this prospectus or any of its contents.

Notice to Prospective Investors in France

Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the ordinary shares described in this prospectus has been approved, registered or filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (the “AMF”) or of the competent authority of another member state of the European Economic Area and notified to the AMF in connection with an offering of the ordinary shares to the public in France. Consequently, the ordinary shares have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the ordinary shares has been or will be:

 

   

released, issued, distributed or caused to be released, issued or distributed to the public in France; or

 

   

used in connection with any offer for subscription or sale of the ordinary shares to the public in France.

Such offers, sales and distributions will be made in France only:

 

   

to qualified investors ( investisseurs qualifiés ) investing for their own account, as defined in, and in accordance with articles L.411-2, D.411-1, D.734-1, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Code monétaire et financier ; and/or

 

   

to investment services providers authorized to engage in portfolio management on behalf of third parties.

The ordinary shares may be resold directly or indirectly in France, only in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and in particular those relating to a public offering (which are embodied in articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 through L.621-8-3 of the French Code monétaire et financier ).

We have applied for admission to listing and trading (the “French Admission”) of our ordinary shares on the professional segment of NYSE Euronext Paris. The French Admission shall take place concurrently with the primary listing of our ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange, based on a prospectus approved by the Dutch Autoriteit Financiële Markten and notified to the AMF in accordance with Articles 212-40 and 212-41 of the general regulation of the AMF.

Pursuant to Article 516-19 of the general regulation of the AMF, an investor other than a qualified investor (as defined below), may not purchase our ordinary shares on the professional segment of Euronext Paris unless such investor takes the initiative to do so and has been duly informed by the investment services provider about the characteristics of the professional segment.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong

The ordinary shares may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance

 

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(Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the ordinary shares may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to ordinary shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan

The shares of ordinary shares have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the “Financial Instruments and Exchange Law”), directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person residing in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the ordinary shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the ordinary shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Qatar

The shares described in this prospectus have not been, and will not be, offered, sold or delivered, at any time, directly or indirectly in the State of Qatar in a manner that would constitute a public offering. This prospectus has not been, and will not be, registered with or approved by the Qatar Financial Markets Authority or Qatar Central Bank and may not be publicly distributed. This prospectus is intended for the original recipient only and must not be provided to any other person. It is not for general circulation in the State of Qatar and may not be reproduced or used for any other purpose.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Saudi Arabia

No offering, whether directly or indirectly, will be made to an investor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unless such offering is in accordance with the applicable laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rules and regulations of the Capital Market Authority, including the Capital Market Law of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The shares will not be marketed or sold in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by us or the underwriters.

This prospectus may not be distributed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia except to such persons as are permitted under the Office of Securities Regulation issued by the Capital Market Authority. The Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority does not make any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of this prospectus and expressly disclaims any liability whatsoever for any loss arising from, or incurred in reliance upon, any part of this prospectus. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered hereby should conduct their own due diligence on

 

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the accuracy of the information relating to the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus, you should consult an authorized financial advisor.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Arab Emirates

This offering has not been approved or licensed by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Securities and Commodities Authority of the UAE and/or any other relevant licensing authority in the UAE including any licensing authority incorporated under the laws and regulations of any of the free zones established and operating in the territory of the UAE, in particular the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), a regulatory authority of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The offering does not constitute a public offer of securities in the UAE, DIFC and/or any other free zone in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law, Federal Law No 8 of 1984 (as amended), DFSA Offered Securities Rules and NASDAQ Dubai Listing Rules, accordingly, or otherwise. The shares may not be offered to the public in the UAE and/or any of the free zones.

The shares may be offered and issued only to a limited number of investors in the UAE or any of its free zones who qualify as sophisticated investors under the relevant laws and regulations of the UAE or the free zone concerned.

 

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EXPENSES OF THE OFFERING

We estimate that our expenses in connection with this offering, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, will be as follows:

 

Expenses

   Amount  

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee

   $ 66,300   

NYSE clearance fee

   $ 25,000   

NYSE listing fee

   $ 25,000   

FINRA filing fee

   $ 96,000   

Euronext Paris listing fee

   $ 580,000   

Printing and engraving expenses

   $ 1,000,000   

Legal and accounting fees and expenses

   $ 7,000,000   

Blue sky fees and expenses

   $ 25,000   

Transfer agent fees and expenses

   $ 15,000   

Miscellaneous costs

   $ —     
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 8,832,300   
  

 

 

 

All amounts in the table are estimates except the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee, the NYSE listing fee, the Euronext Paris listing fee and the FINRA filing fee. We will pay all of the expenses of this offering.

LEGAL MATTERS

Certain legal matters in connection with the offering relating to U.S. law will be passed upon for us and the selling shareholders by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York, New York. The validity of the ordinary shares being offered by this prospectus and other legal matters concerning this offering relating to Dutch law will be passed upon for us and the selling shareholders by Stibbe N.V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering relating to U.S. law will be passed upon for the underwriters by Latham & Watkins LLP, New York, New York and relating to Dutch law by NautaDutilh N.V., Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

EXPERTS—SUCCESSOR

The financial statements as of December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012 and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2012, included in this registration statement, have been so included in reliance on the report (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to the incorporation and formation of the Group) of PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit S.A., an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting. The address of PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit S.A. is 63 Rue de Villiers, 92208 Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex, Paris, France.

EXPERTS—PREDECESSOR

The financial statements as of December 31, 2009 and 2010 and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2010, included in this registration statement, have been so included in reliance on the report (which contains an explanatory paragraph that describes the basis of preparation of the combined financial statements) of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting. The address of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is 120 Rene-Levesque Boulevard West, Suite 2800, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3B 2G4.

 

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ENFORCEMENTS OF JUDGMENTS

The ability of our shareholders in certain countries other than the Netherlands to bring an action against us may be limited under applicable law. In connection with this offering we converted from a private limited liability company ( besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid ) to a public limited liability company ( naamloze vennootschap ) incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands. Most of our executive officers and members of our board of directors, and a substantial number of our employees, are citizens or residents of countries other than the United States. All or a substantial portion of the assets of such persons and a substantial portion of our assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon such persons or upon us, or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts, including judgments predicated upon civil liabilities under the securities laws of the United States or any state or territory within the United States. In addition, there is substantial doubt as to the enforceability, in the Netherlands, of original actions or actions for enforcement based on the federal securities laws of the United States or judgments of U.S. courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States.

The United States and the Netherlands do not currently have a treaty providing for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments, other than arbitration awards, in civil and commercial matters. Accordingly, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by U.S. courts based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws, would not be directly enforceable in the Netherlands. However, if the party in whose favor such final judgment is rendered brings a new suit in a competent court in the Netherlands, that party may submit to the Dutch court the final judgment that has been rendered in the United States. A judgment by a federal or state court in the United States against us will neither be recognized nor enforced by a Dutch court but such judgment may serve as evidence in a similar action in a Dutch court. Additionally, under current practice, a Dutch court will generally grant the same judgment without a review of the merits of the underlying claim if (i) that judgment resulted from legal proceedings compatible with Dutch notions of due process, (ii) that judgment does not contravene public policy of the Netherlands and (iii) the jurisdiction of the United States federal or state court has been based on internationally accepted principles of private international law.

Subject to the foregoing and service of process in accordance with applicable treaties, investors may be able to enforce in the Netherlands judgments in civil and commercial matters obtained from U.S. federal or state courts. We believe that U.S. investors may originate actions in a Dutch court. There is doubt as to whether a Dutch court would impose civil liability on us, the members of our board of directors, our officers or certain experts named herein in an original action predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in the Netherlands against us or such members, officers or experts, respectively.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement (including amendments and exhibits to the registration statement) on Form F-1 under the Securities Act. This prospectus, which is part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules to the registration statement. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as part of the registration statement. If a document has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, we refer you to the copy of the document that has been filed. Each statement in this prospectus relating to a document filed as an exhibit is qualified in all respects by the filed exhibit.

Upon completion of this offering, we will become subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act. Accordingly, we will be required to file reports and other information with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 20-F within four months from the end of each of our fiscal years, and reports on

 

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Form 6-K. You may inspect and copy reports and other information filed with the SEC at the Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt under the Exchange Act from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.

We also maintain an internet site at http://www.constellium.com. Our website and the information contained therein or connected thereto will not be deemed to be incorporated into the prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, and you should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to purchase our ordinary shares.

We will send the transfer agent a copy of all notices of shareholders’ meetings and other reports, communications and information that are made generally available to shareholders. The transfer agent has agreed to mail to all shareholders a notice containing the information (or a summary of the information) contained in any notice of a meeting of our shareholders received by the transfer agent and will make available to all shareholders such notices and all such other reports and communications received by the transfer agent.

 

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INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

     Page  

Consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2   

Consolidated Income Statement

     F-3   

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income/(Loss)

     F-4   

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

     F-5   

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

     F-6   

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

     F-7   

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-8   

Combined financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2010

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-65   

Combined Income Statements

     F-67   

Combined Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss)

     F-68   

Combined Statements of Financial Position

     F-69   

Combined Statements of Changes in Invested Equity

     F-71   

Combined Statements of Cash Flows

     F-72   

Notes to the Combined Financial Statements

     F-74   

 

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LOGO

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the board of directors

Constellium Holdco B.V.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated statement of financial position of Constellium Holdco B.V. and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income (loss), changes in equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2012. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Group’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Group is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis of designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly we express no such opinion. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Constellium Holdco B.V. and its subsidiaries as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2012 in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union.

We draw attention to the Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements which describes the incorporation and formation of the Group.

Neuilly-sur-Seine, May 17, 2013

PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit

Olivier Lotz

Partner

PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit, SA, 63, rue de Villiers, 92208 Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex

Téléphone: +33 (0)1 56 57 58 59, Fax: +33 (0)1 56 57 58 60, www.pwc.fr

Société d’expertise comptable inscrite au tableau de l’ordre de Paris - Ile de France. Société de commissariat aux comptes membre de la compagnie régionale de Versailles. Société Anonyme au capital de 2 510 460 €. Siège social : 63, rue de Villiers 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine. RCS Nanterre 672 006 483. TVA n° FR 76 672 006 483. Siret 672 006 483 00362. Code APE 6920 Z. Bureaux : Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Nantes, Neuilly-Sur-Seine, Nice, Poitiers, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulouse.

 

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CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Revenue

     4, 5         3,610        3,556   

Cost of sales

     6         (3,132     (3,235
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

        478        321   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Selling and administrative expenses

     6         (212     (216

Research and development expenses

     6         (36     (33

Restructuring costs

     22         (25     (20

Other gains / (losses)—net

     8         52        (111
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income / (loss) from operations

        257        (59
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other expenses

     3         (3     (102
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance income

     —           4        2   

Finance costs

     —           (64     (41
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance costs—net

     10         (60     (39
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Share of loss of joint-ventures

     —           (5     —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income / (loss) before income tax

        189        (200
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax (expense) / benefit

     11         (47     34   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income / (loss) from continuing operations

        142        (166
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Discontinued operations

       

Net loss from discontinued operations

     31         (8     (8
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income / (loss)

        134        (174
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income attributable to:

       

Owners

        132        (175

Non-controlling interests

        2        1   

Net Income / (loss)

        134        (174
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Earnings per share attributable to the equity holders

of the Company (in € per share)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

From continuing and discontinued operations

       

Basic

     12         1.5        (2.0

Diluted

     12         1.5        (2.0

From continuing operations

       

Basic

     12         1.6        (1.9

Diluted

     12         1.6        (1.9

From discontinued operations

       

Basic

     12         (0.1     (0.1

Diluted

     12         (0.1     (0.1

Pro forma information (unaudited)

       

Pro forma earnings per share from continuing operations—basic and diluted

     33         1.4     

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME / (LOSS)

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Net Income / (loss)

        134        (174
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income/(loss)

       

Currency translation differences

     9         1        (14

Actuarial losses on post-employment benefit obligations

     21         (84     (27

Deferred tax on actuarial gains and losses on post-employment benefit obligations

     25         16        1   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive loss

        (67     (40
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive income / (loss)

        67        (214
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Attributable to:

       

Owners

        65        (215

Non-controlling interests

        2        1   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive income / (loss)

        67        (214
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      At
December 31,
2012
    At
December 31,
2011
    Pro Forma At
December 31, 2012
(unaudited, Note 33)
 

Assets

         

Non-current assets

         

Intangible assets (including goodwill)

     13         11        12        11   

Property, plant and equipment

     14         302        198        302   

Investments in joint ventures

        2        1        2   

Deferred income tax assets

     25         205        205        205   

Trade receivables and other

     16         64        91        64   

Other financial assets

     24         10        3        10   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
        594        510        594   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Current assets

         

Inventories

     15         385        422        385   

Trade receivables and other

     16         476        529        476   

Other financial assets

     24         34        32        34   

Cash and cash equivalents

     17         142        113        142   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
        1,037        1,096        1,037   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Assets of disposal Group classified as held for sale

     31         —          6        —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

        1,631        1,612        1,631   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Equity

         

Share capital

     18         —          —          —     

Share premium account

     18         98        98        98   

Retained deficit and other reserves

        (149     (213     (399
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Equity attributable to owners of the Company

        (51     (115     (301

Non controlling interests

        4        2        4   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
        (47     (113     (297
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities

         

Non-current liabilities

         

Borrowings

     19         140        141        140   

Trade payables and other

     20         26        3        26   

Deferred income tax liabilities

     25         11        29        11   

Pension and other post-employment benefits obligations

     21         621        578        621   

Other financial liabilities

     24         46        47        46   

Provisions

     22         89        86        89   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
        933        884        933   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Current liabilities

         

Borrowings

     19         18        73        18   

Trade payables and other

     20         656        663        656   

Dividend payable

        —          —          250   

Income taxes payable

        14        3        14   

Other financial liabilities

     24         24        51        24   

Provisions

     22         33        42        33   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
        745        832        995   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities of disposal Group classified as held for sale

     31         —          9        —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

        1,678        1,725        1,928   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total equity and liabilities

        1,631        1,612        1,631   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

 

(in millions of Euros)

  Share
Premium
    Actuarial
losses
    Foreign
currency
translation
reserve
    Other
reserves
    Retained
losses
    Total
Group
Share
    Non-
controlling
Interests
    Total
Equity
 

As at January 1, 2011

    —          —          —          —          —          —          —          —     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Loss for the period

    —          —          —          —          (175     (175     1        (174

Other comprehensive loss for the period

    —          (26     (14     —            (40     —          (40
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive loss for the period

    —          (26     (14     —          (175     (215     1        (214
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Transactions with the owner

               

Issuance (amendment) of share capital

    98        —          —          —          —          98        —          98   

Other

    —          —          —          2        —          2        —          2   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Transactions with non-controlling interests

               

Non-controlling interests assumed in acquisition

    —          —          —          —          —          —          1        1   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

As at December 31, 2011

    98        (26     (14     2        (175     (115     2        (113
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

(in millions of Euros)

  Share
Premium
    Actuarial
losses
    Foreign
currency
translation
reserve
    Other
reserves
    Retained
losses
    Total
Group
Share
    Non-
controlling
Interests
    Total
Equity
 

As at January 1, 2012

    98        (26     (14     2        (175     (115     2        (113
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net Income for the period

    —          —          —          —          132        132        2        134   

Other comprehensive loss for the period

    —          (68     1        —          —          (67     —          (67
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive income for the period

    —          (68     1        —          132        65        2        67   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Transactions with the owner

               

Share equity plan

    —          —          —          1        —          1        —          1   

Other

    —          —          —          (2     —          (2     —          (2
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

As at December 31, 2012

    98        (94     (13     1        (43     (51     4        (47
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Cash flows from / (used in) operating activities

       

Net income / (loss)

        134        (174

Less: Net loss from discontinued operations

        8        8   

Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests

        (2     (1

Net income / (loss) for the year from continuing operations before non-controlling interests

        140        (167
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjustments:

       

Income tax

     11         47        (34

Finance costs—net

     10         60        39   

Depreciation and impairment

     14         14        2   

Share of loss of joint-ventures

        5        —     

Restructuring costs and other provisions

     22         16        14   

Defined benefit pension costs

     21         4        38   

Unrealized (losses) / gains on derivatives and from remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities

     8         (60     140   

Other

        2        —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Changes in working capital:

       

Inventories

        35        23   

Trade receivables and other

        93        (31

Trade payables and other

        (11     40   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Changes in other operating assets and liabilities:

       

Provisions

     22         (31     (14

Income tax paid

        (28     (38

Pension liabilities and other post-employment benefit obligations

        (40     (41
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows from / (used in) operating activities

        246        (29
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows used in investing activities

       

Purchase of net assets on acquisition—net of cash and cash equivalents acquired

        —          13   

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

     14         (126     (97

Proceeds from disposal of AIN entities

        —          9   

Proceeds from finance lease

        8        7   

Other investing activities

        (13     (1
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows used in investing activities

        (131     (69
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows (used in) / from financing activities

       

Proceeds received from issuance of shares

     18         —          98   

Interests paid

        (28     (31

Net cash flows (used in) / from factoring

     16         (49     56   

Proceeds received from Term Loan

     19         154        137   

Repayment of Term Loan

     19         (148     —     

Proceeds / Repayment of other loans

     19         6        (20

Payment of deferred financing costs and debt fees

     16, 19         (14     (23

Other financing activities

        (7     (16
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows (used in) / from financing activities

        (86     201   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

        29        103   

Cash and cash equivalents—beginning of period

     17         113        —     

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

        —          10   

Cash and cash equivalents—end of period

     17         142        113   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

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NOTE 1—GENERAL INFORMATION

Incorporation and formation

On May 14, 2010, Omega Holdco B.V. (“Holdco”) was incorporated as a limited liability company in the Netherlands with authorized capital of 9 million ordinary shares with a stated nominal value of euro (€) 0.01 per share. As of August 2, 2011 Omega Holdco B.V. changed its legal name to Constellium Holdco B.V. (“Constellium”). Constellium is hereinafter referred to as the “Company”. Constellium and its subsidiaries are hereinafter referred to as the “Group”.

Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à.r.l (“Apollo Omega”), an entity which is wholly-owned by investment funds affiliated with, or co-investment vehicles that are managed (or the general partners of which are managed) by subsidiaries of, Apollo Global Management, LLC (Apollo Global Management, LLC and its subsidiaries collectively, and each such entity individually, “Apollo” and such investment funds and co-investment vehicles collectively, “Apollo Funds”), subscribed cash of €18,000 for 1.8 million ordinary shares of Holdco in connection with Holdco’s formation.

On January 4, 2011 (the “Closing Date”), Constellium amended its authorized capital. Constellium amended the class of its ordinary shares to class A shares and authorized a total of 17.3 million class A shares, and 0.1 million shares each of class B1 and B2.

On the Closing Date, Apollo Omega, Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited (“Rio Tinto”), and Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement (“FSI”) (collectively the “Owners”) subscribed in U.S. Dollars (USD) for class A shares to bring their equity holdings in Holdco to 51%, 39% and 10%, respectively (see Note 18—Share capital).

Through its newly formed wholly-owned subsidiaries, on the Closing Date, Constellium acquired substantially all of the entities and businesses of Rio Tinto Engineered Aluminium Products (“the Acquisition”), which was a component of Rio Tinto (see Note 3—Acquisition of Rio Tinto Engineered Aluminium Products Entities).

From the date of Constellium’s incorporation to the Closing Date, Constellium was wholly-owned by Apollo Funds with no operating or investing activities for the period from the date of its incorporation to the Closing Date. As a result, no information is presented for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Description of businesses

The Group is comprised of substantially all of the operating entities, divisions and businesses formerly included in an operating segment known as Engineered Aluminium Products (“EAP”) within subsidiaries or affiliates of Rio Tinto, excluding its Cable and Composite operating businesses. The Group produces engineered and fabricated aluminum products and structures and operates production facilities throughout Europe, North America and Asia.

The business address (head office) of Constellium Holdco B.V. is Tupolevlaan 41-61, 1119 NW Schiphol-Rijk, the Netherlands.

NOTE 2—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

2.1. Statement of compliance

The consolidated financial statements of Constellium Holdco B.V. and its subsidiaries are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and interpretations as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). All standards applied by the Group have been endorsed by the European Union and are effective for the year beginning on January 1, 2012.

The full set of standards endorsed by the European Union can be consulted on the website of the European Commission at: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/accounting/ias/index-fr.htm .

 

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The consolidated financial statements have been authorized for issue by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on March 13, 2013 and authorised in respect of the pro rata share issuance on May 16, 2013.

2.2. Application of new and revised International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)

The Group has applied the amendments to IFRS 7—Disclosures—Transfers of financial assets in the current year. The amendments increase the disclosure requirements for transactions involving the transfer of financial assets in order to provide greater transparency around risk exposures when financial assets are transferred.

In accordance with transitional provisions set out in the amendments to IFRS 7, the Group has not provided comparative information for the disclosures required by the amendments.

2.3. New standards and interpretations not yet mandatorily applicable

The Group has not applied the following new, revised or amended IFRSs and interpretations that have been issued but are not yet effective:

 

 

Amendments to IAS 1—Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income 1

 

 

Amendments to IAS 12—Deferred Tax—Recovery of Underlying Assets 2

 

 

IFRS 13—Fair Value Measurement 3

 

 

IAS 19 (as revised in 2011)—Employee Benefits 3

 

 

Amendment to IFRS 7—Disclosures—Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities 3

 

 

IFRS 10—Consolidated Financial Statements 4

 

 

IFRS 11—Joint Arrangements 4

 

 

IFRS 12—Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities 4

 

 

IAS 27 (as revised in 2011)—Separate Financial Statements 4

 

 

IAS 28 (as revised in 2011)—Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures 4

 

 

Amendments to IFRS 10, IFRS 11, IFRS 12—Consolidated Financial Statements, Joint Arrangements and Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities: Transition Guidance 5

 

 

Amendments to IFRS— Annual improvements to IFRSs 2009-2011 Cycle 5

 

 

Amendments to IAS 32—Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities 6

 

 

IFRS 9—Financial Instruments—Classification and measurement of financial assets 7

 

 

Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7—Mandatory Effective Date of IFRS 9 and Transition Disclosures 7

Those which are considered to be relevant to the Group or where the Group is currently assessing the impact of the standard on its results, financial position and cash flows are set out below:

IAS 19—Employee Benefits (as revised in 2011) changes the accounting for defined benefit plans and termination benefits. The most significant change relates to the accounting for changes in defined benefit obligations and plan assets. The amendments require the recognition of changes in defined benefit obligations

 

1   Effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 July 2012
2   Effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2012 (IASB), 1 January 2013 (EU)
3   Effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013
4   Effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 (IASB), 1 January 2014 (EU)
5   Effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 (IASB), not yet endorsed in Europe
6   Effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014
7   Effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015 (IASB), not yet endorsed in Europe

 

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and in fair value of plan assets when they occur, and hence eliminate the “corridor approach” permitted under the previous version of IAS 19 and accelerate the recognition of past service costs. The amendments require all actuarial gains and losses to be recognized immediately through other comprehensive income in order for the net pension asset or liability recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position to reflect the full value of the plan deficit or surplus. Furthermore, the interest cost and expected return on plan assets used in the previous version of IAS 19 are replaced with a “net interest” amount, which is calculated by applying the discount rate to the net defined benefit liability or asset.

The amendments to IAS 19 require retrospective application. Based on the Group’s preliminary assessment, when the Group applies the amendments to IAS 19 for the first time for the year ending December 31, 2013, the net income for the year ended December 31, 2012 would be increased by €6 million and the other comprehensive loss after income tax for the said year would be decreased by €4 million with the corresponding adjustments being recognized in the pension benefit obligation and deferred tax asset (liability). This net effect reflects a number of adjustments, including their tax effect: a) immediate recognition of past service costs in profit or loss and decrease in the net pension deficit and b) reversal of the difference between the gain arising from the expected rate of return on pension plan assets and the discount rate through other comprehensive income.

IFRS 13—Fair value measurement explains how to measure fair value and aims to enhance fair value disclosures. It does not say when to measure fair value or require additional fair value measurements. It aims to improve consistency and reduce complexity by providing a precise definition of fair value and a single source of fair value measurement and disclosure requirements for use across IFRS financial information.

2.4. Basis of preparation

In accordance with IAS 1—Presentation of financial statements , the consolidated financial statements are prepared on the assumption that Constellium is a going concern and will continue in operation for the foreseeable future (at least for the 12 month period starting from December 31, 2012). Management considers that this assumption is not overcome by Constellium’s negative equity as of December 31, 2012. This assessment was confirmed during the board of directors’ meeting held on March 13, 2013.

The following significant accounting policies have been used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements of the Group.

2.5. Presentation of the operating performance of each operating segment and of the Group

In accordance with IFRS 8—Operating Segments , operating segments are based upon product lines, markets and industries served, and are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision-maker (“CODM”). The CODM, who is responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of the operating segments, has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer.

The profitability and financial performance of the operating segments is measured based on Management Adjusted EBITDA, as it illustrates the underlying performance of continuing operations by excluding non-recurring and non-operating items.

Management Adjusted EBITDA is defined in Note 4—Operating Segment Information.

2.6. Principles governing the preparation of the consolidated financial statements

Acquisitions

The Group applies the acquisition method to account for business combinations.

The consideration transferred for the acquisition of a subsidiary is the fair value of the assets transferred, the liabilities assumed and the equity interests issued by the Group. The consideration transferred includes the fair

 

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value of any asset or liability resulting from a contingent consideration arrangement. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date. In accordance with IFRS 3, the amount of non-controlling interest is determined for each business combination and is either the fair value (full goodwill method) or the present ownership instruments’ proportionate share in the recognized amounts of the acquiree’s identifiable net assets, resulting in recognition of only the share of goodwill attributable to equity holders of the parent (partial goodwill method).

Goodwill is initially measured as the excess of the aggregate of the consideration transferred and the amount of non-controlling interest over the net identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed. If this consideration is lower than the fair value of the net assets of the subsidiary acquired, the difference is recognized as a gain in Other gains / (losses)—net in the Consolidated Income Statement.

On acquisition, the Group recognizes the identifiable acquired assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities (identifiable net assets) of the subsidiaries on the basis of fair value at the acquisition date. Recognized assets and liabilities may be adjusted during a maximum of 12 months from the acquisition date, depending on new information obtained about the facts and circumstances existing at the acquisition date.

In determining fair values, the significant assumptions which were used in determining the allocation of fair value include the following valuation approaches: the cost approach, the income approach and the market approach. Significant assumptions used in the determination of fair values include cash flow projections and related discount rates, industry indices, market prices regarding replacement cost and comparable market transactions. While the Company believes that the estimates and assumptions underlying the valuation methodologies were reasonable, different assumptions could have resulted in different fair values. In respect of discount rates, the discounted cash flow model used for business segments valuation reflects discount rates of 17% through 18.5% as of the date of acquisition. After taking into account independent studies published by a reputable investment research firm to determine the applicable size premium, a premium of 10.06% was used to arrive at these discount rates, and the Company believes that this represented an appropriate company premium.

Cash-generating units

The reporting units (which generally correspond to an industrial site), the lowest level of the Group’s internal reporting, have been identified as its cash-generating units.

Goodwill

Goodwill arising on a business combination is carried at cost as established at the date of the business combination less accumulated impairment losses, if any.

Goodwill is allocated and monitored at the operating segments level which are the groups of cash-generating units that are expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination. The operating segments represent the lowest level within the Group at which the goodwill is monitored for internal management purposes.

The initial allocation of goodwill is completed before the end of the annual period in which the business combination is effected or, if impracticable, before the end of the first annual period beginning after the acquisition date.

On disposal of the relevant cash-generating units, the attributable amount of goodwill is included in the determination of the gain in disposal.

Impairment of goodwill

A cash-generating unit or a group of cash-generating units to which goodwill is allocated is tested for impairment annually, or more frequently when there is an indication that the unit (or group of units) may be impaired.

 

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The net carrying value of the cash-generating unit (or the group of cash-generating units) is compared to its recoverable amount, which is the higher of the value in use and the fair value less cost to sell.

Value in use calculations use cash flow projections based on financial budgets approved by management and covering usually a 5 year period. Cash flows beyond this period are estimated using a perpetual long-term growth rate for the subsequent years.

The value in use is the sum of discounted cash flows and the terminal residual value. Discount rates are determined using the weighted-average cost of capital of each operating segment.

Any impairment loss of goodwill is recognized for the amount by which the cash-generating unit’s (or group of units) carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount.

The impairment loss is allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the cash-generating unit (or group of cash-generating units) and then, to the other assets of the unit (or group of units) pro rata on the basis of the carrying amount of each asset in the unit (or group of units).

Any impairment loss is recognized directly in the line “Other gains / (losses)—net” in the Consolidated income statement. An impairment loss recognized for goodwill cannot be reversed in subsequent periods.

Non-current assets (and disposal groups) classified as held for sale & Discontinued operations

IFRS 5—Non-current Assets Held For Sale and Discontinued Operations defines a discontinued operation as a component of an entity that (i) generates cash flows that are largely independent from cash flows generated by other components, (ii) is held for sale or has been sold, and (iii) represents a separate major line of business or geographic areas of operations.

The Group has determined that, given the way it is organized, its segments presented in the segment information correspond to the definition of components stated under IFRS 5.

Assets and liabilities are classified as held for sale when their carrying amount will be recovered principally through a sale transaction rather than through continuing use. This condition is regarded as met only when the sale is highly probable and the non-current asset (or disposal group) is available for immediate sale in its present condition.

When an entity acquires assets and liabilities exclusively with a view to their subsequent disposal, it shall classify these assets and liabilities as held for sale at the acquisition date if the criteria set out in the previous paragraphs are fulfilled in a short period of time after the acquisition and if the sale occurs in a period of one year following the classification.

Assets and liabilities are stated at the lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell if their carrying amount is to be recovered principally through a sale transaction rather than through continuing use.

Assets and liabilities held for sale are reflected in separate line items in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position of the period during which the decision to sell is made.

The results of discontinued operations are shown separately in the Consolidated Income Statement.

Basis of consolidation

These consolidated financial statements include all the assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, expenses and cash flows of the entities and businesses of Constellium.

 

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Subsidiaries are entities over which the Company has the power to govern the financial and operating policies in order to obtain benefits from their activities. Control is presumed to exist where the Group owns more than 50% of the voting rights (which does not always equate to percentage ownership) unless it can be demonstrated that ownership does not constitute control. Control does not exist where outside stakeholders hold veto rights over significant operating and financial decisions. In assessing control, potential voting rights that are currently exercisable or convertible are taken into account. Substantially all of the subsidiaries in Constellium are wholly-owned. All of the assets and liabilities and results of operations of majority-owned subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements, which show the amounts of net assets, income for the year and comprehensive income (loss) attributable to both the Owners and Non-controlling Interests. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the Group. They are deconsolidated from the date that control ceases.

A joint venture is a contractual arrangement whereby two or more parties undertake an economic activity that is subject to joint control. Joint control is the contractually agreed sharing of control such that significant operating and financial decisions require the unanimous consent of the parties sharing control. The Group accounts for joint ventures using the equity accounting method.

Jointly controlled operations arise when two or more parties combine their operations, resources and expertise to manufacture, market and distribute jointly a particular product. In respect of its interests in jointly controlled operations, the Group recognizes in its financial statements:

 

 

The assets that it controls and the liabilities that it incurs; and

 

 

The expenses that it incurs and its share of the income that it earns from the sale of goods or services by the joint venture.

All intercompany balances and transactions between and among the Group’s subsidiaries are eliminated in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.

Balances and transactions between the Company and its Owners have been identified as related party balances and transactions in the consolidated financial statements.

Foreign currency transactions and remeasurement

Transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are converted to the functional currency at the exchange rate in effect at the date of the transaction.

Functional currency

Items included in the consolidated financial statements of each of the entities and businesses of Constellium are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in which each of them operates (their functional currency).

Presentation currency and foreign currency translation

In the preparation of the consolidated financial statements, the year-end balances of assets, liabilities and components of equity of Constellium’s entities and businesses are translated from their functional currencies into Euros, the presentation currency of the Group, at the respective year-end exchange rates; and the revenues, expenses and cash flows of Constellium’s entities and businesses are translated from their functional currencies into Euros using average exchange rates for the period.

The net differences arising from exchange rate translation are recognized in the foreign currency translation reserve.

 

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The following table summarizes the main exchange rates used for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements of the Group:

 

            Year ended December 31,
2012
     Year ended December 31,
2011
 

Foreign exchange rate for 1 €

           Closing rate        Average rate        Closing rate        Average rate   

US dollars

     USD         1.3220         1.2847         1.2979         1.3905   

Swiss Francs

     CHF         1.2070         1.2051         1.2170         1.2306   

Czech Koruna

     CZK         25.1256         25.1256         25.5364         24.5761   

Revenue recognition

Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable.

Revenue from product sales, net of trade discounts, allowances and volume-based incentives, is recognized once delivery has occurred provided that persuasive evidence exists that all of the following criteria are met:

 

 

The significant risks and rewards of ownership of the product have been transferred to the buyer;

 

 

Neither continuing managerial involvement to the degree usually associated with ownership, nor effective control over the goods sold, has been retained by Constellium;

 

 

The amount of revenue can be measured reliably;

 

 

It is probable that the economic benefits associated with the sale will flow to Constellium; and

 

 

The costs incurred or to be incurred in respect of the sale can be measured reliably.

The Group also enters into tolling agreements whereby the clients loan the metal which the Group will then manufacture for them. In these circumstances, revenue is recognized when services are provided as of the date of redelivery of the manufactured metal.

Amounts billed to customers in respect of shipping and handling are classified as revenue where the Group is responsible for carriage, insurance and freight. All shipping and handling costs incurred by the Group are recognized in cost of sales.

Deferred tooling revenue and related costs

Certain automotive long term contracts include the design and manufacture of customized parts. To manufacture such parts, certain specialized or customized tooling is required. The Group accounts for the tooling costs provided by third party manufacturers in accordance with the provisions of IAS 11—Construction Contracts .

Research and development costs

Research expenditures are recognized as expenses in the Consolidated Income Statement as incurred. Costs incurred on development projects are recognized as intangible assets when the following criteria are met:

 

 

It is technically feasible to complete the intangible asset so that it will be available for use;

 

 

Management intends to complete and use the intangible asset;

 

 

There is an ability to use the intangible asset;

 

 

It can be demonstrated how the intangible asset will generate probable future economic benefits;

 

 

Adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and use or sell the intangible asset are available; and

 

 

The expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during its development can be reliably measured.

 

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Where development expenditures do not meet these criteria, they are recognized as expenses in the Consolidated Income Statement when incurred. Development costs previously recognized as expenses are not recognized as an asset in a subsequent period.

Other gains / (losses) - net

Other gains / (losses) - net include realized gains and losses on derivatives, unrealized gains and losses on

derivatives at fair value through profit and loss and unrealized exchange gains and losses from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities.

Other gains / (losses) - net separately identifies other unusual, infrequent or non-recurring items. Such items are

those that in management’s judgment need to be disclosed by virtue of their size, nature or incidence. In determining whether an event or transaction is specific, management considers quantitative as well as qualitative factors such as the frequency or predictability of occurrence. This is consistent with the way that financial performance is measured by management and reported to the Board and Executive Committee and assists in providing a meaningful analysis of the trading results of the Group. The directors believe that this presentation aids the readers understanding of the financial performance as these items are identified by virtue of their size, nature or incidence.

Interest income and expense

Interest income is recorded using the effective interest rate method on loans receivable and on the interest bearing components of cash and cash equivalents.

Interest expense on short and long-term financing is recorded at the relevant rates on the various borrowing agreements. Borrowing costs (including interest) incurred for the construction of any qualifying asset are capitalized during the period of time that is required to complete and prepare the asset for its intended use.

Share-based payment arrangements

Equity-settled share-based payments to employees and others providing similar services are measured at the fair value of the equity instruments at the grant date.

The fair value determined at the grant date of the equity-settled share-based payments is expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, based on the Group’s estimate of equity instruments that will eventually vest, with a corresponding increase in equity. At the end of each reporting year, the Group revises its estimate of the number of equity instruments expected to vest.

Property, plant and equipment

Recognition and measurement

As a result of the application of purchase accounting under IFRS 3—Business combinations, property, plant and equipment acquired by the Company on January 4, 2011 were recorded at fair value.

Property, plant and equipment acquired by the Company subsequent to January 4, 2011 are recorded at cost, which comprises the purchase price, any costs directly attributable to bringing the asset to the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management and the estimated close down and restoration costs associated with the asset. Subsequent to the initial recognition, property, plant and equipment is measured at cost less accumulated depreciation. For major capital projects, costs are capitalized into Construction Work in Progress until such projects are completed and the assets are available for use.

 

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Subsequent costs

Improvements and replacements are capitalized as additions to property, plant and equipment only when it is probable that future economic benefits associated with them will flow to the Company and the cost of the item can be measured with reliability. Ongoing regular maintenance costs related to property, plant and equipment are expensed as incurred.

Depreciation

Land is not depreciated. Property, plant and equipment are depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets using the straight-line method as follows:

 

 

Buildings 10 – 50 years

 

 

Machinery and equipment 3 – 10 years

 

 

Vehicles 5 – 8 years

Impairment tests for property, plant and equipment and intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment and intangible assets are reviewed for impairment if there is any indication that the carrying amount of the asset (or group of assets to which it belongs) may not be recoverable. The recoverable amount is based on the higher of fair value less costs to sell (market value) and value in use (determined using estimates of discounted future net cash flows of the asset or group of assets to which it belongs).

Financial instruments

(i) Financial assets

Financial assets are classified as follows: (a) at fair value through profit or loss and (b) loans and receivables. The classification depends on the purpose for which the financial assets were acquired. Management determines the classification of Constellium’s financial assets at initial recognition.

 

  (a) At fair value through profit or loss: These are financial assets held for trading. A financial asset is classified in this category if it is acquired principally for the purpose of selling in the short term. Derivatives are also categorized as held for trading. Assets in this category are classified as current assets if expected to be settled within 12 months; otherwise, they are classified as non-current. Financial assets carried at fair value through profit or loss are initially recognized at fair value and transaction costs are expensed in the Consolidated Income Statement.

 

  (b) Loans and receivables: These are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. They are classified as current or non-current assets based on their maturity date. Loans and receivables are comprised of Trade receivables and other and non-current and current loans receivable in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. Loans and receivables are carried at amortized cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment.

(ii) Financial liabilities

Borrowings and other financial liabilities (excluding derivative liabilities) are recognized initially at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred and directly attributable to the issuance of the liability. These financial liabilities are subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest rate method. Any difference between the amounts originally received (net of transaction costs) and the redemption value is recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement over the year to maturity using the effective interest method.

 

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(iii) Derivative financial instruments

All derivatives are classified as held for trading and initially recognized at their fair value on the date at which the derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently remeasured to their fair value based upon published market quotations at the date of each Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, with the changes in fair value included in Other gains/(losses)—net (see Note 8—Other gains/(losses)—net). The Group has no derivatives designated for hedge accounting treatment.

(iv) Fair value

Fair value is the amount at which a financial instrument could be exchanged in an arm’s length transaction between informed and willing parties. Where available, relevant market prices are used to determine fair values.

(v) Offsetting financial instruments

Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount reported in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position when there is a legally enforceable right to offset the recognized amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or realize the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Leases

Constellium as the lessee

Leases in which a significant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership are retained by the lessor are classified as operating leases. Various buildings, machinery and equipment from third parties are leased under operating lease agreements. Under such operating lease agreements, the total lease payments are recognized as rent expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease agreement, and are included in Cost of sales or Selling and administrative expenses, depending on the nature of the leased assets.

Leases of property, plant and equipment where the Group has substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership are classified as finance leases. Various equipment from third parties are leased under finance lease agreements. Under such finance leases, the asset financed is recognized in Property, Plant and Equipment and the financing is recognized as a financial liability.

Constellium as the lessor

Certain land, buildings, machinery and equipment are leased to third parties under finance lease agreements. During the period of lease inception, the net book value of the related assets is removed from property, plant and equipment and a Finance lease receivable is recorded at the lower of the fair value and the aggregate future cash payments to be received from the lessee less unearned finance income computed at an interest rate implicit in the lease. As the Finance lease receivable from the lessee is collected, unearned finance income is also reduced, resulting in interest income.

Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value, primarily on a weighted-average cost basis.

Weighted-average costs for raw materials, stores, work in progress and finished goods are calculated using the costs experienced in the current period based on normal operating capacity (and include the purchase price of materials, freight, duties and customs, the costs of production, which includes labor costs, materials and other expenses which are directly attributable to the production process and production overheads).

 

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Trade accounts receivable

Recognition and measurement

Trade accounts receivable are recognized initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment.

Subsequent measurement

An impairment allowance of trade receivables is established when there is objective evidence that the Group will not be able to collect all amounts due. Indicators of impairment would include financial difficulties of the debtor, likelihood of the debtor’s insolvency, late payments, default or a significant deterioration in creditworthiness. The amount of the provision is the difference between the assets’ carrying value and the present value of the estimated future cash flows, discounted at the original effective interest rate. The expense (income) related to the increase (decrease) of the impairment allowance is recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement. When a trade receivable is deemed uncollectible, it is written off against the impairment allowance account. Subsequent recoveries of amounts previously written off are credited in the Consolidated Income Statement.

Factoring arrangements

In a non-recourse factoring arrangement, where the Group has transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the receivables, the receivables are de-recognized under the provisions of IAS 39—Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement . Where trade accounts receivable are sold with limited recourse, and substantially all the risks and rewards associated with these receivables are retained, receivables continue to be included in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. Inflows and outflows from factoring agreements in which the Group does not derecognize receivables are presented on a net basis as cash flows from financing activities. Arrangements in which the Group derecognizes receivables result in changes in trade receivables which are reflected as cash flows from operating activities.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are comprised of cash in bank accounts and on hand, short-term deposits held on call with banks and other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less that are readily convertible into known amounts of cash and which are subject to insignificant risk of changes in value, less bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand, provided there is a right of offset.

Share capital

Ordinary, Class A and Class B shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly attributable to the issue of new ordinary shares or options are shown in equity as a deduction, net of tax, from the proceeds.

On May 16, 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors declared an issuance of an additional 22.8 shares for each outstanding share.

Our earnings per share numbers have been retroactively adjusted to reflect this pro rata issuance of shares as if it had occurred on January 4, 2011.

Trade payables

Trade payables are initially recorded at fair value and classified as current liabilities if payment is due in one year or less.

Provisions

Provisions are recorded for the best estimate of expenditures required to settle liabilities of uncertain timing or amount when management determines that a legal or constructive obligation exists as a result of past events, it is

 

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probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation, and such amounts can be reasonably estimated. Provisions are measured at the present value of the expenditures expected to be required to settle the obligation.

The ultimate cost to settle such liabilities is uncertain, and cost estimates can vary in response to many factors. The settlement of these liabilities could materially differ from recorded amounts. In addition, the expected timing of expenditure can also change. As a result, there could be significant adjustments to provisions, which could result in additional charges or recoveries affecting future financial results.

Types of liabilities for which the Group establishes provisions include:

Close down and restoration costs

Estimated close down and restoration costs are provided for in the accounting year when the legal or constructive obligation arising from the related disturbance occurs and it is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation. These costs are based on the net present value of estimated future costs. Provisions for close down and restoration costs do not include any additional obligations which are expected to arise from future disturbance. The costs are estimated on the basis of a closure plan including feasibility and engineering studies, are updated annually during the life of the operation to reflect known developments (e.g. revisions to cost estimates and to the estimated lives of operations) and are subject to formal review at regular intervals throughout each year.

The initial closure provision together with subsequent movements in the provisions for close down and restoration costs, including those resulting from new disturbance, updated cost estimates, changes to the estimated lives of operations and revisions to discount rates are capitalized within Property, plant and equipment. These costs are then depreciated over the remaining useful lives of the related assets. The amortization or “unwinding” of the discount applied in establishing the net present value of the provisions is charged to the Consolidated Income Statement as a financing cost in each accounting year.

Environmental remediation costs

Environmental remediation costs are provided for based on the estimated present value of the costs of the Group’s environmental clean-up obligations. Movements in the environmental clean-up provisions are presented as an operating cost within Cost of sales. Remediation procedures may commence soon after the time at which the disturbance, remediation process and estimated remediation costs become known, and can continue for many years depending on the nature of the disturbance and the technical remediation.

Restructuring costs

Provisions for restructuring are recorded when Constellium’s management is demonstrably committed to the restructuring plan and where such liabilities can be reasonably estimated. The Group recognizes liabilities that primarily include one-time termination benefits, or severance, and contract termination costs, primarily related to equipment and facility lease obligations. These amounts are based on the remaining amounts due under various contractual agreements, and are periodically adjusted for any anticipated or unanticipated events or changes in circumstances that would reduce or increase these obligations. These costs are charged to restructuring costs in the Consolidated Income Statement.

Legal and Other potential claims

Provisions for legal claims are made when it is probable that liabilities will be incurred and when such liabilities can be reasonably estimated. Depending on their nature, these costs may be charged to Cost of sales or Other gains/(losses)—net in the Consolidated Income Statement. Included in other potential claims are provisions for product warranties and guarantees to settle the net present value portion of any settlement costs for potential

 

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future legal actions, claims and other assertions that may be brought by Constellium’s customers or the end-users of products. Provisions for product warranty and guarantees are charged to Cost of sales in the Consolidated Income Statement. In the accounting year when any legal action, claim or assertion related to product warranty or guarantee is settled, the net settlement amount incurred is charged against the provision established in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. The outstanding provision is reviewed periodically for adequacy and reasonableness by Constellium management.

Pension, other post-employment healthcare plans and other long term employee benefits

Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit plans are recognized as an expense when employees have rendered service entitling them to the contributions. Constellium’s contributions to defined contribution pension plans are charged to the Consolidated Income Statement in the year to which the contributions relate. This expense is included in Cost of sales, Selling and administrative expenses or Research and development costs, depending on its nature.

For defined benefit plans, the retirement benefit obligation recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position represents the present value of the defined benefit obligation as adjusted for unrecognized past service cost, and as reduced by the fair value of plan assets. Actuarial gains and losses arising in the year are charged or credited to Other comprehensive income/(loss). Actuarial gains and losses are comprised of both the effects of changes in actuarial assumptions and experience adjustments.

The amount charged to the Consolidated Income Statement in respect of these plans (including the current service cost, any amortization of past service cost and the effect of any curtailment or settlement, interest cost and the expected return on assets) is included within the income/(loss) from operations.

The defined benefit obligations are assessed in accordance with the advice of qualified actuaries. The most significant assumptions used in accounting for pension plans are the long-term rate of return on plan assets, the discount rate.

Post-employment benefit plans relate to health and life insurance benefits to retired employees and in some cases to their beneficiaries and covered dependants. Eligibility for coverage is dependent upon certain age and service criteria. These benefit plans are unfunded and are accounted for as defined benefit obligations, as described above.

Other long term employee benefits include jubilees and other long-term disability benefits. For these plans, actuarial gains and losses arising in the year are recognized immediately in the Consolidated Income Statement.

Taxation

The current income tax charge is calculated on the basis of the tax laws enacted or substantively enacted at the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position date in the countries where the Company and its subsidiaries operate and generate taxable income.

The Group is subject to income taxes in the Netherlands, France and numerous other jurisdictions. Certain of Constellium’s businesses may be included in consolidated tax returns within the Company. In certain circumstances, these businesses may be jointly and severally liable with the entity filing the consolidated return, for additional taxes that may be assessed.

Management establishes tax reserves and accrues interest thereon, if deemed appropriate, in expectation that certain tax return positions may be challenged and that the Group might not succeed in defending such positions, despite management’s belief that the positions taken were fully supportable.

 

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Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. This approach also requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets for operating loss carryforwards and tax credit carryforwards.

The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates and laws is recognized as tax income in the year when the rate change is substantively enacted. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured using tax rates that are expected to apply in the year when the asset is realized or the liability is settled, based on the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the date of the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. Deferred income tax assets are recognized only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available against which the temporary differences can be utilized.

Presentation of financial statements

The consolidated financial statements are presented in millions of Euros. Certain reclassifications may have been made to prior year amounts to conform to current year presentation.

2.7. Judgments in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

Many of the amounts included in the consolidated financial statements involve the use of judgment and/or estimation. These judgments and estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of the relevant facts and circumstances, giving consideration to previous experience. However, actual results may differ from the amounts included in the consolidated financial statements. Key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year include the items presented below.

Further details on the nature of these assumptions and conditions can be found in the relevant notes to the financial statements.

Purchase Accounting

Business combinations are recorded in accordance with IFRS 3 using the acquisition method. Under this method, upon the initial consolidation of an entity over which the Group has acquired exclusive control, the identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities assumed are recognized at their fair value on the acquisition date.

Therefore, through a number of different approaches and with the assistance of external independent valuation experts, the Group identified what it believes to be the fair value of the assets and liabilities at the acquisition date. These valuations will by necessity include a number of assumptions, estimations and judgments. Quantitative and qualitative information is further disclosed in Note 3—Acquisition of Rio Tinto Engineered Aluminium Product Entities.

In determining fair values, the significant assumptions which were used in determining the allocation of fair value include the following valuation approaches: the cost approach, the income approach and the market approach. Significant assumptions used in the determination of fair values include cash flow projections and related discount rates, industry indices, market prices regarding replacement cost and comparable market transactions. While the Company believes that the estimates and assumptions underlying the valuation methodologies were reasonable, different assumptions could have resulted in different fair values. In respect of discount rates, the discounted cash flow model used for business segments valuation reflects discount rates of 17 through 18.5% as of the date of acquisition. After taking into account independent studies published by a reputable investment research firm to determine the applicable size premium, a premium of 10.06% was used to arrive at these discount rates, and the Company believes that this represented an appropriate company premium. A 4% decrease in discount rates applied would have increased our property, plant and equipment value by approximately €145 million and increased our annual depreciation by €10 million. Additionally, goodwill of €11 million would have been eliminated and a gain attributable to negative goodwill of €134 million would have been recognized.

 

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Pension, other post-employment benefits and other long-term employee benefits

The present value of the defined benefit obligations depends on a number of factors that are determined on an actuarial basis using a number of assumptions. The assumptions used in determining the defined benefit obligations and net pension costs include the expected long-term rate of return on the relevant plan assets and the rate of future compensation increases. In making these estimates and assumptions, management considers advice provided by external advisers, such as actuaries.

Any material changes in these assumptions could result in a significant change in employee benefit expense recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement, actuarial gains and losses recognized in equity and prepaid and accrued benefits. Details of the key assumptions applied are set out in Note 21—Pension liabilities and Other Post-employment benefits Obligations.

Taxes

Significant judgment is sometimes required in determining the accrual for income taxes as there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain during the ordinary course of business. The Group recognizes liabilities based on estimates of whether additional taxes will be due. Where the final tax outcome of these matters is different from the amounts that were recorded, such differences will impact the current and deferred income tax provisions, results of operations and possibly cash flows in the year in which such determination is made.

Management judgment is required to determine the extent to which deferred tax assets can be recognized. Constellium recognizes deferred tax assets when it is probable that taxable profits will be available against which the deductible temporary differences can be utilized. This assessment is conducted through a detailed review of deferred tax assets by jurisdiction and takes into account past, current and expected future performance deriving from the budget and the business plan.

Assumptions about the generation of future taxable profits depend on management’s estimates of future cash flows. These depend notably on estimates of future production and sales volumes, commodity prices, operating costs and capital expenditure. Judgments are also required about the application of income tax legislation. These judgments and assumptions are subject to risk and uncertainty, and therefore there is a possibility that changes in circumstances will alter expectations, which may impact the amount of deferred tax assets recognized on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position and the amount of other tax losses and temporary differences not yet recognized. In such circumstances, some or all of the carrying amount of recognized deferred tax assets may require adjustments, resulting in a corresponding charge to the Consolidated Income Statement. Further quantitative information is provided in Note 25—Deferred Income taxes.

Provisions

Provisions have been recorded for: (a) close-down and restoration costs; (b) environmental remediation and monitoring costs; (c) restructuring programs; (d) legal and other potential claims including provisions for product warranty and guarantees, at amounts which represent management’s best estimates of the expenditure required to settle the obligation at the date of the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. Expectations will be revised each year until the actual liability is settled, with any difference accounted for in the year in which the revision is made. Principal assumptions used are described in Note 22—Provisions.

NOTE 3—ACQUISITION OF RIO TINTO ENGINEERED ALUMINIUM PRODUCT ENTITIES

On January 4, 2011 (the “Acquisition Date”), Constellium acquired substantially all of the entities and businesses of Rio Tinto Engineered Aluminum Products from Rio Tinto for an initial purchase price of $125 million (€93 million), as adjusted for delivered working capital and other financial targets, as described in Note 1—General Information.

 

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At the Acquisition Date, the total consideration Constellium paid to Rio Tinto, representing the adjusted purchase price for the net assets acquired was $17 million (€12 million).

On October 10, 2011, the adjusted purchase price was agreed between Rio Tinto and Constellium. Rio Tinto reimbursed the amount paid by Constellium and paid an additional premium which amounted to $6 million (€4 million).

The Company recognized the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at fair value at the Acquisition Date.

For the year ended December 31, 2011, the net cash flows used in operating activities include cash outflows of €102 million of expenses directly related to the acquisition and subsequent separation from Rio Tinto.

The fair values of the assets acquired, the liabilities assumed and the total consideration for the acquisition are shown in the following table:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Fair value
at January 4,
2011
 

Property, plant and equipment

     91   

Investments in joint ventures

     1   

Deferred income tax assets

     188   

Trade receivables and other

     564   

Other financial assets

     103   

Inventories

     442   

Cash and cash equivalents

     9   
  

 

 

 

Total assets acquired—continuing operations

     1,398   

Discontinued operations

     103   
  

 

 

 

Total assets acquired

     1,501   
  

 

 

 

Borrowings—related parties

     (21

Trade payables and other

     (613

Pension liabilities

     (282

Other post-employment benefits obligations

     (262

Other financial liabilities

     (39

Deferred tax liabilities

     (80

Provisions

     (124

Non-controlling interests

     (1
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities assumed—continuing operations

     (1,422

Discontinued operations

     (94
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities assumed

     (1,516
  

 

 

 

Net assets acquired at fair value

     (15

Goodwill

     11   

Total consideration for the acquisition (negative consideration)

     (4
  

 

 

 

In accordance with IFRS 3, the valuation of assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their fair value has resulted in the remeasurement of property, plant and equipment, trade receivables and other, inventories and liabilities.

Property, plant and equipment and inventories were valued with the support of an independent expert. The fair values were determined based upon assumptions related to future cash flows, discount rates and asset lives. The main fair value adjustments relate to the fair value adjustment of Property, plant and equipment and inventories and the recognition of deferred tax assets relating to these fair value adjustments.

The fair value of net liabilities assumed over the aggregate consideration received for the acquisition amounted to €11 million. It was recognized as goodwill in the balance sheet.

 

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In connection with the Acquisition and subsequent separation of the business from Rio Tinto, the Group incurred expenses from both related and third parties (all of which are recorded in Other expenses). They comprised the following:

 

     Period ended
December 31, 2012
     Period ended
December 31, 2011
 

(in millions of Euros)

   Third
party
     Related
party
     Total      Third
party
     Related
party
     Total  

Transaction costs and equity fees directly related to acquisition

     —           —           —           —           44         44   

Other costs related to acquisition and separation

     3         —           3         50         8         58   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Expenses related to acquisition and separation

     3         —           3         50         52         102   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

NOTE 4—OPERATING SEGMENT INFORMATION

Management has defined Constellium’s operating segments based upon product lines, markets and industries it serves, and prepares and reports operating segment information to the Constellium chief operating decision maker (CODM) (see Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies) on that basis. The Group’s operating segments are described below.

Aerospace and Transportation (A&T)

A&T produces and supplies high value-added plate, sheet, extruded and precision cast products to customers in the aerospace, marine, automotive, and mass-transportation markets and engineering industries. It offers a comprehensive range of products and services including technical assistance, design and delivery of cast, rolled, extruded, rolled pre-cut or shaped parts, and the recycling of customers’ machining scrap metal. A&T is also a key supplier of new alloy solutions, such as Aluminium Lithium. A&T operates 8 facilities in 3 countries.

Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products (P&ARP)

This segment produces and provides coils and sheet to customers in the beverage and closures, automotive, customized industrial sheet solutions and high-quality bright surface product markets. It includes world-class rolling and recycling operations, as well as dedicated research and development capabilities. P&ARP operates 3 facilities in 2 countries.

Automotive Structures and Industry (AS&I)

AS&I focuses on specialty products and supplies a variety of hard and soft alloy extrusions, including technically advanced products, to the automotive, industrial, energy, electrical and building industries, and to manufacturers of mass transport vehicles and shipbuilders. AS&I serves major automotive and transportation manufacturers with innovative and cost-effective aluminium solutions using advanced technology. It develops and manufactures aluminium crash management systems, front-end components, cockpit carriers and Auto Body Sheet structural components. AS&I operates 17 facilities in 7 countries.

Holdings & Corporate

Holdings & Corporate include the net cost of Constellium’s head office in Schiphol-Rijk, its treasury center in Zurich and its other corporate support services functions in Paris.

Intersegment elimination

Intersegment trading is conducted on an arm’s length basis and reflects market prices.

 

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Constellium CODM measures the profitability and financial performance of its operating segments based on Management Adjusted EBITDA (Management Adjusted EBITDA is defined as gross profit for the period less Selling and administrative expenses and Research and development expenses excluding amortization, depreciation and impairment less realized gains or losses on derivatives).

The accounting principles used to prepare the Company’s operating segment information are the same as those used to prepare the consolidated financial statements.

Segment Revenue

 

     Year ended December 31, 2012      Year ended December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Segment
revenue
     Inter
segment
elimination
    Revenue
Third  and
related
parties
     Segment
revenue
     Inter
segment
elimination
    Revenue
Third  and
related
parties
 

A&T

     1,188         (6     1,182         1,024         (8     1,016   

P&ARP

     1,561         (7     1,554         1,633         (8     1,625   

AS&I

     910         (49     861         960         (50     910   

Holdings & Corporate

     13         —          13         5         —          5   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     3,672         (62     3,610         3,622         (66     3,556   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Reconciliation of Management Adjusted EBITDA to Net income / (loss)

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

A&T

     92        26   

P&ARP

     80        63   

AS&I

     40        20   

Holdings & Corporate

     (9     (6
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Management Adjusted EBITDA

     203        103   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ravenswood OPEB plan amendment

     48        —     

Swiss pension plan settlement

     (8     —     

Ravenswood CBA renegotiation

     (7     —     

Restructuring costs

     (25     (20

Unrealized gains / (losses) on derivatives

     61        (144

Unrealized exchange (losses) / gains from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities—net

     (1     4   

Depreciation and impairment

     (14     (2
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income / (loss) from operations

     257        (59
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other expenses

     (3     (102

Finance costs—net

     (60     (39

Share of profit of joint-ventures

     (5     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income / (loss) before income taxes

     189        (200
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax

     (47     34   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income / (loss) from continuing operations

     142        (166
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss from discontinued operations

     (8     (8
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income / (loss)

     134        (174
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Segment Capital expenditures

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

A&T

     (42     (40

P&ARP

     (39     (26

AS&I

     (40     (20

Holdings & Corporate

     (5     (11
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Capital expenditures—Property, plant and equipment

     (126     (97
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Segment assets

Segment assets are comprised of total assets of Constellium by segment, less investments in joint ventures, deferred tax assets, other financial assets (including cash and cash equivalents) and assets of the disposal group classified as held for sale.

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
     At December  31,
2011
 

A&T

     506         468   

P&ARP

     403         414   

AS&I

     238         240   

Holdings & Corporate

     91         130   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Segment Assets

     1,238         1,252   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Unallocated:

     

Adjustments for investments in joint-ventures

     2         1   

Deferred tax assets

     205         205   

Other financial assets (including cash and cash equivalents)

     186         148   

Assets of disposal group classified as held for sale

     —           6   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Assets

     1,631         1,612   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Information about major customers

Included in revenue arising from the P&ARP segment for the period ended December 31, 2012 is revenue of approximately €441 million (period ended December 31, 2011: €503 million) which arose from sales to the Group’s largest customer. No other single customers contributed 10% or more to the Group’s revenue for both 2012 and 2011.

 

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NOTE 5—INFORMATION BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA

The Group reports information by geographic area as follows: revenue from third and related parties are based on destination of shipments and property, plant and equipment are based on the physical location of the assets.

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
     Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Revenue—third and related parties

     

France

     596         590   

Germany

     1,073         1,089   

United Kingdom

     275         297   

Switzerland

     98         111   

Other Europe

     723         778   

United States

     471         379   

Canada

     56         46   

Asia and Other Pacific

     136         171   

All Other

     182         95   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     3,610         3,556   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At
December  31,

2012
     At
December  31,

2011
 

Property, plant and equipment

     

France

     134         81   

Germany

     58         32   

Switzerland

     15         13   

Czech Republic

     14         5   

Other Europe

     1         1   

United States

     77         63   

Other

     3         3   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     302         198   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

NOTE 6—EXPENSES BY NATURE

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Raw materials and consumables used (A)

        (1,987     (2,161

Employee benefit expense

     7         (697     (650

Energy costs

        (140     (139

Repairs and maintenance expenses

        (91     (98

Sub-contractors

        (66     (69

Freight out costs

        (66     (64

Consulting and audit fees

        (43     (54

Operating supplies (non capitalized purchases of manufacturing consumables)

        (58     (52

Operating lease expenses

        (16     (14

Depreciation and impairment

     14         (14     (2

Other expenses (B)

        (202     (181
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Cost of sales, Selling and administrative expenses and Research and development expenses

        (3,380     (3,484
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) The Company manages fluctuations in raw materials prices in order to protect manufacturing margins through the purchase of derivative instruments (see Note 23—Financial Risk Management and Note 24—Financial Instruments).
(B) These expenses include local taxes, packaging, dies and insurance.

 

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These expenses are split as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,

2012
    Year ended
December 31,

2011
 

Cost of sales

     (3,132     (3,235

Selling and administrative expenses

     (212     (216

Research and development expenses

     (36     (33
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Cost of sales, Selling and administrative expenses and Research and development expenses

     (3,380     (3,484
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE 7—EMPLOYEE BENEFIT EXPENSE

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Wages and salaries (A)

        (653     (611

Pension costs—defined benefit plans

     21         (25     (24

Other post-employment benefits

     21         (18     (15

Share equity plan expense

     30         (1     —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Employee benefit expense

        (697     (650
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) Wages and salaries exclude restructurings costs and include social security contribution.

NOTE 8—OTHER GAINS / (LOSSES)—NET

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Realized (losses) / gains on derivatives (A)

        (45     31   

Unrealized gains / (losses) on derivatives at fair value through profit and loss—net (A)

        61        (144

Unrealized exchange (losses) / gains from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities—net

        (1     4   

Ravenswood OPEB plan amendment (B)

     21         48        —     

Swiss pension plan settlement (B)

     21         (8     —     

Ravenswood CBA renegotiation (C)

        (7     —     

Other—net

        4        (2
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Other gains / (losses)—net

        52        (111
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) During the period ended December 31, 2012, there were no transactions with related parties relative to derivatives. During the period ended December 31, 2011, Rio Tinto was counterparty to our derivatives and realized gains with Rio Tinto amounted to €37 million. The gains/losses are made up of unrealized losses or gains on derivatives entered into with the purpose of mitigating exposure to volatility in foreign currency and LME prices (refer to Note 23—Financial Risk management for risk management description).
(B) See Note 21—Pensions and other post-employment benefit obligations.
(C) During the third quarter, Constellium Ravenswood Rolled Products entered into a period of renegotiation of the collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”). The negotiation and the settlement of the new CBA involved additional costs which would not be incurred in the ordinary course of business.

 

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NOTE 9—CURRENCY GAINS (LOSSES)

The currency gains and losses are included in the consolidated financial statements as follows:

Consolidated income statement

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Included in Cost of sales

        1        3   

Included in Other gains / (losses)—net

        19        (59

Included in Finance cost

     10         (3     (6
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

        17        (62
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Realized exchange (losses) on foreign currency derivatives—net

        (15     (4

Unrealized exchange gains / (losses) on foreign currency derivatives—net

        35        (59

Exchanges (losses) / gain from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities—net

        (3     1   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

        17        (62
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation reserve

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Foreign currency translation reserve—January 1

     (14     —     

Effect of exchange rate changes—net

     1        (14
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation reserve—December 31

     (13     (14
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See Note 23—Financial Risk Management and Note 24—Financial Instruments for further information regarding the Company’s foreign currency derivatives and hedging activities.

NOTE 10—FINANCE COSTS—NET

Finance costs—net are comprised of the following items:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Finance income:

       

Other finance income

        4        2   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Finance income

        4        2   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance costs:

       

Interest expense on borrowings and factoring arrangements (A)(B)

     16, 19         (39     (31

Realized and unrealized losses on debt derivatives at fair value (C)

        (18     —     

Realized and unrealized exchange losses on financing activities—net

     9         (3     (6

Miscellaneous other interest expense

        (4     (4
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Finance costs

        (64     (41
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance costs—net

        (60     (39
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) Includes: (i) interests related to the Term Loan and the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility (see Note 19—Borrowings); and (ii) interest and amortization of deferred financing costs related to the trade accounts receivable factoring programs (see Note 16—Trade Receivables and Other).

 

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(B) Interest on borrowings includes interest payable to related parties which amounted to €7 million for the period ended December 31, 2012 (€16 million for the period ended December 31, 2011). During the second quarter of 2012, Constellium entered into a new term loan facility and a new U.S. Revolving Credit Facility. These loans were used to repay the previous variable term loan facility and the previous U.S Revolving Credit Facility. Arrangement fees which were not amortized under the effective rate method were fully recognized as financial expenses during this period. This amounted to €7 million (€5 million related to the Term Loan and €2 million related to the U.S. Revolving Credit Facility (see Note 19—Borrowings).
(C) The loss recognized reflects the negative change in the fair value of the cross currency interest rate swap (see Note 19—Borrowings).

NOTE 11—INCOME TAX

The current and deferred components of income tax are as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Current tax expense

     (31     (31

Deferred tax (expense) / benefit

     (16     65   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total income tax (expense) / benefit

     (47     34   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Using a composite statutory income tax rate applicable by tax jurisdiction, the income tax can be reconciled as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Profit / (loss) before income tax

     189        (200

Composite statutory income tax rate applicable by tax jurisdiction

     38.6     33.5

Income tax (expense) / benefit calculated at composite statutory tax rate applicable by tax jurisdiction

     (73     67   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Tax effect of:

    

Tax gains / (losses) not recognized as deferred tax assets

     25        (24

Other (A)

     1        (9

Income tax (expense)/benefit

     (47     34   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effective income tax rate

     25     17
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) Mainly relating to non-recurring items (acquisition costs considered as non-deductible in certain jurisdictions).

NOTE 12—EARNINGS PER SHARE

We maintain three classes of shares: Class A ordinary, Class B1 ordinary and Class B2 ordinary. We maintain separate share premium reserves and dividend reserves for each of these classes of shares. Distributions from each of these reserves may only be made following the approval of the holders of the relevant class of shares and, with respect to the Class B2 reserves, by our board of directors. The entitlement of each class of shares to the relevant share premium reserves may differ depending on the share premium that the holders of shares of such class have contributed. All profits of the Company are reserved and allocated to the dividend reserve for each class of shares ( i.e. , Class A ordinary, Class B1 ordinary and Class B2 ordinary) on a pro rata basis to reflect the total number of shares of each class outstanding. Our board of directors may resolve to distribute dividends after approval of the Company’s annual accounts or interim dividends, which may be subject to return until approval of the Company’s annual accounts for the relevant year.

 

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Earnings

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Net Income / (loss) attributable to equity holders of the parent

     132        (175

Earnings attributable to equity holders of the parent used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share

     132        (175
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Earnings used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations

     140        (167

Earnings used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share from discontinued operations

     (8     (8
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Number of shares—after pro rata share issuance

Pro rate share issuance

On May 16, 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors declared an issuance of an additional 22.8 shares for each outstanding share.

Our earnings per share numbers have been retroactively adjusted to reflect this pro rata issuance of shares as if it had occurred on January 4, 2011.

 

     Year ended
December 31,
2012
     Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used to calculate basic earnings per share (A)

     89,442,416         89,338,433   

Effect of other dilutive potential ordinary shares (B )

               
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used to calculate diluted earnings per share

     89,442,416         89,338,433   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Based on the total number of all classes of shares (“A”, “B1” and “B2”), given their equal rights to profit allocation and dividends adjusted for the pro rata share issuance (see Note 18). This does not reflect the issuance of 5 preference shares (see Note 33).
(B) As at December 31, 2012, no instruments have been issued that may potentially have a dilutive effect.

Earnings per share

 

(in Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

From continuing and discontinued operations

    

Basic

     1.5        (2.0

Diluted

     1.5        (2.0

From continuing operations

    

Basic

     1.6        (1.9

Diluted

     1.6        (1.9

From discontinued operations

    

Basic

     (0.1     (0.1

Diluted

     (0.1     (0.1

 

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NOTE 13—INTANGIBLE ASSETS (including GOODWILL)

Goodwill in the amount of €11 million (relating solely to the acquisition of the entities and business of Rio Tinto Engineered Aluminium Products on January 4, 2011) has been allocated to the Group’s operating segment Aerospace and Transportation (“A&T”) for €5 million, Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products (“P&ARP”) for €4 million and Automotive Structures and Industry (“AS&I”) for €2 million.

During the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, no other material movements occurred in intangible assets, including goodwill.

Impairment tests for goodwill

As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the recoverable amount of the operating segments has been determined based on value-in-use calculations and significantly exceeded their carrying value.

NOTE 14—PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Property, plant and equipment balances and movements are comprised as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Buildings     Machinery
and
Equipment
    Construction
Work in
Progress
    Other     Total  

Net balance at January 1, 2012

     10        46        130        12        198   

Additions

     3        23        94        2        122   

Disposals

     —          (2     —          —          (2

Depreciation expense

     (1     (7     —          (3     (11

Impairment losses

     —          (3     —          —          (3

Transfer during the year

     8        99        (109     2        —     

Exchange rate movements

     —          (2     —          —          (2

Net balance at December 31, 2012

     20        154        115        13        302   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2012

          

Cost

     21        165        115        16        317   

Less accumulated depreciation and impairment

     (1     (11     —          (3     (15
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net balance at December 31, 2012

     20        154        115        13        302   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Buildings      Machinery
and
Equipment
    Construction
Work in
Progress
    Other      Total  

Net balance at January 1, 2011

     —           —          —          —           —     

Property, plant and equipment acquired through business combinations

     —           —          91        —           91   

Additions

     7         22        72        6         107   

Depreciation expense

     —           (1     —          —           (1

Transfer during the year

     3         25        (35     6         (1

Exchange rate movements

     —           —          2        —           2   

Net balance at December 31, 2011

     10         46        130        12         198   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

At December 31, 2011

            

Cost

     10         47        130        12         199   

Less accumulated depreciation and impairment

     —           (1     —          —           (1
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net balance at December 31, 2011

     10         46        130        12         198   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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Depreciation expense and impairment losses

Total depreciation expense and impairment losses relating to property, plant and equipment are included in the Consolidated Income Statement as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Cost of sales

     (8     (1

Selling and administrative expenses

     (6     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     (14     (1
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The amount of contractual commitments for the acquisition of property, plant and equipment is disclosed in Note 26—Commitments.

NOTE 15—INVENTORIES

Inventories are comprised of the following:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At
December  31,

2012
    At
December  31,

2011
 

Finished goods

     113        140   

Work in progress

     148        115   

Raw materials

     114        152   

Stores and supplies

     20        22   

NRV adjustments

     (10     (7
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Inventories

     385        422   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Constellium records inventories at the lower of cost and net realizable value (NRV). Increases / (decreases) in the NRV adjustments on inventories are included in Cost of sales in the Consolidated Income Statement.

NOTE 16—TRADE RECEIVABLES AND OTHER

Trade receivables and other are comprised of the following:

 

     At December 31, 2012     At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Non-current      Current     Non-current      Current  

Trade receivables—third parties—gross

     —           388        —           423   

Impairment allowance

     —           (3     —           (1
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Trade receivables—third parties—net

     —           385        —           422   

Trade receivables—related parties

     —           1        —           1   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Trade receivables—net

     —           386        —           423   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Finance lease receivables

     36         6        42         6   

Deferred financing costs—net of amounts amortized

     7         3        9         4   

Financial receivables (factoring)

     —           —          —           9   

Deferred tooling related costs

     3         11        —           10   

Other (A)

     18         70        40         77   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Other receivables

     64         90        91         106   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Trade receivables and Other

     64         476        91         529   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Includes at December 31, 2012 (i) €5 million cash pledged to financial counterparties for the issuance of guarantees (cash will remain restricted for as long as the guarantees remain issued by the financial counterparties) and (ii) €8 million relating to a pledge given to the State of West Virginia as a guarantee for certain workers’ compensation obligations for which the company is self-insured.

 

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Ageing

The ageing of total trade receivables—net is as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
     At December  31,
2011
 

Current

     371         398   

1 – 30 days past due

     11         20   

30 – 60 days past due

     2         2   

61 – 90 days past due

     —           1   

Greater than 91 days past due

     2         2   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Trade receivables—net

     386         423   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Impairment allowance

The Group periodically reviews its customers’ account ageing, credit worthiness, payment histories and balance trends in order to evaluate trade accounts receivable for impairment. Management also considers whether changes in general economic conditions and in the industries in which the Group operates in particular, are likely to impact the ability of the Group’s customers to remain within agreed payment terms or to pay their account balances in full.

Revisions to the impairment allowance arising from changes in estimates are included as either additional allowance or recoveries, with the offsetting expense or income included in Selling and administrative expenses. An impairment allowance amounting to €(2) million was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2012 (€1 million during the year ended December 31, 2011).

None of the other amounts included in Other receivables was deemed to be impaired.

The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the carrying value of each class of receivable shown above. The Group does not hold any collateral from its customers or debtors as security.

Currency concentration

The composition of the carrying amounts of total trade receivables—net by currency is shown in Euro equivalents as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
     At December  31,
2011
 

Euro

     213         244   

US dollar

     153         153   

Swiss franc

     7         14   

Other currencies

     13         12   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Trade receivables—net

     386         423   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Factoring arrangements

On January 4, 2011, the Group entered into five-year factoring arrangements with third parties for the sale of certain of the Group’s accounts receivable in Germany, Switzerland and France. Under these programs, Constellium agrees to sell to the factor eligible accounts receivable, for working capital purposes, up to a maximum financing amount of €300 million, allocated as follows:

 

 

€100 million collectively available to Germany and Switzerland; and

 

 

€200 million available to France.

 

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Under these arrangements, the accounts receivable are sold with recourse. Sales of these receivables do not qualify for de-recognition under IAS 39—Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement , as the Group retains substantially all of the associated risks and rewards.

In December 2011 and 2012, the Group entered into specific arrangements with certain of its customers in connection with its factoring agreements in order for the factor to purchase receivables on a non-recourse basis and to allow the partial derecognition of some receivables (90% of the related receivables). The Group kept a residual risk of 10% on these receivables in the case of a default event. The portion of these receivables corresponding to the retained risk, amounting to €6 million as of December 31, 2012 has not been derecognized (€4 million as of December 31, 2011).

The total carrying amount of the original assets factored as of December 31, 2012 is €337 million (December 31, 2011: €348 million), of which €286 million (December 31, 2011: €310 million) is recognized on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. As at December 31, 2012, there was no amount due to the factor relating to trade account receivables sold (December 31, 2011: €58 million, reflected in current liabilities in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position) (see Note 19—Borrowings).

Interest costs and other fees

Under both the Germany/Switzerland and France factoring agreements, interest is charged at the three-month EURIBOR (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) or LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) rate plus 2.25% and is payable monthly. Other fees include an unused facility fee of 1% per annum (calculated based on the unused amount of the net position, as defined in the agreements). Additional factoring commissions and administration fees (based on the volume of sold receivables) are also assessed and payable monthly.

During the year ended December 31, 2012, Constellium incurred €8 million in interest and other fees (€13 million during the year ended December 31, 2011) from these arrangements that are included as finance costs (see Note 10—Finance Costs—Net).

Additionally, under each of the factoring agreements, the Group paid a one-time, up-front arrangement fee of 2.25% of the aggregate maximum financing amount of €300 million (for both agreements), which totaled €7 million. These arrangement fees plus an additional €7 million in legal and other fees related to the factoring agreements are being amortized as finance costs over a period of five years (see Note 10—Finance Costs—Net). During the year ended December 31, 2012, €3 million of such costs was amortized as finance costs (€3 million during the year ended December 31, 2011). At December 31, 2012, the Group had €8 million (€11 million as at December 31, 2011) in unamortized up-front and legal fees related to the factoring arrangements (included in deferred financing costs).

Covenants

The factoring arrangements contain certain affirmative and negative covenants, including relating to the administration and collection of the assigned receivables, the terms of the invoices and the exchange of information, but do not contain restrictive financial covenants other than a Group level minimum liquidity covenant that is tested quarterly. The Group was in compliance with all applicable covenants as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Intercreditor agreement

On January 4, 2011, the Group entered into an Intercreditor Agreement between the French, German and Swiss sellers of the Group’s receivables under the various accounts receivable factoring programs described above and the purchasers of those receivables.

 

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In accordance with the requirements of the Intercreditor Agreement, the parent company of the sellers has guaranteed amounts sold under the factoring program to the purchasers of such accounts receivable. The Intercreditor Agreement also places limitations on prepayments of the Term Loan facility and requires, in certain circumstances, certain capital contributions to Constellium Rolled Products—Ravenswood LLC (see Note 19—Borrowings).

The Intercreditor Agreement remains in effect for any seller of receivables until all of the factoring agreements for such seller are terminated.

Deferred financing costs

The Group incurs certain financing costs with third parties associated with its factoring arrangements and U.S. Revolving Credit facility. Amortization of these deferred finance costs is included in Finance costs—net in the Consolidated Income Statement.

Costs incurred and amortization recognized throughout the periods presented are shown in the table below.

 

     Year ended December 31, 2012     Year ended December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Factoring
Arrangements
    US
Revolving
Credit  facility
    Total     Factoring
Arrangements
    US
Revolving
Credit  facility
    Total  

Financing costs incurred and deferred

            

Up-front facility arrangement fees

     7        3        10        7        2        9   

Other direct expenses

     7        2        9        7        1        8   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total incurred and deferred

     14        5        19        14        3        17   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Less: amounts amortized during the year

            

2012

     (3     (2     (5     —          —          —     

2011

     (3     (1     (4     (3     (1     (4
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred financing costs at December 31

     8        2        10        11        2        13   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance lease receivables

The Company is the lessor on certain finance leases with third parties for certain of its property, plant and equipment located in Sierre, Switzerland and Teningen,Germany. The following table shows the reconciliation of the Group’s gross investments in the leases to the net investment in the leases as at December 31, 2011 and 2012.

 

     Year ended December 31, 2012      Year ended December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Gross
investment
in the lease
     Unearned
interest
income
    Net
investment
in the lease
     Gross
investment
in the lease
     Unearned
interest
income
    Net
investment
in the lease
 

Within 1 year

     8         (2     6         8         (2     6   

Between 1 and 5 years

     28         (3     25         29         (4     25   

Later than 5 years

     11         —          11         17         —          17   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Finance lease receivables

     47         (5     42         54         (6     48   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Interest received in the year ended December 31, 2012 totaled €2 million (€2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011).

 

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NOTE 17—CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
     At December  31,
2011
 

Cash in bank and on hand

     140         103   

Deposits

     2         10   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Cash and cash equivalents

     142         113   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

As at December 31, 2012, cash in bank and on hand includes a total of €5 million held by subsidiaries that operate in countries where capital control restrictions prevent the balances from being available for general use by the Group (€3 million as at December 31, 2011).

NOTE 18—SHARE CAPITAL

On May 16, 2013, the Group effected a pro rata share issuance of ordinary shares to our existing shareholders, which will be implemented through the issuance of 22.8 new ordinary shares to each outstanding ordinary shares. This pro rata share issuance has been retroactively effected in the earnings per share calculation as described in Note 12.

 

At December 31, 2012

and December 31, 2011

   Class “A” Shares (1)    Class “A”  Shares
—after pro rata
share issuance
   Subscription Amount
(in millions of
US dollars)
   Subscription Amount
(in millions of Euros)

Apollo Funds

       1,800,045          42,847,555          64          48  

Rio Tinto

       1,376,505          32,765,777          49          36  

FSI

       352,950          8,401,481          12          9  

Other

       167,697          3,612,411          7          5  
    

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total

       3,697,197          87,627,224          132          98  
    

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

(1) Prior to the pro rata share issuance

 

     Number of shares     In millions of Euros  
     “A”
Shares
    “B1”
Shares
     “B2”
Shares
    Share
capital
     Share
premium
 

Authorized:

            

As of January 1, 2011

     9,000,000        —           —          —           —     

Ordinary Shares redeemed

     (9,000,000     —           —          —           —     

Shares authorized

     17,300,000        100,000         100,000        —           —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2011

     17,300,000        100,000         100,000        —           —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Movements during the year ended December 31, 2012

     —          —           —          —           —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2012

     17,300,000        100,000         100,000        —           —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2012 and 2011—after pro rata share issuance—our authorized share capital was 4,000,000

            

Issued and Fully Paid:

            

As of January 1, 2011 (A)

     1,800,000        —           —          —           —     

Redeemed at par on January 4, 2011

     (1,800,000     —           —          —           —     

Issued on January 4, 2011

     3,529,500        —           —          —           93   

Issued for the MEP 1 on April 12, 2011

     148,998        —           82,032        —           4   

Issued for the MEP on July 19, 2011

     18,699        —           9,652        —           1   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2011

     3,697,197        —           91,684        —           98   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Shares converted during the year ended December 31, 2012

     —          13,666         (13,666     —           —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2012

     3,697,197        13,666         78,018        —           98   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2011—after pro rata share issuance

     87,627,224        815,252         1,002,381        

As of December 31, 2012—after pro rata share issuance

     87,627,224        851,003         964,189        

 

1   MEP: Management equity plan

 

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(A) Designated as Ordinary Shares until January 4, 2011 when the class was amended to A shares.

On January 4, 2011 (the “Closing Date”), Constellium amended its authorized capital by: (i) amending the class of its ordinary shares to class A shares; (ii) authorizing a total of 17.3 million class A shares and (iii) authorizing 0.1 million shares each of class B1 and B2 shares.

All of the Company’s shares have a stated nominal value of €0.01 per share. All shares attract one vote and none are subject to any vesting restrictions.

According to Dutch law and the articles of association of Constellium Holdco B.V, the following characterizations, rights and obligations are attached to the shares:

 

 

Constellium Holdco B.V shares are divided in three classes: A shares, B1 shares and B2 shares;

 

 

A shares can be held by anyone approved by the general meeting of shareholders; and

 

 

B1 shares and/or B2 shares can only be held by (i) German limited partnerships which have entered into an agreement pursuant to a management equity plan, or (ii) the Company itself.

As described in Note 30—Share Equity Plan, in connection with the implementation of a management equity plan for Constellium management (the “MEP”) in the beginning of 2011, Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG, a German limited partnership (“Management KG”), was formed to hold B1 and B2 shares in accordance with the articles of association of Constellium Holdco B.V. Although the B1 and B2 shares held by Management KG are not themselves subject to any vesting restrictions, under the terms of the MEP, vested limited partnership interests in Management KG (“MEP interests”) are attributable to B1 shares held by Management KG, while unvested MEP interests are attributable to B2 shares held by Management KG.

The class A shares, class B1 shares and Class B2 shares are entitled to an equal profit allocation. Separate share premium reserves and dividend reserves are maintained for each of the classes of shares. Upon the vesting of unvested MEP interests attributable to B2 shares held by Management KG and the associated conversion of such B2 shares to B1 shares, the corresponding amount of allocated profits in the B2 dividend reserve is transferred to the B1 dividend reserve. Distributions from each of the A, B1 and B2 dividend reserves may only be made following the approval of the board of directors and the holders of the relevant class of shares, as appropriate, in accordance with the Constellium Holdco B.V. articles of association.

If the unvested MEP interests are no longer capable of vesting (the vesting conditions being summarized in Note 30—Share Equity Plan) and thus the related B2 shares are not converted into B1 shares, these B2 shares will continue to be held by Management KG and such MEP interests may be re-granted for a new vesting period (as defined in Note 30—Share Equity Plan) together with the previously accumulated profits in the B2 dividend reserve.

 

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NOTE 19—BORROWINGS

 

     At December 31, 2012      At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Interest
Rate
    Non-
current
     Current      Interest
Rate
    Non-
current
     Current  

Variable rate term loan facility

               

Constellium Holdco II, B.V.

     —          —           —           10.50     138         3   

Floating rate term loan facility (due May 2018) (A)

               

Constellium Holdco B.V.

     11.8     136         2         —          —           —     

Amounts due to factors related to trade accounts receivable

               

Various entities in Germany, Switzerland and France

     —          —           —           —          —           58   

U.S. Revolving Credit Facility (B)

               

Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood LLC

     3.21     —           16         6.75     —           12   

Others

               

Other miscellaneous

     —          4         —           —          3         —     
    

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Borrowings

       140         18           141         73   
    

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Represents amounts drawn under the new term loan facility totaling €138 million net of financing costs related to the issuance of the debt totaling €13 million at December 31, 2012.
(B) Represents amounts drawn under the revolving line of credit totaling €16 million at December 31, 2012 (€12 million at December 31, 2011).

Floating rate term loan facility

On May 25, 2012, Constellium entered into a $200 million (equivalent to €151 million at the period end exchange rate) six-year floating rate term loan facility maturing in May 2018. The proceeds were primarily used to repay the Variable rate term loan facility provided by Apollo Omega and FSI on January 4, 2011, which was therefore terminated as discussed below.

The term loan is guaranteed by certain of the Group subsidiaries. The term loan facility includes negative, affirmative and financial covenants.

Interest

The interest rate under the term loan facility is the applicable US Dollar interest rate (US Dollar LIBOR) for the interest period subject to a floor of 1.25% per annum, plus a margin of 8% per annum.

Cross-currency interest rate swap

Constellium entered into a cross-currency interest rate swap to hedge the term loan which converted a $200 million notional and floating USD interest (being the aggregate of the greater of 3-month USD-LIBOR and a floor of 1.25% plus a spread of 8%) into a €162 million notional with floating EUR-interest (being the aggregate of the greater of a 3-month Euribor and a floor of 1.25% plus a spread of 8.64%).

On December 31, 2012, the notional of this cross-currency interest rate swap decreased to an amount of $149 million. The remaining balance of the term loan is hedged by simple rolling foreign exchange forwards.

Financing cost

A $6 million (equivalent to €5 million at the issue date of the term loan) original issue discount (OID) was deducted from the term loan. Constellium Holdco B.V. received a net amount of $194 million (€154 million at the issue date of the term loan). In addition, the Group incurred debt fees of €10 million. Debt fees and OID are integrated in the effective interest rate of the term loan. Interest expenses are included in finance costs.

 

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Covenants

The Term Loan contains customary terms and conditions, including amongst other things, negative covenants limiting the Group’s ability to incur debt, grant liens, enter into sale and lease-back transactions, make investments, loans and advances, make acquisitions, sell assets, pay dividends and other restricted payments, prepay certain debt, merge, consolidate or amalgamate and engage in affiliate transactions.

In addition, the Term Loan requires the Group to maintain a ratio of consolidated secured net debt to EBITDA (as defined in the Term Loan agreement). The Group was in compliance with all applicable covenants as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Variable rate term loan facility

On January 4, 2011, the Group entered into a $275 million, five year variable rate term loan facility, with a minimum rate of 10.5% with Apollo Omega and FSI. The term loan Facility provided for an additional $125 million of uncommitted loans in the event of Constellium insolvency, as defined under the Term Loan agreement. At December 31, 2011, the Group had utilized $185 million (equivalent to €143 million at the year-end exchange rate) of the Term Loan.

In 2012, the Group repaid $185 million of the term loan facility (€148 million at the date of repayment) with the proceeds from the new term loan facility entered into on May 25, 2012 and thereafter this facility was terminated.

Interest and Financing costs

Under the Term Loan Facility, interest was charged for each utilized loan at a rate equal to a margin of 8.5% plus the greater of either the six-month USD-based LIBOR (London Interbank Offer Rate) rate or 2.0%.

As of December 31, 2011, the Group had incurred debt fees of €6 million and other Term Loan Facility related expenses of €1 million (totaling €7million); €2 million of which was integrated in the effective interest rate of the term loan. Interest expenses were included in Finance costs.

All unamortized debt fees and exit fees linked to this term loan were recognized as financial expenses during the year 2012. They amounted to €4 and €3 million respectively (see Note 10—Finance Costs—Net).

New U.S. Revolving Credit Facility

On May 25, 2012, Constellium Holdco II B.V., Constellium Holdings I, LLC and Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC subsidiaries of Constellium Holdco B.V entered into a $100 million (equivalent to €76 million at the period closing end rate), five-year secured asset-based variable rate revolving credit facility and letter of credit facility (“the ABL facility”). The proceeds from this ABL facility were used to repay amounts owed under the previous ABL facility entered into by Constellium Rolled Product Ravenswood, LLC on January 4, 2011.

Certain assets of the Borrower have been pledged as collateral for the ABL Facility.

At December 31, 2012, the Group has not utilised any letter of credit (at the year ended December 31, 2011: $12 million, equivalent to €9 million at the year-end exchange rate). A fronting fee of 0.125% per annum of the face amount of each letter of credit is expensed as incurred and payable in arrears on the last day of each calendar quarter after the letter of credit issuance.

At December 31, 2012, the Group had $66 million (equivalent to €50 million at the period closing end rate) of unused borrowing availability under the ABL Facility.

 

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Interest

Under the ABL Facility, interest charged is dependent upon the type of loan as follows:

 

  (a) Base Rate Loans will bear interest at an annual rate equal to the sum of an applicable margin comprised between 1% and 1.5% of the base rate, which is the greater of: (i) the prime rate in effect on any given day; (ii) the federal funds rate in effect on any given day plus 0.5% and (iii) the British Banker Association LIBOR Rate (BBA LIBOR);

 

  (b) Eurodollar Rate Loans will bear interest at an annual rate equal to the sum of the Eurodollar Rate (essentially LIBOR) plus the applicable margin comprised between 2% and 2.5%; and

 

  (c) Any other obligations will bear interest at an annual rate equal to the base rate plus the applicable margin of 2%.

Financing costs

 

 

Former ABL Facility

During the year ended December 31, 2011 the Group incurred non-refundable, up-front fees of €2 million and other ABL facility related expenses of €1 million (totaling €3 million). At December 31, 2011, these fees were included in Deferred financing costs—non-current (included in Trade receivables and other). They have been fully amortized as interest expense in 2012, included in Finance costs—net.

 

 

New ABL facility

During the period ended December 31, 2012, the Group incurred ABL facility related expenses of €3 million, included in Deferred financing costs – non-current (included in Trade receivables and other) in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position at December 31, 2012. Such fees are being amortized as interest expense included in Finance costs—net.

Covenants and restrictions

 

 

Former ABL Facility

The former ABL Facility included customary affirmative and negative covenants including covenants with respects to the Group’s financial statements, litigation and other reporting requirements, insurance, payments of taxes, and employee benefits.

Additionally, the former ABL Facility included customary negative covenants including limitations on the ability of the ABL Borrower and its immediate parent to make certain restricted payments, incur additional indebtedness, sell certain assets, enter into sale and leaseback transactions, make investments, pay dividends and distributions, engage in mergers, amalgamations or consolidations, engage in certain transactions with affiliates, or prepay certain indebtedness.

Under the former ABL Facility, Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC was required to restrict its cumulative cash outflows (defined as EBITDA plus or minus certain cash adjustments). For the period from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011, Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC was not in compliance with this covenant.

In February 2012, Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC and the lenders agreed a waiver in respect of the specific default.

 

 

New ABL facility

This facility contains a minimum availability covenant that requires Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC to maintain excess availability of at least the greater of (a) $10 million and (b) 10% of the aggregate revolving loan commitments. It also contains customary events of default.

 

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Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC was in compliance with all applicable covenants as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Currency concentration

The composition of the carrying amounts of total non-current and current borrowings due to third and related parties (excluding unamortized debt financing costs) in Euro equivalents is denominated in the currencies shown below:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
     At December  31,
2011
 

US dollar

     153         172   

Euro

     5         47   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total borrowings excluding unamortized debt financing costs

     158         219   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

NOTE 20—TRADE PAYABLES AND OTHER

Trade payables and other are comprised of the following:

 

     At December 31, 2012      At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Non-Current      Current      Non-Current      Current  

Trade payables

           

Third parties

     —           397         —           452   

Related parties

     —           85         —           12   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Trade payables

     —           482         —           464   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other payables

     1         18         —           25   

Employees entitlements

     5         144         3         130   

Deferred revenue

     20         10         —           29   

Taxes payable other than income tax

     —           2         —           15   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Other

     26         174         3         199   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Trade payables and other

     26         656         3         663   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

NOTE 21—PENSION AND OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT OBLIGATIONS

For the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, actuarial valuations were performed with the support of an independent expert and are reflected in the consolidated financial statements as described in Note 2.6—Principles governing the preparation of the consolidated financial statement.

Description of plans

The Group operates a number of pension, other post-employment benefits and other long-term employee benefit plans. Some of these plans are defined contribution plans and some are defined benefit plans, with assets held in separate trustee-administered funds.

Pension plans

Constellium’s pension obligations are in the US, Switzerland, Germany, and France. Pension benefits are generally based on the employee’s service and highest average eligible compensation before retirement, and are periodically adjusted for cost of living increases, either by company practice, collective agreement or statutory requirement.

 

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Other post-employment benefits (OPEB)

The Group provides health and life insurance benefits to retired employees and in some cases to their beneficiaries and covered dependents, mainly in the US. Eligibility for coverage is dependent upon certain age and service criteria. These benefit plans are unfunded.

Other long-term employee benefits

Other long term employee benefits include jubilees in France and Switzerland, other long-term disability benefits in the US and medical care in France.

Main events of the year

During the fourth quarter of 2012, the Group implemented certain plan amendments that had the effect of reducing benefits for the participants in the Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood Retiree Medical and Life Insurance Plan. These amendments resulted in the immediate recognition in Other gains / (losses)—net of €48 million of negative past service cost for the portion attributable to current retirees for which the benefits were vested and €10 million of unrecognized past service cost for the portion attributable to future retirees for which the benefits were not vested.

In 2012, the Group withdrew from the foundation which administered its employees benefit plans in Switzerland and joined a commercial multi-employer foundation. This change led to a partial liquidation which triggered a settlement. Consequently, related assets and liabilities were transferred to the new foundation and employees’ benefits were also adjusted. The settlement resulted in a €8 million loss recognized in Other gains / (losses)—net.

Actuarial assumptions:

 

     Year ended December 31, 2012     Year ended December 31, 2011  
     Rate of
increase
in
salaries
    Rate of
increase
in
pensions
    Discount
rate
    Inflation     Rate of
increase
in
salaries
    Rate of
increase
in
pensions
    Discount
rate
    Inflation  

Switzerland

     2.00     —          1.95     1.25     2.00     —          2.35     —     

USA

     3.80     —          —          —          3.80     —          —          —     

Hourly pension

     —          1.10     4.15     —          —          2.30     4.95     —     

Salaried pension

     —          —          4.35     —          —          —          5.05     —     

OPEB (A)

     —          —          4.05     —          —          —          4.95     —     

France

     2.50     2.00     3.20     2.00     2.00     2.10     4.50     2.00

Germany

     2.75     2.10     3.20     2.10     2.75     2.10     4.50     2.00

 

(A) Other main financial assumptions used for the OPEB (healthcare plans, which are predominantly in the US), were:

 

 

medical trend rate: 7.00 % reducing to 5.00 % by the year 2020 (pre 65: 7.50% starting in 2013 reducing to 5.00% by 2020, post 65: 7.00% starting in 2013 grading down to 5.00% by 2020), and

 

 

claims cost based on individual company experience.

For both pension and healthcare plans, the post-employment mortality assumptions allow for future improvements in life expectancy.

An increase in Assumed Health Care Trend Rates of 1% would result in an increase in the estimated Welfare liability of €8 million (€20 million for the year ended December 31, 2011) and a decrease in Assumed Health Care Trend Rates of 1% would result in a decrease in the estimated Welfare liability of €7 million (€17 million for the year ended December 31, 2011).

 

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Expected Long-term rate of return

 

     Year ended December 31,
2012
    Year ended December 31,
2011
 
     Switzerland     USA     Switzerland     USA  

Weighted average rate

     3.20     7.00     3.4     7.5

The expected rate of return on pension plan assets is determined as management’s best estimate of the long-term returns of the major classes of assets—equities, bonds, property and other—weighted by the actual allocation of assets among the categories at the measurement date. The expected rate of return is calculated using geometric averaging. The expected rates of return shown have been reduced to allow for plan expenses including, where appropriate, taxes incurred on investment returns within pension plans. The sources used to determine management’s best estimate of long-term returns are numerous and include country-specific bond yields, which may be derived from the market using local bond indices or by analysis of the local bond market, and country-specific inflation and investment market expectations derived from market data and analysts’ or governments’ expectations as applicable.

Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

 

     At December 31, 2012     At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total     Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Present value of funded obligation

     (533     —          (533     (505     —          (505

Fair value of plan assets

     267        —          267        287        —          287   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deficit of funded plans

     (266     —          (266     (218     —          (218

Present value on unfunded obligation

     (111     (234     (345     (89     (271     (360
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Unrecognized past service cost

     —          (10     (10     —          —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net liability arising from defined benefit obligations

     (377     (244     (621     (307     (271     (578
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Movements in the present value of the Defined Benefit Obligations

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Defined Benefit Obligations at beginning of year

     (865     —     

Net increase in liabilities from acquisitions/disposals

     —          (839

Current service cost

     (20     (21

Interest cost

     (35     (36

Actual plan participants’ contributions

     (5     (5

Past service cost

     56        —     

Curtailments

     —          2   

Settlements

     20        —     

Transfers

     —          1   

Actual benefits paid out

     46        33   

Actuarial (losses) / gains on plan liabilities

     (81     18   

Exchange rate gain / (loss)

     6        (18
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Defined Benefit Obligations at end of year

     (878     (865
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Of which:

    

Funded

     (533     (505

Unfunded

     (345     (360
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Movements in the fair value of plan assets

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Plan assets at beginning of year

     287        —     

Net increase in assets from acquisitions

     —          295   

Expected return on plan assets

     13        15   

Actuarial (losses) on plan assets

     (4     (44

Actual employer contributions

     40        41   

Actual plan participants’ contributions

     5        5   

Actual benefits paid out

     (46     (33

Settlements

     (28     —     

Exchange rate gain

     —          8   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fair value of plan assets at end of year

     267        287   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Variation of the net pension liabilities

 

     At December 31, 2012     At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total     Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Net (liability) recognized at beginning of year

     (307     (271     (578     —          —          —     

Effect of acquisitions

     —          —          —          (282     (262     (544

Total amounts recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement

     (32     28        (4     (24     (15     (39

Total amounts recognized in the SoCI

     (66     (19     (85     (25     (1     (26

Actual employer contributions

     26        14        40        28        13        41   

Exchange rate loss/(gain)

     2        4        6        (4     (6     (10
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net liability recognized at end of year

     (377     (244     (621     (307     (271     (578
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement

 

     Year ended December 31,
2012
    Year ended December 31,
2011
 

(in millions of Euros)

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total     Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Current service cost

     (15     (5     (20     (17     (4     (21

Interest cost

     (22     (13     (35     (24     (12     (36

Expected return on plan assets

     13        —          13        15        —          15   

Immediate recognition of gains arising over the year

     —          1        1        —          1        1   

Past service cost

     20        45        65        —          —          —     

Loss arising from plan settlements

     (28     —          (28     —          —          —     

Other gains (including curtailments)

     —          —          —          2        —          2   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total (costs)/income recognized in Income Statement

     (32     28        (4     (24     (15     (39
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The expenses shown in this table are included as employee costs in the Consolidated Income Statement within employee benefit expense and in Other gains / (losses)—net (see Note 7—Employee Benefit Expense and Note 8—Other Gains / (Losses)—Net).

 

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Analysis of amounts recognized in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income (SoCI)

 

     At December 31, 2012     At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Pension
Benefits
     Other
Benefits
    Total     Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
     Total  

Cumulative amount of losses recognized in the SoCI at beginning of year

     26         1        27        —          —           —     

Liability losses due to changes in assumptions

     60         24        84        9        —           9   

Liability experience losses / (gains) arising during the year

     2         (5     (3     (28     1         (27

Asset losses arising during the year

     4         —          4        45        —           45   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total loss recognized in SoCI

     66         19        85        26        1         27   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cumulative amount of losses recognized in the SoCI at end of year

     92         20        112        26        1         27   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Defined benefit obligations by countries

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
    At December  31,
2011
 

France

     (119     (94

Germany

     (136     (118

Switzerland

     (205     (206

United States

     (418     (447
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Defined Benefit Obligations

     (878     (865
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Value of plan assets at year end by major classes of assets

 

     At December 31, 2012      At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   USA      Switzerland      Total      USA      Switzerland      Total  

Equities

     61         36         97         64         43         107   

Bonds

     42         73         115         42         29         71   

Property

     4         18         22         8         50         58   

Other

     19         14         33         6         45         51   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total fair value of plan assets

     126         141         267         120         167         287   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The actual return on plan assets was €10 million in 2012 (€(29) million in 2011).

Contributions to plans

Contributions to pension plans totaled €26 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 (€28 million for the year ended December 31, 2011).

Contributions to other benefits totaled €14 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 (€13 million for the year ended December 31, 2011).

Expected contributions to pension for the year ending December 31, 2013 is €28 million and other post-employment benefits (healthcare obligations) is €14 million.

 

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Sensitivity analysis

As at December 31, 2012, a 0.50% increase / decrease in the discount rates would impact the Defined Benefit Obligations as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   0.5 % increase
in  discount rates
    0.5% decrease
in discount  rates
 

France

     (7     7   

Germany

     (8     9   

Switzerland

     (18     19   

United States

     (25     27   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total sensitivity on Defined benefit obligations

     (58     62   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE 22—PROVISIONS

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Close down
and
environmental
restoration
costs
    Restructuring
costs
    Legal claims
and other
costs
    Total  

At January 1, 2012

     55        25        48        128   

Additional provisions

     1        20        16        37   

Amounts used

     (2     (26     (3     (31

Unused amounts reversed

     (1     (2     (14     (17

Unwinding of discounts

     3        —          —          3   

Other

     —          2        —          2   

At December 31, 2012

     56        19        47        122   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2012

        

Current

     3        14        16        33   

Non current

     53        5        31        89   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Provisions

     56        19        47        122   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Close down
and
environmental
restoration
costs
    Restructuring
costs
    Legal claims
and other
costs
    Total  

At January 1, 2011

     —          —          —          —     

Provisions assumed at fair value

     53        20        51        124   

Additional provisions

     —          20        5        25   

Amounts used

     —          (12     (2     (14

Unused amounts reversed

     (1     (3     (7     (11

Unwinding of discounts

     3        —          —          3   

Effects of changes in foreign exchange rates

     —          —          1        1   

At December 31, 2011

     55        25        48        128   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2011

        

Current

     3        15        24        42   

Non current

     52        10        24        86   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Provisions

     55        25        48        128   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Close down and environmental restoration costs

The Group records provisions for the estimated present value of the costs of its environmental clean-up obligations and close down and restoration efforts based on the net present value of estimated future costs of the dismantling and demolition of infrastructure and the removal of residual material of disturbed areas, using an average discount rate of 1.8%. A change in the discount rate of 0.50% would impact the provision by €2 million.

It is expected that these provisions will be settled over the next 40 years depending on the nature of the disturbance and the technical remediation plans.

Restructuring costs

The Group records provisions for restructuring costs when management has a detailed formal plan, is demonstrably committed to its execution and can reasonably estimate the associated liabilities. The related expenses are included in Restructuring costs in the Consolidated Income Statement.

The net increase in restructuring provisions amounting to €18 million (2011: €17 million) mainly relates to operations in France (€9 million in 2012, €14 million in 2011), Switzerland (€8 million in 2012) and Germany (€1 million in 2012, €3 million in 2011). The Group expensed €25 million related to restructuring operations during the year ended December 31, 2012 (2011: €20 million). The provision is expected to be mainly utilized in 2013.

Legal claims and other costs

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
     Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Maintenance and customers related provisions (A)

     21         27   

Litigation ( B )

     9         8   

Disease claims ( C )

     7         6   

Other

     10         7   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Provisions for legal claims and other costs

     47         48   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) These provisions include €13 million (2011: €15 million) related to general equipment maintenance, mainly linked to the Group’s leases. These provisions also include €3 million (2011: €8 million) related to product warranties and guarantees and €5 million (2011: €4 million) related to late delivery penalties. These provisions are expected to be utilized in the next 5 years.
(B) The Group is involved in litigation and other proceedings, such as civil, commercial and tax proceedings, incidental to normal operations. It is not anticipated that the resolution of such litigation and proceedings will have a material effect on the future results, financial position, or cash flows of the Group.
(C)

Since the early 1990’s, certain activities of the Group’s businesses have been subject to claims and lawsuits in France relating to occupational diseases, such as mesothelioma and asbestosis. It is not uncommon for the investigation and resolution of such claims to go on over many years as the latency period for acquiring such diseases is typically between 25 and 40 years. For any such claim, it is up to the social security authorities in each jurisdiction to determine if a claim qualifies as an occupational illness claim. If so determined, the Group must settle the case or defend its position in court. The number of claims filed for asbestos exposure for the period from 1998 to 2010 is 163, 10 in 2011 and 1 in 2012. As at December 31, 2012, 14 cases in which gross negligence is alleged (“ faute inexcusable ”) remain outstanding, the average amount per claim being €0.3 million. The average settlement amount per claim in 2012 and 2011 was below €0.1 million. The following assumptions underlie the provision: the amount of damages sought by the claimant, the Group and claimant’s willingness to negotiate a settlement, the terms of settlement of other defendants with asbestos-related liabilities, the nature of pending and future claims, the volatility of the

 

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  litigation environment, the defense strategies available to the Group, the level of future claims and the rate of receipt of claims. It is not anticipated that the resolution of such litigation and proceedings will have a material effect on the future results from continuing operations of the Group.

NOTE 23—FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT

The Group’s financial risk management strategy focuses on minimizing the cost and cash flow impacts of volatility in foreign currency exchange rates, metal prices and interest rates, while maintaining the financial flexibility the Group requires in order to successfully execute the Group’s business strategies.

Due to Constellium’s capital structure and the nature of its operations, the Group is exposed to the following financial risks: (1) market risk (including foreign exchange risk, commodity price risk and interest rate risk); (2) credit risk and (3) liquidity and capital management risk.

23.1. Market risk

(i) Foreign exchange risk

Net assets, earnings and cash flows are influenced by multiple currencies due to the geographic diversity of sales and the countries in which the Group operates. The Euro and the US dollar are the currencies in which the majority of sales are denominated. Operating costs are influenced by the currencies of those countries where Constellium’s operating plants are located and also by those currencies in which the costs of imported equipment and services are determined. The Euro and US dollar are the most important currencies influencing operating costs.

The policy of the Group is to hedge committed and highly probable forecasted foreign currency operational transactions. The Group uses both forwards and combinations of zero cost collars.

In June 2011, the Group entered into a multiple-year frame agreement with a major customer for the sale of fabricated metal products in US Dollars. In line with its hedging policy, the Group entered into significant foreign exchange derivative transactions to forward sell US dollars versus the euro following the signing of the multiple-year frame agreement to match these future sales.

As at December 31, 2012, our largest derivative transactions related to this contract.

The notional principal amounts of the outstanding foreign exchange contracts at December 31, 2012 with maturities ranging between 2013 and 2016 were as follows:

 

Currency

   Forward Exchange
contracts in
currency millions
    Foreign Exchange
Swap contracts in
currency millions
 

CHF

     50        (8

CZK

     —          247   

EUR

     746        (44

GBP

     (9     2   

JPY

     (739     (470

SGD

     —          7   

USD

     (1,043     52   

Hedge accounting is not applied and therefore the mark-to-market impact is recorded in Other gains / (losses)—net.

In the year ended December 31, 2011, the impact of the Group’s hedging strategy in relation to foreign currency led to unrealized losses on derivatives of €59 million which related primarily to the exposure on the multiple year

 

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sale agreement for fabricated products in US dollars by a euro functional subsidiary of the group. In the year ended December 31, 2012, the impact of these derivatives was an unrealized gain of €35 million as the US dollar weakened against the euro in the second half of 2012. The offsetting risk relating to forecasted sales are not visible due to the sales not yet being recorded in the books of the Group.

As the US dollar appreciates against the euro, the derivative contracts entered into with financial institutions have a negative mark-to-market. Our financial derivative counterparties require margin should our mark-to-market exceed a pre-agreed contractual limit. In order to protect from the potential margin calls for significant market movements, the Group holds a significant liquidity buffer in cash or in availability under its various borrowing facilities, enters into derivatives with a large number of financial counterparties and monitors margin requirements on a daily basis for adverse movements in the U.S. dollar versus the euro.

At year end 2012, the margin requirement related to foreign exchange hedges amounted to €15 million comprising of €12 million of fixed margin and €3 million of variable margin (as of December 31, 2011: €21 million).

The largest margin call paid posted in 2012 related to foreign exchange derivatives was €51 million on July 26, 2012.

During 2012, the Group has decided to limit the liquidity risk arising from potential margin calls on operational hedges by entering into a portfolio of foreign exchange zero cost collars (combinations of bought calls and sold puts). As of December 31, 2012, the Group had entered into $647 million of collars, with maturities ranging between 2013 and 2016 where the Group bought a call on the US dollar (put on the euro) with average strike $1.0811 and sold a put on the US dollar (call on the euro) with an average strike of $1.4021.

Borrowings are principally in US dollars and euros (see Note 19—Borrowings). It is the policy of the Group to hedge all foreign currency debt and cash. At the inception of the US dollar term loan in May 2012, the Group entered into a cross currency interest rate swap to hedge the foreign exchange and interest rate risk inherent in our financing. As of December 31, 2012, the notional outstanding on the cross currency basis swap was $149 million (€ 120 million). The unrealized loss related to the economic hedge of the loan amounted to €16 million during the year ended December 31, 2012.

Foreign exchange sensitivity: Risks associated with exposure to financial instruments

A 10% weakening in the December 31, 2012 closing Euro exchange rate on the value of financial instruments held by the Group at December 31, 2012 would have decreased earnings (before tax effect) as shown in the table below:

 

At December 31, 2012

(in millions of Euros)

   Sensitivity
impact
 

Cash and cash equivalents

     1   

Trade receivables

     17   

Trade payables

     (9

Borrowings

     (19

Metal derivatives (net)

     —     

Foreign exchange derivatives (net)

     (67

Cross currency swap

     15   
  

 

 

 

Total

     (62
  

 

 

 

The amounts shown in the table above may not be indicative of future results since the balances of financial assets and liabilities may change.

 

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A 10% change in the closing Euro exchange rate against currencies other than US dollar would not have a material impact on earnings.

(ii) Commodity price risk

The Group is subject to the effects of market fluctuations in the price of aluminium, which is the Group’s primary metal input and a significant component of its output. The Group is also exposed to silver, copper and natural gas in a less significant way. The Group has entered into derivatives contracts to manage these risks and carries those instruments at their fair values on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.

As of December 31, 2012, the notional principle amount of aluminum derivatives outstanding was 113,000 tons (approximately $230 million) with maturities ranging from 2013 to 2015, copper derivatives outstanding was 700 tons (approximately $6 million) with maturities in 2013, silver derivatives 260,000 ounces (approximately $7 million) with maturities in 2013 and 1,650,000 MMBtu of natural gas futures (approximately $5 million) with maturities in 2013.

The value of the contracts will fluctuate due to changes in market prices but is intended to help protect the Group’s margin on future conversion and fabrication activities. At December 31, 2012, these contracts are directly with external counterparties.

When the Group is unable to align the price and quantity of physical aluminum purchases with that of physical aluminum sales, it enters into derivative financial instruments to pass through the exposure to metal price fluctuations to financial institutions at the time the price is set. Therefore, the Group has purchased fixed price aluminium forwards to offset the exposure of LME volatility on its fixed price sales agreements for the supply of metal. The Group does not apply hedge accounting and therefore any mark-to-market movements are recognized in Other gains / (losses)—net.

In the year ended December 31, 2011, €86 million of unrealized losses were recorded in relation to LME futures entered into to minimize the exposure to aluminum volatility. A steep decline in the LME price of aluminum led to unrealized losses with the revaluation of the underlying transaction continuing to be off balance sheet as the sales had not yet been invoiced and recognized as revenue. In the year ended December 31, 2012, this resulted in an unrealized gain of €25 million. Hedges which had a significant negative mark-to-market at year end 2011 expired and offset the underlying commercial transactions during 2012. Further, the aluminum market traded sideways during 2012 and the mark-to-market at year end of derivatives related to aluminum hedging was close to zero.

As the LME price for aluminum falls, the derivative contracts entered into with financial institution counterparties have a negative mark-to-market. The Group’s financial institution counterparties may require margin calls should the negative mark-to-market exceed a pre-agreed contractual limit. In order to protect from the potential margin calls for significant market movements, the Group enters into derivatives with a large number of financial counterparties and monitors margin requirements on a daily basis for adverse movements in aluminum prices.

As of December 31, 2012, the margin requirement related to aluminum hedges was zero (as of December 31, 2011, margin posted on aluminum hedges was also zero).

The largest margin call paid in 2012 related to aluminum hedges was €2 million on June 29, 2012.

Commodity price sensitivity: risks associated with derivatives

Since none of the Group’s derivatives are designated for hedge accounting treatment, the net impact on earnings and equity of a 10% change in the market price of aluminium, based on the aluminium derivatives held by the Group at December 31, 2012 (before tax effect), with all other variables held constant was estimated to be €19 million (€3 million at December 31, 2011). The balances of such financial instruments may change in future periods however, and therefore the amounts shown may not be indicative of future results.

 

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(iii) Interest rate risk

Interest rate risk refers to the risk that the value of financial instruments held by the Group and that are subject to variable rates will fluctuate, or the cash flows associated with such instruments will be impacted due to changes in market interest rates. The Group’s interest rate risk arises principally from borrowings. Borrowings issued at variable rates expose the Group to cash flow interest rate risk which is partially offset by cash and cash equivalents deposits (including short-term investments) earning interest at variable interest rates. Borrowings issued at fixed rates expose the Group to fair value interest rate risk. Management believe that floating interest rates are advantageous as a significant portion of Constellium’s funding requirements is working-capital related and all excess cash is invested in very short term deposits. As of the end of December 2012, substantially all of the Group’s gross debt balance was subject to floating interest rates.

Interest rate sensitivity: risks associated with variable-rate financial instruments

The impact (before tax effect) on net income of a 50 basis point increase or decrease in the LIBOR or EURIBOR interest rates, based on the variable rate financial instruments held by the Group at December 31, 2012, with all other variables held constant, was estimated to be lower than €1 million for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. The balances of such financial instruments may not remain constant in future periods however, and therefore the amounts shown may not be indicative of future results.

23.2. Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will not meet its obligations under a financial instrument or customer contract, leading to a financial loss. The Group is exposed to credit risk with financial institutions and other parties as a result of deposits and the mark-to-market on derivative transactions and from customer trade receivables arising from Constellium’s operating activities. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the carrying value of each class of financial asset as described in Note 24—Financial Instruments. The Group does not generally hold any collateral as security.

Credit risk related to deposits with financial institutions

Credit risk with financial institutions is managed by the Treasury department in accordance with a Board approved policy. Constellium management is not aware of any significant risks associated with financial institutions as a result of cash and cash equivalents deposits (including short-term investments) and financial derivative transactions.

The number of financial counterparties is tabulated below showing our exposure to the counterparty by rating type (ratings from Moody’s Investor Services).

 

     As at December 31, 2012      As at December 31, 2011  

Number of financial counterparties (A)

   Number of
financial
counterparties
     Exposure
(In millions  of
Euros)
     Number of
financial
counterparties
     Exposure
(In millions  of
Euros)
 

Rated Aa or better

     4         11         —           —     

Rated A

     11         145         9         111   

Rated Baa

     1         —           —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     16         156         9         111   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Financial Counterparties for which the Group’s exposure is below EUR250k have been excluded from the analysis

 

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Credit risks related to customer trade receivables

The Group has a diverse customer base geographically and by industry. The responsibility for customer credit risk management rests with Constellium management. Payment terms vary and are set in accordance with practices in the different geographies and end-markets served. Credit limits are typically established based on internal or external rating criteria, which take into account such factors as the financial condition of the customers, their credit history and the risk associated with their industry segment. Trade accounts receivable are actively monitored and managed, at the business unit or site level. Business units report credit exposure information to Constellium management on a regular basis. Over 70% of the Group’s trade account receivables are insured by insurance companies rated A3 1 or better. In situations where collection risk is considered to be above acceptable levels, risk is mitigated through the use of advance payments, bank guarantees or letters of credit. Historically we have a very low level of customer default as a result of long history of dealing with our customer base and an active credit monitoring function.

 

See Note 16—Trade Receivables and Other for the ageing of trade receivables.

23.3. Liquidity and capital risk management

The Group’s capital structure includes shareholder’s equity, borrowings from related parties and various third-party financing arrangements. Constellium’s total capital is defined as total equity plus net debt. Net debt includes borrowings due to third parties less cash and cash equivalents.

Constellium’s over-riding objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the business as a going concern, to maximize returns for its owners and to maintain an optimal capital structure in order to minimize the weighted cost of capital.

All activities around cash funding, borrowings and financial instruments are centralized within Constellium’s Treasury department. Direct external funding or transactions with banks at the operating plant entity level are generally not permitted, and exceptions must be approved by Constellium’s Treasury department.

The liquidity requirements of the overall Company is funded by drawing on available credit facilities, while the internal management of liquidity is optimized by means of cash pooling agreements and/or intercompany loans and deposits between the Company’s operating entities and central Treasury. The capital structure of individual operating entities within Constellium is determined with reference to Corporate Finance department objectives and tax structure optimization strategies.

The contractual agreements that the Group has with derivative financial counterparties required the posting of collateral once a certain threshold has been reached. In order to protect the Group from the potential margin calls for significant market movements, the Group holds a significant liquidity buffer in cash or availability under its various borrowing facilities, enters into derivatives with a large number of financial counterparties, entered into a series of zero cost collars (see section 23.1 (i)) and monitors margin requirements on a daily basis for adverse movements in the US dollar versus the euro and in aluminum prices.

 

1   Rating from Moody’s Investor Services

 

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The table below shows undiscounted contractual values by relevant maturity groupings based on the remaining period from December 31, 2012 and 2011 to the contractual maturity date.

 

     At December 31, 2012      At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Less Than
1 Year
     Between
1 and 5 Years
     Over
5 Years
     Less Than
1 Year
     Between
1 and 5 Years
     Over
5 Years
 

Financial liabilities:

                 

Borrowings (A)

     32         61         149         85         188         —     

Cross currency interest rate swap

     1         12         —           —           —           —     

Net cash flows from derivatives liabilities related to currencies and metal (B)

     23         17         —           49         33         —     

Trade payables and other (excludes deferred revenue)

     645         7         —           634         3         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     701         97         149         768         224         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Borrowings include the U.S. Revolving credit facility which is considered short-term in nature and is included in the category “Less than 1 year” and un-discounted forecasted interests on the term loan.
(B) Foreign exchange options have not been included as they are not in the money.

Derivative financial instruments

The Group enters into derivatives contracts to manage operating exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency, aluminium and silver prices. These contracts are not designated as hedges. The tables below show the undiscounted contractual values and terms of derivative instruments.

 

     At December 31, 2012      At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Less than
1 year
     1 to 5
years
     Total      Less than
1 year
     1 to 5
years
     Total  

Assets—Derivative Contracts

                 

Aluminium futures contracts

     6         —           6         2         1         3   

Silver future contracts

     1         —           1         —           —           —     

Currency derivative contracts

     13         5         18         8         1         9   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     20         5         25         10         2         12   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Liabilities—Derivative Contracts (A)

                 

Aluminium future contracts

     7         1         8         26         3         29   

Currency derivative contract

     16         16         32         23         30         53   

Cross currency interest rate swap

     1         12         13         —           —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     24         29         53         49         33         82   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Foreign exchange options have not been included as they are not in the money.

 

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NOTE 24—FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The tables below show the classification of financial assets and liabilities, which includes all third and related party amounts.

Financial assets and liabilities by categories

 

            At December 31, 2012      At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Loans
and
receivables
     At Fair
Value
Through
Profit and
Loss
     Total      Loans
and
receivables
     At Fair
Value
Through
Profit and
Loss
     Total  

Cash and cash equivalents

     17         142         —           142         113         —           113   

Trade receivables and Finance Lease receivables

     16         428         —           428         471         —           471   

Financial receivables (factoring)

     16         —           —           —           9         —           9   

Other financial assets (A)

        15         29         44         21         14         35   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial assets

        585         29         614         614         14         628   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Trade payables

     20         482         —           482         464         —           464   

Borrowings

     19         158         —           158         214         —           214   

Other financial liabilities (B)

        —           70         70         —           98         98   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

        640         70         710         678         98         776   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Other financial assets are comprised of derivatives not designated as hedges and are with counterparties as follows:

 

     At December 31, 2012      At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Non-
Current
     Current      Total      Non-
Current
     Current      Total  

Third parties

     10         19         29         3         11         14   

Derivatives

     10         19         29         3         11         14   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Margin calls

     —           15         15         —           21         21   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other financial assets

     10         34         44         3         32         35   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(B) Other financial liabilities are comprised of derivatives not designated as hedges and are with counterparties as follows:

 

     At December 31, 2012      At December 31, 2011  

(in millions of Euros)

   Non-
Current
     Current      Total      Non-
Current
     Current      Total  

Third parties

     46         24         70         47         51         98   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other financial liabilities

     46         24         70         47         51         98   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Fair values

The fair value of the derivatives approximate their carrying value because they are remeasured to their fair value at the date of each reporting period.

The carrying value of the Group’s borrowings approximates their fair value.

The fair values of other financial assets and liabilities approximate their carrying values, as a result of their liquidity or short maturity.

 

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Margin calls

Constellium Finance SAS and Constellium Switzerland AG entered into agreements with some financial institutions in order to define applicable rules with regards to the setting-up of derivative trading accounts. On a daily or weekly basis (depending on the arrangement with each financial institution) all open currency or metal derivative contracts are revalued to the current market price. When the change in fair value reaches a certain threshold (positive or negative), a margin call occurs resulting in the Group making or receiving back a cash payment to/from the financial institution.

At December 31, 2012, the Group made cash deposits related to margin calls for a total amount of €15 million (€21 million at December 31, 2011).

Valuation hierarchy

The following table provides an analysis of financial instruments measured at fair value, grouped into levels based on the degree to which the fair value is observable:

 

 

Level 1 valuation is based on quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical financial instruments;

 

 

Level 2 valuation is based on inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the assets or liability, either directly (i.e. prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from prices); and

 

 

Level 3 valuation is based on inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).

 

At December 31, 2012

(in millions of Euros)

   Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Other financial assets

     6         23         —           29   

Other financial liabilities

     8         62         —           70   

 

At December 31, 2011

(in millions of Euros)

   Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Other financial assets

     2         12         —           14   

Other financial liabilities

     29         69         —           98   

Level 1 includes aluminium futures that are traded on the LME. Level 2 includes foreign exchange derivatives.

NOTE 25—DEFERRED INCOME TAXES

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
    At December  31,
2011
 

Shown in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position:

    

Deferred income tax assets

     205        205   

Deferred income tax liabilities

     (11     (29
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net deferred income tax assets

     194        176   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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The following table shows the changes in net deferred income tax assets (liabilities) for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011.

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Balance at beginning of year

     176        —     

Net deferred income tax assets acquired

     —          108   

Deferred income taxes recognized in the Consolidated Income Statement

     (16     65   

Effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates

     —          2   

Deferred income taxes recognized directly in other comprehensive income

     16        1   

Other

     18        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at end of year

     194        176   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

     Opening
Balance
    Acquisitions
/Disposals
     Recognized in      FX     Other      Closing
balance
 

Year ended December 31, 2012

(in millions of Euros)

        Profit or
loss
    OCI          

Deferred tax (liabilities) / assets in relation to:

                 

Long-term assets

     121        —           (47     —           1        —           75   

Inventories

     (14     —           31        —           (1     —           16   

Pensions

     45        —           1        16         —          —           62   

Derivative valuation

     30        —           (21     —           —          —           9   

Tax losses Carried forward

     —          —           6        —           —          —           6   

Other

     (6     —           14        —           —          18         26   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     176        —           (16     16         —          18         194   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

     Opening
Balance
     Acquisitions
/Disposals
    Recognized in      FX      Other     Closing
balance
 

Year ended December 31, 2011

(in millions of Euros)

        Profit or
loss
    OCI          

Deferred tax (liabilities) / assets in relation to:

                 

Long-term assets

     —           139        (18     —           —           —          121   

Inventories

     —           (29     14        —           1         —          (14

Pensions

     —           42        1        1         —           1        45   

Derivative valuation

     —           (16     45        —           1         —          30   

Tax losses Carried forward

     —           —          —          —           —           —          —     

Other

     —           (28     23        —           —           (1     (6
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     —           108        65        1         2         —          176   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Based on the expected taxable income of the entities, the Group believes that it is more likely than not that a total of €497 million (€651 million at December 31, 2011) of deductible temporary differences, unused tax losses and unused tax credits will not be used. Consequently, no deferred tax assets have been recognized. The related tax impact of €175 million (€188 million at December 31, 2011) is attributable to the following:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
    At December  31,
2011
 

Tax losses

     (40     (32

In 2012

     —          (1

In 2013

     (2     (2

In 2014

     (2     (2

In 2015

     —          —     

In 2016

     —          —     

In 2017 and after (limited)

     (17     (8

Unlimited

     (19     (19
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Unused tax credits

     —          —     

Deductible temporary differences

     (135     (156

Depreciation and Amortization

     (14     14   

Pensions

     (116     (131

Other

     (5     (39
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at December 31

     (175     (188
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE 26—COMMITMENTS

Non-cancellable operating leases commitments

The Group leases various buildings, machinery, and equipment under operating lease agreements. Total rent expense was €16 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 (€14 million for the year ended December 31, 2011).

The future aggregate minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
     At December  31,
2011
 

Less than 1 year

     16         11   

1 to 5 years

     39         28   

More than 5 years

     3         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total non cancellable operating leases minimum payments

     58         39   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Capital expenditure commitments

 

(in millions of Euros)

   At December  31,
2012
     At December  31,
2011
 

Property, Plant and equipment

     49         37   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total capital expenditure commitments

     49         37   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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NOTE 27—RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The following table describes the nature and amounts of related party transactions included in the Consolidated Income Statement.

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      Year ended
December 31,
2012
    Year ended
December 31,
2011
 

Revenue (A)

        6        8   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Metal supply (B)

        (583     (536
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Interest expense (C)

     10, 19         (7     (16

Exit fees

        (2     —     

Realized exchange (loss) on financing activities

        (7     —     

Unrealized exchange (loss) on financing activities

     10         —          (5
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance costs—net

        (16     (21
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Realized gains on derivatives

     8         —          37   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other gains—net

        —          37   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Direct expenses related to acquisition and separation (D)

     3         —          (52
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) The Group sells products to certain subsidiaries and affiliates of Rio Tinto.
(B) Purchases of metal from certain subsidiaries and affiliates of Rio Tinto, net of changes in inventory levels, are included in Cost of sales in the Consolidated Income Statement.
(C) Until May 2012, the Group incurred interest expense on borrowings due to Apollo Omega.
(D) Representing transaction costs, equity fees and other costs paid to the Owners.

The following table describes the nature and year-end related party balances of amounts included in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, none of which is secured by pledged assets or collateral.

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Notes      At December  31,
2012
     At December  31,
2011
 

Trade receivables and other

     16         2         40   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Trade payables

     20         85         12   

Interest payable

     19         —           3   

Other payables (A)

        —           —     
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total trade payables and other—current

        85         15   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Borrowings

     19         —           143   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Trade payables to related parties arise from purchases of metal and from various miscellaneous services that are provided to the Group by certain subsidiaries and affiliates of the Owners. In addition, the Group has interest payable to related parties arising from borrowings as described above and in Note 19—Borrowings.

The Company has a service agreement with Apollo for the provision of management and support services. The annual fee is equal to the greater of $2 million per annum and 1% of the Company’s Adjusted EBITDA before such fees. Fees and expenses of $3 million equivalent to €2 million are included in the Consolidated Income Statement for the year ended December 31, 2012 ($2 million equivalent to €1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011).

 

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NOTE 28—KEY MANAGEMENT REMUNERATION

Aggregate compensation for the Group’s key management is comprised of the following:

 

(in millions of Euros)

   Year ended
December 31,
2012
     Year ended
December,  31,
2011
 

Short-term employee benefits

     9         9   

Termination benefits

     2         5   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     11         14   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the entity, directly or indirectly. They are the members of the Executive Management Committee and Vice-Presidents of key activities of the Group and make up the “Constellium Management Team”.

 

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NOTE 29—SUBSIDIARIES AND OPERATING SEGMENTS

The following is a list of the Group’s principal subsidiaries. They are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Constellium and are legal entities for which all or a substantial portion of the operations, assets, liabilities, and cash flows are included in the continuing operations of the consolidated reporting Group.

 

Entity

   Country    Ownership  

Cross Operating Segment

     

Constellium France S.A.S. (A&T, P&ARP and Holdings and Corporate)

   France      100

Constellium Singen GmbH (AS&I, P&ARP and Holdings and Corporate)

   Germany      100

Constellium Valais S.A. (A&T and AS&I)

   Switzerland      100

AS&I

     

Constellium Extrusions Decin S.r.o

   Czech Republic      100

Constellium Extrusion France Saint Florentin S.A.S.

   France      100

Constellium Extrusions France S.A.S.

   France      100

Constellium Extrusions Deutschland GmbH

   Germany      100

Constellium Extrusions Levice S.r.o.

   Slovak Republic      100

Constellium Automotive USA, LLC

   US      100

Constellium Engley (Changchun) Automotive Structures Co Ltd.

   China      54

A&T

     

Constellium Aerospace S.A.S.

   France      100

Constellium Aviatube

   France      100

Constellium Sabart S.A.S.

   France      100

Constellium Ussel S.A.S.

   France      100

Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC

   US      100

Constellium Property and Equipment Company, LLC

   US      100

Constellium South East Asia

   Singapore      100

Constellium China

   China      100

Constellium Japan KK

   Japan      100

Holdings & Corporate

     

Constellium Holdco II B.V

   Netherlands      100

Constellium Centre de Recherches de Voreppe S.A.S. (Research and Development Facility)

   France      100

Constellium Finance S.A.S.

   France      100

Engineered Products International S.A.S.

   France      100

Constellium France Holdco SAS

   France      100

Constellium Germany Holdco Gmbh

   Germany      100

Constellium US Holdings I, LLC

   US      100

Constellium US Holdings II, LLC

   US      100

Constellium Deutschland GmbH

   Germany      100

Constellium Switzerland AG

   Switzerland      100

Alcan International Network UK Limited

   United Kingdom      100

Refer to Note 4—Operating Segment Information for definition and description of operating segments.

In addition, the Group holds a 49.85% interest in Rhenaroll S.A. which specializes in the chrome-plating, grinding and repairing of rolling mill’s rolls and rollers, and a 50% interest in Alcan Strojmetal Aluminium Forging, s.r.o., which specializes in the forging of products primarily for the automotive industry. These investments are accounted for using the equity accounting method.

 

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NOTE 30—SHARE EQUITY PLAN

The Company implemented a share equity plan for Constellium management in order to align the interests of management with the interests of shareholders and to enable Company management to participate in the long-term growth of Constellium. The share equity plan was implemented at the beginning of 2011, with an effective date of February 4, 2011, through the establishment of a management investment company, Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG (“Management KG”). Individual managers may be invited to invest as limited partners in Management KG in order to have the opportunity to hold interests in the Company’s shares indirectly through this limited partnership.

Under the terms of the share equity plan, limited partnership interests in Management KG (“MEP interests”) that represent individual managers’ capital contributions to Management KG are attributable to A shares held by Management KG. In addition, vested MEP interests are attributable to B1 shares held by Management KG, while unvested MEP interests are attributable to B2 shares held by Management KG. Upon the vesting of an unvested MEP interest, the corresponding B2 shares held by Management KG in respect of such unvested MEP interest are converted to B1 shares.

It is intended that Management KG hold up to 190,784 A shares with a nominal amount of €0.01 each, 95,392 B1 shares with a nominal value of €0.01 each and 95,392 B2 shares with a nominal amount of €0.01 each, resulting in a total participation in the Company of up to 7.5%.

On April 12, 2011 and July 19, 2011, the Company issued capital comprised of 148,998 and 18,699 A shares and 82,032 and 9,652 B2 shares, respectively, to Management KG for consideration totaling $6 million:

 

 

A shares were acquired at their fair value (the value of the shares at the transaction date of $35.42 per share).

 

 

B2 shares were acquired at $10.50 per share. As described above, these B2 shares can be converted in one or more tranches into B1 shares if the related vesting conditions with respect to the unvested MEP interests attributable to such B2 shares are satisfied.

MEP interests held by share equity plan participants in respect of B2 shares are granted in service- and performance-vesting tranches. The service-vesting tranche vests in 20% increments on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th anniversary of a share equity plan participant’s effective investment date if the share equity plan participant continues employment with Constellium through the applicable vesting date. The performance-vesting tranches generally vest in respect of the financial year that includes the share equity plan participant’s effective investment date and each of the following four financial years only if the share equity plan participant continues employment with Constellium through the end of the applicable year and Constellium attains certain Adjusted EBITDA targets in respect of that financial year. As a result, the service period of the MEP interest attributable to a B2 share is considered the vesting period pursuant to IFRS 2—Share-based Payments.

In addition and in accordance with IFRS 2—Share-based Payments , the difference between the fair value and the acquisition amount the B2 shares is accounted for, over the vesting period of the related MEP interests, in the Consolidated Income Statement, with a corresponding increase in equity. An expense amounting to approximately €0.9 million was recorded in the Consolidated Income Statement for the year ended at December 31, 2012 (€0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2011).

 

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NOTE 31—DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

At the date of the Acquisition, the Group organized the acquired business into four operating segments:

 

 

Aerospace & Transportation (A&T);

 

 

Automotive Structures & Industry (AS&I);

 

 

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products (P&ARP);

 

 

Alcan International Network (AIN).

Constellium did not intend to retain the AIN Business and therefore a sale process commenced as of the Acquisition date.

On October 25, 2011, Constellium received a binding offer from CellMark for the purchase of 13 entities which was effective as of December 30, 2011.

At December 31, 2011, 10 remaining AIN entities were classified as held for sale. The rest of the entities included in the AIN Business were not sold in 2012.

As at December 31, 2012, the Group has ceased operations of these entities, therefore abandoning them. The cash flows and results of these entities are presented as discontinued operations.

The loss from discontinued operations for the year ended December 31, 2012 amounted to €8 million (€8 million for the period ended December 31, 2011), mostly relating to abandonment costs in 2012 and restructuring, separation and completion costs in 2011.

NOTE 32—SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On March 25, 2013, the Group entered into a new term loan facility consisting of a $360 million U.S. dollar denominated tranche and a €75 million Euro-denominated tranche the (Term Loan). The proceeds of the Term Loan were primarily intended for anticipated future distributions and dividend payments to shareholders of €250 million, and also to be used for general corporate purposes and to repay our existing floating rate term loan facility.

On March 13, 2013, the Board of directors approved a distribution to our shareholders of up to €250 million. It was expected that the distribution will be accomplished through a combination of a distribution of currently available share premium reserve and payment of one or more interim dividends. On March 28, 2013, the Group distributed share premium reserves of approximately €103 million. The board of directors further approved a distribution of profits of an additional €147 million to the existing Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 shareholders. In order to facilitate the payment of such distribution, the Group plans to issue preference shares to the existing Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 shareholders. These preference shares will entitle their holders to receive distributions in priority to ordinary shareholders in the aggregate amount of approximately €147 million in proportion to the percentage ownership of the existing shareholders. The Group currently anticipate this distribution will be made in the coming months.

On May 16, 2013, the Group effected a pro rata share issuance of Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 ordinary shares to our existing shareholders, was implemented through the issuance of 22.8 new Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 ordinary shares for each outstanding Class A, Class B1 and Class B2 ordinary share. As a result, the Group issued an aggregate amount of 83,945,965 additional Class A, 815,252 additional Class B1 and 923,683 additional Class B2 ordinary shares with a nominal value of €0.02 per share.

 

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In March 2013, Constellium received a binding offer for the purchase of two of its plants by a third party. These two plants are located in Ham and Saint-Florentin (France) and specialize in the production of aluminum extrusions mainly for the building market in France. In 2012, the Ham and Saint Florentin plants had a combined workforce of approximately 360 employees and generated revenues of €75 million. As of May 16, 2013, certain significant elements of this transaction, such as the conditions relating to the transfer of the existing supply agreements are not finalized and are still under discussion with the potential acquirer.

During the fourth quarter of 2012, the Group implemented certain plan amendments that had the effect of reducing benefits of the participants in the Constellium Rolled Products-Ravenswood Retiree Medical and Life Insurance Plan (see Note 21—Pension and other post-employment benefit obligations). In February 2013, five Constellium retirees and the United Steelworkers union filed a class action lawsuit against Constellium Rolled Products-Ravenswood, LLC in a federal district court in West Virginia, alleging that Constellium Rolled Products-Ravenswood, LLC improperly modified retiree health benefits. The Groups believe that these claims are unfounded, and that Constellium Rolled Products-Ravenswood, LLC had a legal and contractual right to make the applicable modification.

NOTE 33—PRO FORMA INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

Balance Sheet

The pro forma consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2012 has been presented to show the effects of the Company’s financial condition of dividends declared to shareholders on March 13, 2013 of €250 million, as if all the dividends had been declared on December 31, 2012. The total dividend has increased dividend payable and reduced retained deficit and other reserves by €250 million.

Earnings per Share

The computation of pro forma earnings per share assumes that additional units were outstanding from the beginning of the period. The additional assumed shares represent the number shares sold in this offering whose proceeds are assumed for the purposes of this calculation to have been used to pay the dividend declared on March 13, 2013 that are (i) in excess of the income for the 12 month period ended March 31, 2013, or (ii) funded by the proceeds of the offering as follows:

 

Historical weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted – adjusted for the pro rata share issuance (note 12)

        89,442,416   

Additional preference shares issued

        5   

Shares to be issued in excess of earnings to pay the dividend:

     

Dividend declared

   250 million      

Less: Earnings for the 12 months preceding the dividend declaration

     85 million      
  

 

 

    

Dividend deemed to be paid with IPO proceeds

     165 million      

IPO shares presumed to be used to pay dividend ($18.00 per share)

        11,111,111   
     

 

 

 

Pro forma weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted

        100,553,532   
     

 

 

 

 

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LOGO

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Directors of Constellium Holdco B.V.

We have audited the accompanying combined financial statements of Engineered Aluminum Products, a component of Rio Tinto plc as described in Notes 1 and 2 (Basis of preparation) which comprise the combined statements of financial position as at December 31, 2010 and 2009 and the combined statements of income, comprehensive income (loss), changes in invested equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2010, and the related notes, which comprise a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information.

Management’s responsibility for the combined financial statements

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these combined financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of combined financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Auditor’s responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these combined financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with International Standards on Auditing and the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the combined financial statements are free from material misstatement. International Standards on Auditing require that we comply with ethical requirements.

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the combined financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the combined financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the component’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the component’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the combined financial statements.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained in our audits is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

 

 

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP/s.r.l./s.e.n.c.r.l., Chartered Accountants

1250 René-Lévesque Boulevard West, Suite 2800, Montréal, Quebec, Canada H3B 2G4

T:+1 514 205 5000, F:+1 514 205 5675, www.pwc.com/ca

“PwC” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP/s.r.l./s.e.n.c.r.l., an Ontario limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate legal entity.

 

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LOGO

Opinion

In our opinion, the combined financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Engineered Aluminum Products as at December 31, 2010 and 2009 and its financial performance and its cash flows for the years then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

Emphasis of matter

Without qualifying our opinion, we draw attention to the fact that, as described in Notes 1 and 2 (Basis of preparation), the Engineered Aluminum Products component has not operated as a separate entity. These combined financial statements are, therefore, not necessarily indicative of results that would have occurred if the Engineered Aluminum Products component had been a separate standalone entity during the years presented or of the future results of the Engineered Aluminum Products component.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 1

April 24, 2012

 

1  

Chartered Accountant auditor permit No. 15621

 

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COMBINED INCOME STATEMENTS

(in millions of euros)

 

Year ended December 31,

   Notes      2010     2009  

Continuing operations:

       

Revenue

       

—third parties

     29         2,937        2,247   

—related parties

     24, 29         20        45   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        2,957        2,292   

Cost of sales

     3         2,715        2,250   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

        242        42   

Selling and administrative expenses

       

—third parties

     3         173        151   

—related parties

     3, 24         17        9   

Research and development expenses

     3         53        61   

Restructuring costs

     20         6        38   

Impairment charges

     9, 10         224        214   

Other expenses (income)—net

       

—third parties

     5         (8     15   

—related parties

     5, 24         25        (206
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating loss

        (248     (240
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance income (costs)—net

       

—third parties

     7         (1     —     

—related parties

     7, 24         (6     (14

Share of profit of joint ventures

     11         2        —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

        (253     (254

Income tax benefit

     8         44        39   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year from continuing operations

        (209     (215
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Discontinued operations:

       

Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations (which is attributable solely to the Owner of the Group)

        2        (3
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year

        (207     (218
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year attributable to:

       

Owner of the Group

        (207     (218

Non-controlling interests

     25         —          —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        (207     (218
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these combined financial statements.

 

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COMBINED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

(in millions of euros)

 

Year ended December 31,

   Notes      2010     2009  

Loss for the year

        (207     (218

Other comprehensive income (loss):

       

Foreign currency translation adjustments—net

     6         (14     11   

Actuarial gains (losses) on post-retirement benefit plans—net of tax of €7 and €(1), respectively

     18         (34     9   

Gains (losses) on available for sale securities

     22         (1     2   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other comprehensive income (loss) for the year

        (49     22   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive loss for the year

        (256     (196
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total comprehensive income (loss) for the year attributable to:

       

Owner of the Group

       

—continuing operations

        (258     (193

—discontinued operations

     25         2        (3
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        (256     (196
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-controlling interests

     25         —          —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        (256     (196
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these combined financial statements.

 

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ENGINEERED ALUMINUM PRODUCTS

COMBINED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION

(in millions of euros)

 

At December 31,

   Notes      2010      2009  

Assets

        

Non-current assets

        

Intangible assets

     9         —           9   

Property, plant and equipment

     10         214         425   

Investments in joint ventures

     11         13         11   

Deferred income tax assets

     12         222         173   

Long-term loans receivable

        

—related parties

     24         14         258   

Other financial assets

        

—third parties

     13         —           7   

—related parties

     13, 24         13         41   

Trade receivables and other

        

—third parties

     15         66         52   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 
        542         976   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Current assets

        

Inventories

     14         500         358   

Trade receivables and other

        

—third parties

     15         463         388   

—related parties

     15, 24         20         18   

Short-term loans receivable

        

—related parties

     24         206         244   

Other financial assets

        

—related parties

     13, 24         91         48   

Recoverable income taxes

        —           1   

Cash and cash equivalents

        15         7   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 
        1,295         1,064   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets

        1,837         2,040   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these combined financial statements.

 

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ENGINEERED ALUMINUM PRODUCTS

COMBINED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION (continued)

 

(in millions of euros)

 

At December 31,

   Notes      2010     2009  

Invested equity

       

Owner of the Group

       

—Owner’s net investment

        234        96   

—Reserves

        (37     12   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        197        108   

Non-controlling interests

     25         2        —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total invested equity

        199        108   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-current liabilities

       

Borrowings

       

—third parties

     16         2        2   

—related parties

     16, 24         —          5   

Trade payables and other

       

—third parties

     17         54        62   

Deferred income tax liabilities

     12         9        18   

Income taxes payable

        4        3   

Post-retirement benefits

     18         521        468   

Other financial liabilities

       

—related parties

     19, 24         3        2   

Provisions

     20         55        80   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        648        640   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Current liabilities

       

Borrowings

       

—third parties

     16         3        4   

—related parties

     16, 24         195        679   

Trade payables and other

       

—third parties

     17         578        450   

—related parties

     17, 24         119        81   

Income taxes payable

        1        8   

Post-retirement benefits

     18         16        16   

Other financial liabilities

       

—related parties

     19, 24         43        4   

Provisions

     20         35        50   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        990        1,292   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

        1,638        1,932   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total invested equity and liabilities

        1,837        2,040   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these combined financial statements.

 

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ENGINEERED ALUMINUM PRODUCTS

COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN INVESTED EQUITY

 

    Owner Of The Group              
          Reserves              

(in millions of euros)

  Owner’s
Net
Investment
    Foreign Currency
Translation
Reserve
    Pension
Reserve
    Other
Reserves
    Total
Reserves
    Non-Controlling
Interests
    Total
Invested
Equity
 

At January 1, 2009

    237        47        (56     (1     (10     —          227   

Year ended December 31, 2009 Activity:

             

Comprehensive income (loss)

             

Loss for the year

    (218     —          —          —          —          —          (218

Other comprehensive income (loss)

             

Foreign currency translation adjustments—net

    —          12        —          —          12        —          12   

Realized currency translation (gains) losses

    —          (1     —          —          (1     —          (1

Actuarial gains (losses) on post-retirement benefit plans—net of tax

    —          —          9        —          9        —          9   

Gains (losses) on available for sale securities

    —          —          —          2        2        —          2   

Transactions with the Owner

             

General corporate expenses allocated by the Owner

    9        —          —          —          —          —          9   

Net transfers (to) from the Owner

    68        —          —          —          —          —          68   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2009

    96        58        (47     1        12        —          108   

Year ended December 31, 2010 Activity:

             

Comprehensive income (loss)

             

Loss for the year

    (207     —          —          —          —          —          (207

Other comprehensive income (loss)

             

Foreign currency translation adjustments—net

    —          (17     —          —          (17     —          (17

Realized currency translation (gains) losses

    —          3        —          —          3        —          3   

Actuarial gains (losses) on post-retirement benefit plans—net of tax

    —          —          (34     —          (34     —          (34

Gains (losses) on available for sale securities

    —          —          —          (1     (1     —          (1

Transactions with the Owner

             

General corporate expenses allocated by the Owner

    17        —          —          —          —          —          17   

Net transfers (to) from the Owner

    328        —          —          —          —          —          328   

Transactions with the Non-controlling interests

             

Contribution by the Non-controlling interests

    —          —          —          —          —          2        2   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2010

    234        44        (81     —          (37     2        199   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these combined financial statements.

 

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ENGINEERED ALUMINUM PRODUCTS

1. COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in millions of euros)

 

Year ended December 31,

   Notes      2010     2009  

Cash flows from (used in) operating activities

       

Loss for the year

        (207     (218

Less: Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations

        2        (3
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year from continuing operations

        (209     (215

Adjustments to determine cash flow from (used in) operating activities:

       

Income tax benefit

     8         (44     (39

Finance costs—net

     7         7        14   

Depreciation and amortization

     3, 9, 10         38        85   

General corporate expenses allocated by the Owner

     2,3         17        9   

Share of profit of joint ventures

     11         (2     —     

Restructuring costs

     20         6        38   

Impairment charges

     9, 10         224        214   

(Gains) losses on disposals of property, plant and equipment—net

     5, 10         1        —     

(Gains) losses on disposals of businesses and investments—net

     5, 26         —          17   

Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives at fair value through profit and loss—net

     5, 24         31        (162

(Gain) on forgiveness of related party loan

     5, 16, 24         —          (29

Increase (decrease) in net realizable value reserves for inventories—net

     14         —          (26

Provisions for (recoveries of) trade accounts receivable impairment—net

     5, 15         (1     5   

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

       

Inventories

     14         (118     213   

Trade receivables and other

       

—third parties

     15         (78     73   

—related parties

     15, 24         (7     14   

Trade payables and other

       

—third parties

     17         87        (16

—related parties

     17, 24         30        (8

Other financial assets

       

—third parties

     13         2        (2

—related parties

     13, 24         (5     2   

Other financial liabilities

       

—related parties

     19, 24         1        —     

Provisions

     20         (44     (21

Post-retirement benefits

     18         4        (6

Interest paid

       

—third parties

     7, 16         (2     (2

—related parties

     7, 16, 24         (4     (9

Income taxes (paid) recovered

        (21     32   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows from (used in) operating activities in continuing operations

        (87     181   

Net cash flows from operating activities in discontinued operations

     26         21        43   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows from (used in) operating activities

        (66     224   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these combined financial statements.

 

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ENGINEERED ALUMINUM PRODUCTS

COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (continued)

 

(in millions of euros)

 

Year ended December 31,

   Notes      2010     2009  

Cash flows from (used in) investing activities

       

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

     10, 28         (51     (61

Purchases of businesses and investments, net of cash and cash equivalents acquired

     26         —          (1

Net proceeds from disposals of businesses, investments and other assets

     10, 26         8        —     

Net collection of short-term loans receivable

     24         178        22   

—related parties

       

Collection of long-term loans receivable

       

—related parties

     24         —          2   

Advances on long-term loans receivable

       

—related parties

     24         —          (3

Interest received

       

—third parties

     7         2        2   

—related parties

     7, 24         1        1   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows from (used in) investing activities in continuing operations

        138        (38

Net cash flows from investing activities in discontinued operations

     26         23        2   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows from (used in) investing activities

        161        (36
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from (used in) financing activities

       

Net repayments of current borrowings

       

—related parties

     16, 24         (136     (225

Repayments on non-current borrowings

       

—related parties

     16, 24         (5     (1

Net cash transfers from the Owner

        93        83   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows used in financing activities in continuing operations

        (48     (143

Net cash flows used in financing activities in discontinued operations

     26         (38     (46
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash flows used in financing activities

        (86     (189
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

        9        (1

Cash and cash equivalents—beginning of year

        7        8   

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

        (1     —     
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents—end of year

        15        7   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplementary disclosures of non-cash investing and financing information:

       

Non-cash transfers (to) from the Owner

       

Borrowings converted to Owner’s net investment

     16         336        —     

Loans receivable charged against Owner’s net investment

     24         (29     —     

Restructuring liabilities settled by the Owner on our behalf

     20         2        —     

Other non-cash transfers from the Owner

        —          17   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        309        17   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-cash transfers from the Non-controlling interests

       

Property, plant and equipment contributed by the Non-controlling interests

     25         2        —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these combined financial statements.

 

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1. GENERAL INFORMATION

On January 4, 2011 (the Completion Date), Rio Tinto Group (Rio Tinto) sold its engineered aluminum products businesses under the terms and conditions of a Sale and Purchase Agreement (the Agreement) to a company now known as Constellium Holdco B.V. (the Purchaser), which is an entity owned by investment funds affiliated with, or co-investment vehicles that are managed (or the general partners of which are managed) by subsidiaries of, Apollo Global Management, LLC, affiliates of Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited and Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement.

Purpose for issuing these combined financial statements

Background

During July 2011, Rio Tinto issued audited 2010 combined historical carve-out financial statements for a group of operating entities, divisions and businesses that were formerly included in the Engineered Products operating segment within a subsidiary and affiliates of Rio Tinto (excluding its Cable and Composite operating entities, divisions and businesses), together with some head office entities that provide certain general and administrative services. These engineered aluminum products businesses are herein referred to as Engineered Aluminum Products (EAP or the Group).

Subsequent to the Completion Date, the Purchaser sold and discontinued certain operations and changed the method of measuring operating segment profit or loss, as further described below. The Group has re-presented its results of operations and cash flows between continuing and discontinued operations to reflect the operations that have been subsequently discontinued by the Purchaser and has also provided an additional measurement of profitability of its operating segments, Management Adjusted EBITDA, as supplementary information, which is consistent with the measurement used by the Purchaser in its consolidated financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2011.

Discontinued operations

During the year ending December 31, 2011, the Purchaser sold all of the businesses it had acquired from Rio Tinto related to one of the Group’s operating segments, Alcan International Network (AIN). The disclosures related to AIN in these combined financial statements of the Group have been re-presented as those of discontinued operations for all periods presented consistent with the requirements of IFRS 5, Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations. The assets and liabilities of AIN have not been re-presented as a disposal group classified as held for sale in these combined financial statements as the criteria for such classification were not met at December 31, 2010. See Note 26—Purchases and Disposals of Businesses and Investments, including Discontinued Operations.

Segment reporting

In its consolidated financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2011, the Purchaser has presented Management Adjusted EBITDA as its measure of operating segment profit or loss, which differs from the measure of Business Group Profit historically used by the Group. Disclosures have been added to these combined financial statements to present Management Adjusted EBITDA as supplementary information. The Purchaser has subsequently changed the names of our operating segments as described in Note 28—Operating Segment Information.

Issuing responsibility and references

These audited 2010 combined carve-out financial statements are the responsibility of the executive management of Constellium Holdco B.V., having been derived: (i) from the underlying financial information used to prepare the 2010 audited combined carve-out financial statements of the Group that were previously prepared and issued by Rio Tinto, and (ii) in consideration of and with the application of the presentation changes described above.

 

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When used throughout the carve-out financial statements, Rio Tinto and Owner refers to Rio Tinto Group and, where applicable, one or more of its subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures. Further, references to Rio Tinto, the Owner and the Group within the context of activities and events occurring prior to the Completion date have the same historical meaning in consideration of the entities and relationships in existence during the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009.

Description of the business

The Group produces engineered and fabricated aluminum products and structures. The Group operates production facilities throughout Europe and North America and has sales and supply chain logistics offices (AIN) which are located globally. As described above, AIN was sold by the Purchaser during the year ending December 31, 2011, and has been re-presented as a discontinued operation in these combined financial statements.

Through December 31, 2010, the Predecessor was headquartered and domiciled in Paris, France (at 17 Place des Reflets; La Defense 2—Tour CB 16; Courbevoie, France 92400). These combined financial statements were authorized for issue on April 24, 2012 by Constellium Holdco B.V.’s executive management, who have the authority to amend them under appropriate circumstances, if necessary.

Sale of Engineered Aluminum Products

Transaction

On August 5, 2010, Rio Tinto announced that it had received a binding offer from funds affiliated with third parties (Funds) to acquire a 61% stake in a group of Rio Tinto’s Engineered Products operating entities, divisions and businesses, which is comprised of substantially all of the entities, divisions and businesses comprising the Group. On December 23, 2010, Rio Tinto and the Funds executed the Agreement establishing the terms, conditions and consideration for the Transaction, which was closed on the Completion Date. On January 4, 2011, Rio Tinto announced that it had completed the sale (the Transaction), leaving Rio Tinto with a remaining 39% ownership.

On April 4, 2011, Rio Tinto delivered the Draft Completion Statement to the Purchaser as required under the terms of the Agreement, which established the total preliminary purchase price for the Transaction and was the basis for the exchange of consideration between the parties. As a result of establishing the preliminary purchase price, Rio Tinto management determined that the carrying amounts of the Group’s net assets were in excess of their recoverable amounts and recorded impairment charges of €224 during the year ended December 31, 2010 (see Note 9—Intangible Assets and Note 10—Property, Plant and Equipment).

Under the terms of the Agreement, the Purchaser had the right to accept the Draft Completion Statement or provide Rio Tinto with a Purchaser’s Disagreement Notice to dispute the preliminary purchase price within 75 days. On June 17, 2011, Rio Tinto received the Purchaser’s Disagreement Notice and subsequent to that date, the final terms of the Transaction were settled (see Note 30—Subsequent Events).

Changes to capital structure

In contemplation of the Transaction, during 2010, the Group and the Owner undertook several steps to effect certain capital restructuring transactions to facilitate the consummation of the Transaction, including: (i) the Owner making certain capital contributions to specific entities within the Group; (ii) the Group repaying or converting to Owner’s net investment (included in Invested equity) certain related party borrowings from the Owner; and (iii) the Group collecting certain related party loans receivable from the Owner or charging them against Owner’s net investment.

 

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2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these combined financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all of the periods and balances presented, unless otherwise stated.

Basis of preparation

Presentation currency

The Group prepared these 2010 audited combined financial statements using the EUR as its presentation currency. The Group’s policies and practices with respect to functional currency, presentation currency and foreign currency translation and disposals of operations are described below.

Functional currency

Items included in the financial statements of each of the entities, divisions and businesses of the Group are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in which each of them operate (their functional currency).

Presentation currency and foreign currency translation

The financial results of the Owner are presented in USD. As such, the USD is the currency in which the Group’s financial results are combined (but not presented). In the preparation of the Group’s combined financial statements, the year end balances of assets, liabilities and components of invested equity of the Group’s entities, divisions and businesses were first translated from their functional currencies into USD at the respective year-end exchange rates; and the annual revenues, expenses, cash flows and transactions within invested equity of the Group’s entities, divisions and businesses were first translated from their functional currencies into USD at the average exchange rates for the respective years. The net differences arising from the exchange rate translation from functional currencies to USD were recognized in the foreign currency translation reserve, included in Invested equity.

In order to present these EUR-denominated combined financial statements, the USD-denominated year end balances of the Group’s combined assets, liabilities and components of invested equity were translated into EUR at the respective year-end exchange rates; and the Group’s combined USD-denominated annual revenues, expenses, cash flows and transactions within invested equity were translated into EUR at the average exchange rates for the respective years. The net differences arising from the exchange rate translation from USD to EUR were also recognized in the foreign currency translation reserve, included in Invested equity.

The Group used the following exchange rates to translate the Group’s combined financial statements from USD to EUR:

 

     2010      2009  

Year-end exchange rate at December 31,

     1.34         1.44   

Average exchange rate for the year ended December 31,

     1.33         1.39   

Disposals of operations

When an operation is disposed of, the portion of the accumulated balance of the foreign currency translation reserve relating to such operation is realized as a gain or loss in Other expenses (income)—net in the Group’s combined income statement at the time of the disposal.

 

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Carve-out accounting

The Group’s combined income statements and combined statements of comprehensive income (loss), changes in invested equity and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009; the Group’s combined statements of financial position at December 31, 2010 and 2009; and the related notes thereto (collectively, the Group’s combined financial statements) are prepared on a carve-out basis, having been derived from the accounting records of the Owner using the historical results of operations and historical bases of assets and liabilities of the entities, divisions and businesses comprising the Group. These combined financial statements comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

The net assets of the Group may be carried at different values in the consolidated statements of financial position of its Owner as a result of the application of carve-out accounting.

Management believes the assumptions underlying the combined financial statements, including the Allocations from Owner described below, are reasonable. However, the combined financial statements included herein may not necessarily be representative of the Group’s combined results of operations, financial position and cash flows in the future or what its historical results of operations, financial position and cash flows would have been had the Group been a standalone entity during the periods presented.

As these combined financial statements represent a group of operating entities, divisions and businesses of the Owner which do not constitute a separate legal entity, the net assets of the Group have been presented as Total invested equity, which includes Owner’s net investment, Reserves and Non-controlling interests. The Owner’s net investment in the Group is comprised primarily of (i) the initial investment to establish the net assets of the Group (and any subsequent adjustments thereto); (ii) the Owner’s share of accumulated earnings (including other comprehensive earnings) of the Group; (iii) general corporate cost allocations from the Owner; and (iv) all other transfers to and from the Owner, including those related to non-cash items, cash management functions performed by the Owner and changes in certain income tax liabilities or assets.

As described further in Note 21—Financial Risk Management, the Owner manages the overall liquidity and capital of the Group. To the extent that the Group has capital and liquidity requirements in excess of internally generated funds, it obtains financing from the Owner in the form of cash transfers, cash pooling agreements and/or loans. The Group’s total capital is defined as total invested equity plus net debt. Net debt includes borrowings from third and related parties, less loans receivable from related parties.

Transactions and outstanding balances between the Group and the Owner have been reported as related party transactions for all periods and period end dates presented herein.

International Financial Reporting Standards

The Group adopted “Annual Improvements to IFRSs” during the years 2010 and 2009. Annual improvements provide a vehicle for making non-urgent but necessary amendments to IFRS standards and cover a broad range of topics.

New and amended standards adopted by the Group during 2010

The Group adopted amendments made to International Accounting Standard (IAS) 27 “(Amendment) Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements,” which requires the effects of all transactions with non-controlling interests to be recorded in equity if there is no change in control. Such effects no longer result in goodwill or gains and losses. The standard also specifies the accounting treatment when control is lost. Any remaining interest in the entity is remeasured to fair value and a gain or loss is recognized in the income statement. The adoption of these amendments to IAS 27 had no significant impact on the Group’s combined financial statements.

 

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The Group adopted amendments made to IAS 39, “(Amendment) Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement—Eligible Hedged Items” which make two significant changes on hedged items by prohibiting: (i) the designation of inflation as a hedgeable component of a fixed-rate debt and (ii) the inclusion of time value in the one-sided hedge risk when designating options as hedges. The adoption of these amendments to IAS 39 had no significant impact on the Group’s combined financial statements.

The Group adopted amendments made to IFRS 3, “(Revised) Business Combinations” which continues to apply the acquisition method to business combinations but applies some significant changes. Under the revised standard, all payments to purchase a business are to be recorded at fair value at the acquisition date with contingent payments classified as debt subsequently remeasured through the income statement. All acquisition related costs should be expensed. When a business is acquired in which the Group previously held a non-controlling stake, the existing stake is remeasured to fair value at the date of acquisition. Any difference between fair value and carrying value is taken to the income statement. The adoption of these amendments to IFRS 3 had no significant impact on the Group’s combined financial statements.

Standards adopted by the Group during 2009

The Group adopted amendments made to IAS 1 “(Revised) Presentation of Financial Statements,” effective January 1, 2009. The relevant impact from the adoption of these amendments to IAS 1 on the Group’s financial statements was that the Group was required to present all changes in equity arising from transactions with owners in their capacity as owners ( i.e. owner changes in equity) separately from non-owner changes in equity in the Group’s statements of changes in invested equity.

The Group adopted amendments made to IAS 23 “Borrowing Costs,” effective January 1, 2009. IAS 23 provides guidance on the recognition, capitalization and disclosure of borrowing costs. The adoption of these amendments to IAS 23 had no significant impact on the Group’s combined financial statements.

The Group adopted amendments made to IAS 39 “Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement,” effective January 1, 2009. The amendments provide guidance on eligible hedged items. The adoption of this standard had no significant impact on the Group’s combined financial statements.

The Group adopted amendments made to IFRS 7 “Financial Instruments: Disclosures,” effective January 1, 2009. IFRS 7 requires disclosures that enable users of the financial statements to evaluate the significance of financial instruments and the nature and extent of risks arising from those financial instruments. The adoption of the amendments to this standard had no significant impact on the disclosures related to the Group’s financial instruments, included in Note 21—Financial Risk Management and Note 22—Financial Instruments.

The Group adopted IFRS 8 “Operating Segments,” effective January 1, 2009. IFRS 8 replaces IAS 14 “Segment Reporting” and requires a management approach, under which segment information is presented on the same basis as that used for internal reporting purposes. Segment information is reported in a manner that is more consistent with the internal reporting provided to the Group’s chief operating decision maker (CODM). The adoption of this standard had no significant impact on the measurement or disclosure of the Group’s segment information, included in Note 28—Operating Segment Information and Note 29—Information by Geographic Area.

Standards, amendments and interpretations applicable to future reporting periods

 

   

IAS 24, “(Revised) Related Party Disclosures” (required to be adopted in 2011);

 

   

IFRS 9, “Financial Instruments” (required to be adopted in 2013);

 

   

IFRIC 14, “(Amendment) Prepayments of a Minimum Funding Requirement” (required to be adopted in 2011);

 

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Amendments to IFRS 7, “Disclosures—Transfer of Financial Assets” (required to be adopted in 2011); and

 

   

Annual Improvements to IFRSs (2010) (most changes are required to be adopted in 2011).

The Group has not yet evaluated the potential impact that any of the pending future standards, amendments and interpretations would have on its combined financial statements.

Other standards

The Group has determined that all other recently issued accounting standards will not have a material impact on its combined results of operations, financial position and cash flows, or do not apply to its operations.

Allocations from Owners

In addition to the carve-out of businesses and entities comprising the operations and the net assets of the Group, the accompanying combined income statements also include allocations of certain Owner’s expenses, with corresponding offsetting amounts included in Owner’s net investment. Allocated items are described below.

The expenses allocated are not necessarily indicative of the expenses that would have been incurred had the Group performed these functions as a standalone entity, nor are they indicative of expenses that will be charged or incurred in the future. It is not practicable to estimate the amount of expenses the Group would have incurred for the periods presented had it not been an affiliated entity of the Owner in each of those periods.

The financial statements reflect all material and significant costs of doing business related to these operations. These costs of doing business include expenses incurred by other entities on our behalf which relate to general corporate expenses and pension and post retirement benefits. Such costs of doing business have been allocated to the combined carve out business based on average headcount and, in the case of general corporate expenses, average capital employed. Management believes that such allocation is reasonable for the type of cost allocated.

General corporate expenses

The Owner has allocated certain of its general corporate expenses to the Group based on a combination of average headcount and average capital employed. Capital employed represents total Group assets, less: (a) trade payables and other; (b) provisions; (c) deferred income tax assets; (d) other financial liabilities; (e) post-retirement benefits; and (f) short-term and long-term loans receivable—related parties on a historical basis. The general corporate expense allocations are included in Selling and administrative expenses—related parties in the Group’s combined income statements. These allocations are primarily for finance, human resources, legal, corporate and external affairs and the executive office of Rio Tinto and are mainly comprised of salaries, including variable compensation and normal current service cost for pensions, and other direct costs of the various functions. These general corporate expense allocations amounted to €17 and €9 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and are included in Selling and administrative expenses—related parties (none was attributed to discontinued operations). The allocation was lower for 2009 than 2010 due primarily to a lower pool of costs being incurred and allocated by the Owner. The Group’s total corporate office costs, including the amounts allocated, amounted to €31 and €12 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Pensions and post-retirement benefits

Certain businesses included in the Group have pension and post-retirement obligations mostly comprised of funded defined benefit pension plans in the United States (U.S.), unfunded pension plans in France and Germany and lump sum indemnities payable upon retirement to employees of businesses in France. Certain businesses included in the Group also have unfunded other post-retirement benefit obligations, mostly comprised of health and life insurance benefits in the U.S.

 

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The Group participates in a multi-employer defined benefit plan in Switzerland. The Group’s proportionate share of the plan’s defined benefit obligation, plan assets and costs are included in the Group’s combined financial statements.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are calculated as if all of the Group’s operations had been separate tax paying legal entities, each filing a separate tax return in its local tax jurisdiction. For jurisdictions where there is a tax sharing agreement or where the Group’s operations represent a division of a larger legal entity, tax amounts currently payable or receivable by the Group are included in Owner’s net investment, because the net liability (receivable) for the taxes due (refundable) is recorded in the financial statements of the Owner’s non-Group entity that files the consolidated or combined tax return. As a result of the aforementioned structure, substantially all of the Group’s income tax liabilities (refunds) are also paid (collected) by the various Owner’s non-Group entities. These net changes in income tax amounts currently payable or receivable are included in net cash transfers (to) from Owner in the accompanying combined financial statements.

Cash Management

Cash and cash equivalents in the combined statements of financial position are comprised of the cash and cash equivalents of the Group’s businesses. Historically, the Owner has performed cash management functions on behalf of the Group. The Owner manages certain cash pooling activities among the Group’s operating units, including the arrangement of borrowings from and loans to related parties and the transfer of cash balances to the Owner. None of the Owner’s cash and cash equivalents has been allocated to the Group in the combined statements of financial position. Transfers to and from the Owner are recorded as adjustments to Owner’s net investment.

Basis of combination

The combined financial statements include all of the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and cash flows of the entities, divisions and businesses included in the Group.

Subsidiaries : Subsidiaries are entities over which the Owner has the power to govern the financial and operating policies in order to obtain benefits from their activities. Control is presumed to exist where the Owner owns more than 50% of the voting rights (which does not always equate to percentage ownership) unless it can be demonstrated that ownership does not constitute control. Control does not exist where outside stakeholders hold veto rights over significant operating and financial decisions. In assessing control, potential voting rights that are currently exercisable or convertible are taken into account. Substantially all of the subsidiaries in the Group are wholly-owned. All of the assets and liabilities and results of operations of subsidiaries are included in the Group’s combined financial statements, which show the amounts of net assets (invested equity), loss for the year and comprehensive income (loss) attributable to both the Owner of the Group and the Non-controlling interests.

Joint ventures : A joint venture is a contractual arrangement whereby two or more parties undertake an economic activity that is subject to joint control. Joint control is the contractually agreed sharing of control such that significant operating and financial decisions require the unanimous consent of the parties sharing control. The Group accounts for its joint ventures using the equity accounting method.

All intra-Group balances and transactions between and among the Group’s subsidiaries, divisions and businesses are eliminated in the preparation of the Group’s combined financial statements. Balances and transactions between the Group and the Owner are identified as related party balances and transactions in the accompanying combined financial statements.

 

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Revenue recognition

Revenue from product sales is comprised of sales to third parties at invoiced amounts, with most sales being priced on ex works, free on board (f.o.b.) terms, or on cost, insurance and freight (c.i.f.) terms. Amounts billed to customers in respect of shipping and handling are classified as Revenue where the Group is responsible for carriage, insurance and freight. All shipping and handling costs incurred by the Group are recognized in Cost of sales. Delivery is considered to have occurred when title and risk of loss have transferred to the customer.

Revenue from product sales, net of trade discounts, allowances and volume-based incentives, is recognized once delivery has occurred provided that persuasive evidence exists that all of the following criteria are met:

 

   

the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the product have been transferred to the buyer;

 

   

neither continuing managerial involvement to the degree usually associated with ownership, nor effective control over the goods sold, has been retained by the Group;

 

   

the amount of revenue can be measured reliably;

 

   

it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the sale will flow to the Group; and

 

   

the costs incurred or to be incurred in respect of the sale can be measured reliably.

Revenue from services is recognized as services are rendered.

Deferred tooling revenue and development costs

Certain of the Group’s customers (principally in the automotive industry) contract with the Group to design a part, produce the necessary tooling and then manufacture the parts for sale to the customer over a long term period. The Group contracts with third party tool suppliers to construct the tooling required to manufacture the part. The activities associated with automotive tooling construction meet the definition of building an asset over an extended period and are accounted for by the Group in accordance with the provisions of IAS 11 “Construction Contracts”.

Interest income and expense

The Group records interest income using the effective interest rate method on loans receivable—related parties and on the interest bearing components of its cash and cash equivalents. Interest income is included in Finance income (costs)—net in the Group’s combined income statements.

The Group obtains short- and long-term financing from third and related parties and incurs interest expense at the stated rates on the various borrowing agreements into which the Group enters. The Owner does not allocate any additional interest expense to the Group. Borrowing costs (including interest) incurred for the construction of any qualifying asset are capitalized during the period of time that is required to complete and prepare the asset for its intended use. All other borrowing costs are charged to interest expense in Finance income (costs)—net in the Group’s combined income statements.

Dividends and distributions

Income

The Group records dividend income as it is deemed earned, i.e. —when dividends are declared and payable. Dividend income from investments at cost is included in Other expenses (income)—net (related parties) in the Group’s combined income statements. Dividends earned from joint ventures are credited against Investments in Joint Ventures in accordance with the equity method of accounting.

 

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Any dividends declared or distributions made by any of the subsidiaries in the Group to the Owner are recorded as a reduction of Owner’s net investment.

Any intra-Group dividends are eliminated in the preparation of the Group’s combined financial statements.

Foreign currency transactions and remeasurement

Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are converted to the functional currency at the exchange rate in effect at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities carried on the statement of financial position at each year end that are denominated in foreign currencies are remeasured at year-end exchange rates, with corresponding exchange gains or losses included in Other expenses (income)—net.

Intangible assets

Intangible assets are primarily trademarks, patented and non-patented technology and customer contracts, all of which have finite lives. Intangible assets are recorded at cost less accumulated amortization and are amortized over their useful lives (generally 15 years) using the straight-line method.

Research and development costs

Research expenditures are recognized as expenses in the combined income statements as incurred. Costs incurred on development projects are recognized as intangible assets when the following criteria are met:

 

   

it is technically feasible to complete the intangible asset so that it will be available for use;

 

   

management intends to complete and use the intangible asset;

 

   

there is an ability to use the intangible asset;

 

   

it can be demonstrated how the intangible asset will generate probable future economic benefits;

 

   

adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and use or sell the intangible asset are available; and

 

   

the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during its development can be reliably measured.

Other development expenditures that do not meet these criteria are recognized as expenses in the combined income statements when incurred. Development costs previously recognized as expenses are not recognized as an asset in a subsequent period. Capitalized development costs, if any, are recorded as intangible assets and amortized from the point at which the assets are ready for use, on a straight-line basis over the useful lives of the related assets.

Property, plant and equipment

The cost of property, plant and equipment is comprised of its purchase price, any costs directly attributable to bringing the asset to the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management and the estimated close down and restoration costs associated with the asset. For major capital projects, costs are capitalized into Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) until such projects are completed and the assets are available for use, at which time such costs are transferred out of CWIP into the appropriate asset class and depreciation commences.

Major betterments are capitalized as additions to property, plant and equipment and depreciated. Ongoing regular maintenance costs related to property, plant and equipment are expensed as incurred.

Property, plant and equipment is depreciated over the estimated useful lives of the related assets using the straight-line method. The principal estimated useful lives used by the Group range from: 10 to 50 years for buildings; 10 to 15 years for plant machinery and equipment; and 5 to 8 years for vehicles, office and computer equipment and software (which is included within machinery and equipment).

 

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Impairment of long-lived assets

The Group reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable. Impairment is normally assessed at the level of cash generating units (CGUs), which are identified as the smallest identifiable group of assets that generates cash inflows that are largely independent of the cash inflows from other groups of assets. When a review for impairment is conducted, the recoverable amount is based on the higher of fair value less costs to sell (market value) and value in use (determined using estimates of discounted future net cash flows). Where there is no binding sale agreement or active market, fair value less costs to sell is based on the best information available to reflect the amount the Group could receive for the asset or cash generating unit in an arm’s length transaction. The estimates of future cash flows are based on management’s estimate of the present value of expected future revenues, costs and costs to sell. As a result of impairment reviews, an impairment loss would be recognized in the amount that the carrying amount exceeded the recoverable amount of an asset or CGU.

The expected future cash flows of CGUs reflect long-term plans which are based on detailed research, analysis and iterative modeling to optimize the level of return from investment. Cost levels incorporated in the cash flow forecasts are based on the current long-term plan for the cash generating unit. For impairment reviews, recent cost levels are considered, together with expected changes in costs that are compatible with the current condition of the business and which meet the requirements of IAS 36 “Impairment of Assets”.

The discount rate applied in determining net present value is based on a rate that is reflective of the way the market would assess the specific risks associated with the estimated cash flows to be generated by the assets.

Financial instruments

(i) Financial assets

The Group classifies its financial assets as follows: (a) at fair value through profit or loss; (b) loans and receivables; and (c) available for sale. The classification depends on the purpose for which the financial assets were acquired. Management determines the classification of the Group’s financial assets at initial recognition.

(a) At fair value through profit or loss: Derivatives (included in other financial assets) are included in this category. Generally, the Group does not acquire financial assets for the purpose of selling in the short-term. Financial assets carried at fair value through profit or loss are initially recognized at fair value and transaction costs are expensed in the combined income statements.

(b) Loans and receivables: Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. They are classified as current or non-current assets based on their maturity date. Loans and receivables are comprised of cash and cash equivalents, non-current and current loans receivable and Trade receivables and other in the combined statements of financial position. Loans and receivables are carried at amortized cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment.

(c) Available for sale financial assets: Investments not held for trading nor intended to be held to maturity are measured and carried on the combined statements of financial position at fair value, with any gains or losses arising from the change in fair value being recognized in other comprehensive income and included in equity, except for impairment losses. Upon disposal and derecognition of available for sale securities, any cumulative gains or losses from the change in fair value are removed from equity and recognized as gains or losses in the combined income statements.

(ii) Financial liabilities

Borrowings and other financial liabilities (excluding derivative liabilities) are recognized initially at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred and are subsequently stated at amortized cost. Any difference between the amounts originally received (net of transaction costs) and the redemption value is recognized in the income statement over the period to maturity using the effective interest method.

 

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(iii) Derivative financial instruments

The Group enters into derivative contracts designed to reduce exposures related to assets and liabilities or firm commitments. The Group’s policy with regard to financial risk management is described in Note 21—Financial Risk Management.

All derivatives are initially recognized at their fair value on the date at which the derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently remeasured to their fair value based upon published market quotations at the date of each statement of financial position, with the changes in fair value included in Other expenses (income)—net. The Group had no derivatives designated for hedge accounting treatment during the periods presented.

(iv) Fair value

Fair value is the amount at which a financial instrument could be exchanged in an arm’s length transaction between informed and willing parties. Where relevant market prices are available, these have been used to determine fair values.

Leases

Group as the lessee

The Group leases various buildings, machinery and equipment from third parties under operating lease agreements. Under such operating lease agreements, the total lease payments are recognized as rent expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease agreement, and are included in Cost of sales or Selling and administrative expenses, depending on the nature of the leased assets.

Group as the lessor

The Group leases certain land, buildings, machinery and equipment to third parties under finance lease agreements. The Group’s policy is, during the period of the lease, to remove the net book value of the related assets from property, plant and equipment and record a net finance lease receivable in the amount of the aggregate future cash payments to be received from the lessee, less unearned finance income computed at the interest rate implicit in the lease. As the net finance lease receivable from the lessee is collected, unearned finance income is also reduced, resulting in interest income.

Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value, primarily on a weighted-average cost basis. Weighted-average costs for raw materials, work in process and finished goods are calculated using the costs experienced in the current period (including the purchase price of materials; freight, duties and customs; the costs of production, which includes labor costs, materials and other expenses which are directly attributable to the production process; and production overheads) together with those similar costs in opening inventories.

Trade accounts receivable

The Group records trade accounts receivable associated with sales of products and services arising in the normal course of business, under the same terms and conditions as described in its accounting policy for revenue recognition. Trade accounts receivable are recognized initially at fair value based upon the Group’s contractually agreed upon prices with customers, net of trade discounts, allowances and volume-based incentives. Trade receivables are subsequently measured at amortized cost reduced by any provision for impairment.

A provision for impairment of trade receivables is established when there is objective evidence that the Group will not be able to collect all amounts due. Indicators of impairment would include financial difficulties of the debtor, likelihood of the debtor’s insolvency, late payments, default or a significant deterioration in

 

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creditworthiness. Management also considers trends and changes in general economic conditions, and in the industries in which the Group operates, in the establishment of an adequate provision for impairment. The expense (income) related to the increase (decrease) of the provision for impairment is recognized in the combined income statements within Other expenses (income)—net. When a trade receivable is deemed uncollectible, it is written off against the provision for impairment account. Subsequent recoveries of amounts previously written off are credited to Other expenses (income)—net in the combined income statements.

The Group sells certain of its trade accounts receivable under various programs. Where trade accounts receivable are sold without recourse, the amounts are derecognized under the provisions of IAS 39 “Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement” from the combined statements of financial position, as substantially all the risks and rewards associated with these receivables have been transferred. Where trade accounts receivable are sold with limited recourse, the amounts do not qualify for derecognition, as the Group retains substantially all the risks and rewards associated with these receivables. The Group accounts for limited recourse sales of trade accounts receivable as secured financing transactions, and such trade receivables continue to be included in Group’s trade receivables and other balance until the receivables are settled by the customer.

Provisions

The Group records provisions for the best estimate of expenditures required to settle liabilities of uncertain timing or amount (using present values when appropriate) when management determines that a legal or constructive obligation exists, it is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation, and such amounts can be reasonably estimated. The ultimate cost to settle these liabilities is uncertain, and cost estimates can vary in response to many factors. The settlement of these liabilities could differ materially from recorded amounts. In addition, the expected timing of expenditure can also change. As a result, there could be significant adjustments to the Group’s provisions, which could result in additional charges or recoveries affecting future financial results. Types of liabilities for which the Group establishes provisions include:

Product warranty and guarantees

The Group records provisions for product warranty and guarantees to settle the uninsured net present value portion of any settlement costs for potential future legal actions, claims and other assertions that may be brought by its customers or the end-users of products. Provisions for product warranty and guarantees are charged to Cost of sales in the combined income statements. In the accounting period when any legal action, claim or assertion related to product warranty or guarantee is settled, the net settlement amount incurred by the Group is charged against the provision established on the combined statement of financial position. The outstanding provision is reviewed periodically for adequacy and reasonableness by Group management.

Close down and restoration costs

Close down and restoration costs include the dismantling and demolition of infrastructure and the removal of residual material of disturbed areas. Estimated close down and restoration costs are provided for in the accounting period when the legal or constructive obligation arising from the related disturbance occurs and it is probable that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation. These costs are based on the net present value of estimated future costs. Provisions for close down and restoration costs do not include any additional obligations which are expected to arise from future disturbance. The costs are estimated on the basis of a closure plan including feasibility and engineering studies, are updated annually during the life of the operation to reflect known developments (e.g. revisions to cost estimates and to the estimated lives of operations) and are subject to formal review at regular intervals throughout each year.

The initial closure provision together with other movements in the provisions for close down and restoration costs, including those resulting from new disturbance, updated cost estimates, changes to the estimated lives of operations and revisions to discount rates are capitalized within Property, plant and equipment. These costs are

 

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then depreciated over the remaining useful lives of the related assets. The amortization or “unwinding” of the discount applied in establishing the net present value of the provisions is charged to the income statement as a financing cost in each accounting period.

Environmental remediation costs

The Group records provisions for the estimated present value of the costs of its environmental cleanup obligations. Movements in the environmental cleanup provisions are presented as an operating cost within Cost of sales, except for the unwinding of the discount which is included in Finance income (costs)—net. Remediation procedures may commence soon after the time at which the disturbance, remediation process and estimated remediation costs become known, and can continue for many years depending on the nature of the disturbance and the remediation techniques.

Restructuring costs

Provisions for restructuring are recorded when the Group’s management is demonstrably committed to the restructuring plan and where such liabilities can be reasonably estimated. The Group recognizes liabilities that primarily include one-time termination benefits, or severance, and contract termination costs, primarily related to equipment and facility lease obligations. These amounts are based on the remaining amounts due under various contractual agreements, and are periodically adjusted for any anticipated or unanticipated events or changes in circumstances that would reduce or increase these obligations. These costs are charged to Restructuring costs in the combined income statements.

Legal and other potential claims

Provisions for legal and other potential claims are made when it is probable that liabilities will be incurred and where such liabilities can be reasonably estimated. Depending on their nature, these costs may be charged to Cost of sales or Other expenses (income)—net in the combined income statements.

Post-retirement benefits

For defined benefit plans, the difference between the fair value of the plan assets and the present value of the plan liabilities (if any) is recognized as an asset or liability on the combined statement of financial position. Any asset recognized is restricted to the present value of any amounts the Group expects to recover by way of refunds from the plan or reductions in future contributions. Actuarial gains and losses arising in the year are charged or credited to Other comprehensive income (loss), which is included in Invested equity. For this purpose, actuarial gains and losses are comprised of both the effects of changes in actuarial assumptions and experience adjustments arising because of differences between the previous actuarial assumptions and what has actually occurred.

Other movements in the net surplus or deficit are recognized in the combined income statement, including the current service cost, any amortization of past service cost and the effect of any curtailment or settlement. The interest cost less the expected return on assets is also charged to the combined income statement. The amounts charged to the combined income statement in respect of these plans are included within operating costs.

The most significant assumptions used in accounting for pension plans are the long-term rate of return on plan assets, the discount rate and mortality assumptions. The long-term rate of return on plan assets is used to calculate interest income on pension assets, which is credited to the Group’s combined income statements. The discount rate is used to determine the net present value of future liabilities. Each year, the unwinding of the discount on those liabilities is charged to interest expense in the Group’s combined income statements, included in Finance income (costs)—net. The mortality assumption is used to project the future stream of benefit payments, which is then discounted to arrive at a net present value of liabilities.

The values attributed to plan liabilities are assessed in accordance with the advice of qualified actuaries.

 

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The Group’s contributions to defined contribution pension plans are charged to the combined income statements in the period to which the contributions relate.

Taxation

The Group uses the liability approach for accounting for income taxes (also refer to Allocations from Owner—Income Taxes above). Under this approach, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. This approach also requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets for operating loss carryforwards and tax credit carryforwards.

The effect on deferred tax income assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates and laws is recognized in income in the period that the rate change is substantively enacted. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured using tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the asset is realized or the liability is settled, based on the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the date of the statement of financial position. Deferred income tax assets are recognized only to the extent that it is probable that they will be recovered. Recoverability is assessed having regard to the reasons why the deferred income tax asset has arisen and projected future taxable profit for the relevant entity in the Group.

The Group is subject to income taxes in the Netherlands, France and numerous other jurisdictions. Certain businesses included in the Group are separate legal entities, while others may represent only a portion of an existing legal entity. Certain of the Group’s businesses may be included in consolidated tax returns with the Owner, in some cases under the terms of non-compensatory tax sharing agreements. In certain circumstances, the Group may be jointly and severally liable with other members of the entity filing the consolidated return for additional taxes that may be assessed. For purposes of these combined financial statements, income taxes are calculated as if all of the Group’s operations had been separate tax-paying legal entities, each filing a separate tax return in its local tax jurisdiction. As a result of using the separate return method, the resulting income tax attributes reflected in these combined financial statements may not reflect the historical or going forward position of income tax balances, especially those related to tax loss carryforwards. The application of a tax allocation method requires significant judgment and making certain assumptions, mainly related to opening balances, applicable income tax rates, valuation allowances and other considerations. Certain income tax amounts currently payable or receivable by the Group are included in Owner’s net investment, because the net liability (receivable) for the taxes due (refundable) and the actual payment or receipt of income taxes (refunds) are recorded in the financial statements of the Owner’s non-Group entity that files the consolidated tax return.

Management establishes tax reserves and accrues interest thereon, if deemed appropriate, in expectation that certain of the Group’s tax return positions may be challenged and that the Group might not succeed in defending such positions, despite management’s belief that the positions taken were fully supportable. Management believes that the Group’s accruals for tax liabilities are sufficient to settle the probable outcome of all material tax contingencies.

Government grants

The Group records the economic benefit of government grants when there is reasonable assurance that the Group will be able to comply with the conditions attached to the grant and that the grants will be received. Grants are recognized in income over the periods to which they are intended to compensate the Group, or for those grants where the Group will incur no future related costs or is receiving compensation for costs already incurred, in the period in which the grant becomes receivable.

 

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Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are comprised of cash in bank accounts and on hand, short-term deposits held on call with banks and highly liquid investments that are readily convertible into known amounts of cash and which are subject to insignificant risk of changes in value, less bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand, provided there is a right of offset.

Operating segments

The Group determines its operating segments based upon product lines, markets and industries served. Operating segment information is prepared and reported to the CODM of the Group on that basis.

Information by geographic area

The Group reports information by geographic area as follows: revenues from third and related parties are based on destination; and property, plant and equipment and intangible assets are based on the physical location of the assets.

Judgments in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

Many of the amounts included in the combined financial statements involve the use of judgment and/or estimation. These judgments and estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of the relevant facts and circumstances, giving consideration to previous experience. However, actual results may differ from the amounts included in the combined financial statements. Information about such judgments made by management is contained throughout the notes to the combined financial statements; however the key areas are summarized as follows:

 

   

Allocations of expenses, assets and liabilities to the Group;

 

   

Identification of derivative instruments and relevant accounting treatments;

 

   

Determination of fair value of assets and liabilities where no established market exists;

 

   

Estimation of asset lives; and

 

   

Identification of functional currencies.

Key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year include the following items:

Pension and post-retirement benefits

The present value of the Group’s defined benefit obligations depends on a number of factors that are determined on an actuarial basis using a number of assumptions. The assumptions used in determining the defined benefit obligations and net pension costs include the expected long-term rate of return on the relevant plan assets and the discount rate. Any changes in these assumptions may impact the amounts recorded in the Group’s combined financial statements.

Income tax expense

Significant judgment is required in determining the provision for income taxes as there are many transactions and calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain during the ordinary course of business. The Group recognizes liabilities based on estimates of whether additional taxes will be due. Where the final tax outcome of these matters is different from the amounts that were recorded, such differences will impact the current and deferred income tax provisions, results of operations and possibly cash flows in the period in which such determination is made.

 

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Impairment of long-lived assets

Assets are subject to impairment reviews whenever changes in events or circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. Assets are written down to the higher of: (a) fair value less costs to sell; or (b) value in use. Value in use is calculated by discounting the expected cash flows from the asset at an appropriate discount rate which uses management’s assumptions and estimates of the future performance of the asset. Differences between expectations and the actual cash flows will result in differences in the level of impairment charges required.

As a result of the binding offer and Transaction as described in Note 1—General Information, the Group determined that the carrying amounts of the Group’s assets were in excess of their recoverable amounts. As a result, the Group recorded impairment charges of €216 million in respect of property, plant and equipment in the year ended December 31, 2010.

The fair value less cost to sell used in the impairment testing was derived from the enterprise value agreed between us and the purchaser. The fair value of each cash generating unit was determined using a discounted cash flow model utilizing discount rates of between 11.5% and 14%. While the Company believes that the estimates and assumptions underlying the valuation methodologies were appropriate, if the Company had kept all other estimates and assumptions constant and only increased the discount rates used by 4% the hypothetical resulting impairment charge would have increased by approximately €72 million. However, this change in assumption would have resulted in an implied total enterprise value that was significantly lower than the agreed enterprise value between the parties which would not be consistent with the guidance of IAS 36.25.

Provisions

Provisions have been recorded for: (a) product warranty and guarantees; (b) close-down and restoration costs; (c) environmental remediation costs; (d) restructuring programs; (e) litigation and other claims; and (f) other liabilities, at amounts which represent management’s best estimates of the liabilities at the date of the combined statement of financial position. Expectations will be revised each period until the actual liability is settled, with any difference accounted for in the period in which the revision is made.

Inventory provisions

Inventories are carried at the lower of cost and net realizable value, which requires the estimation of the future sales price of goods. Any differences between the expected and actual sales price achieved will be recognized in the combined income statement in the period in which the sale is made.

Provision for impairment of trade accounts receivable

A provision for impairment of trade receivables is established when there is objective evidence that the Group will not be able to collect all amounts due. Indicators of impairment would include financial difficulties of the debtor, likelihood of the debtor’s insolvency, default in payment by the debtor or a significant deterioration in the debtor’s creditworthiness. Group management also considers trends and changes in general economic conditions and in the industries in which it operates.

 

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3. EXPENSES BY NATURE

 

Year ended December 31,

   Notes    2010     2009  

Raw materials and consumables used

        1,837        1,198   

Changes in inventories of finished goods and work in progress

   14      (39     37   

Employee benefit expense

   4      569        523   

Energy costs

        110        112   

Depreciation and amortization

   9, 10      38        85   

Repairs and maintenance expense

        92        87   

Transportation and warehousing expenses

        64        60   

General corporate expenses allocated by the Owner

   2      17        9   

Consulting fees and expenses

        30        9   

Operating lease expense

   23      19        18   

Other expenses

        221        333   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total cost of sales, selling and administrative expenses and research and development expenses

        2,958        2,471   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

4. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT EXPENSE

 

Year ended December 31,

   Notes    2010      2009  

Wages and salaries, excluding amounts in restructuring costs

        419         386   

Social security costs

        113         105   

Post-retirement costs:

        

Defined contribution plans

   18      2         2   

Defined benefit plans

   18      19         15   

Other post-retirement benefits

   18      16         15   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total employee benefit expense

        569         523   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

5. OTHER EXPENSES (INCOME)—NET

The components of Other expenses (income)—net—third and related parties are as follows:

 

Third Parties—Year ended December 31,

   Notes      2010     2009  

Exchange (gains) losses from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities—net

     6         7        (1

(Gains) losses on disposals of property, plant and equipment—net

     10         1        —     

(Gains) losses on disposals of businesses and investments—net

     26         —          17   

Provisions for (recoveries of) trade accounts receivables impairment—net

     15         (1     5   

Other—net

        (15     (6
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other expenses (income)—net—third parties

        (8     15   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Related Parties—Year ended December 31,

   Notes      2010     2009  

Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives at fair value through profit and loss—net

     24         31        (162

(Gain) on forgiveness of loan due to related party

     24         —          (29

Service fee income

     24         (6     (19

Service fee expense

     24         —          4   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other expenses (income)—net—related parties

        25        (206
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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6. CURRENCY (GAINS) LOSSES

The Group incurs current period gains and losses (recognized in the combined income statements) and deferred translation adjustments (recognized in Other comprehensive income and included in Invested equity) arising from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. These are included in the Group’s combined financial statements as follows:

COMBINED INCOME STATEMENTS

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010      2009  

Loss for the year from continuing operations:

     

Other expenses (income)—net (third and related party combined)

     

Exchange (gains) losses from the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities—net

     7         (1

Unrealized (gains) losses on foreign currency derivatives—net

     5         2   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     12         1   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations:

     

Realized translation (gains) losses—net (A)

     3         (1
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

COMBINED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN INVESTED EQUITY

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010     2009  

Foreign currency translation reserve—beginning of year

     58        47   

Effect of exchange rate changes—net

     (17     12   

Realized translation adjustments—net (A)

     3        (1
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation reserve—end of year

     44        58   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) Accumulated deferred translation adjustments that are included in the Foreign currency translation reserve component of the Group’s Invested equity, arising from the Group’s ownership in operations where the euro is not the entity’s functional currency, are released from the Foreign currency translation reserve and realized when such foreign operations are divested. The realized translation (gains) losses—net are included in Other expenses (income)—net within (Gains) losses on sales of businesses and investments—net or Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations, depending on the nature of the disposal.

 

7. FINANCE INCOME (COSTS)—NET

Finance income (costs)—net are comprised of the following items:

 

Year Ended December 31,

        2010     2009  
   Notes    Third
Parties
    Related
Parties
    Total     Third
Parties
    Related
Parties
    Total  

Finance income:

               

Interest income earned on:

               

Interest income on loans receivable

   24      —          —          —          —          2        2   

Finance lease

   15      2        —          2        2        —          2   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
        2        —          2        2        2        4   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance costs:

               

Interest expense on borrowings

   16, 24      —          (6     (6     —          (16     (16

Miscellaneous other interest expense

        (3     —          (3     (2     —          (2
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
        (3     (6     (9     (2     (16     (18
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance costs—net

        (1     (6     (7     —          (14     (14
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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8. INCOME TAX EXPENSE (BENEFIT)

The current and deferred components of the Group’s income tax expense (benefit) are as follows:

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010     2009  

Current income tax expense

     5        3   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred income tax expense (benefit), relating to:

    

Tax losses

     1        (16

Decelerated capital allowances

     (50     (48

Accounting provisions

     6        (3

Post-retirement benefits

     —          4   

Other—net

     (6     21   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred income tax benefit

     (49     (42
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax benefit

     (44     (39
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The Group’s effective income tax rates and the amount of income tax expense (benefit) for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 differ from the rates and amounts that would arise using the composite statutory income tax rates applicable by tax jurisdiction, as follows:

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010     2009  

Loss for the year before income taxes from continuing operations

     (253     (254
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Composite statutory income tax rates applicable by tax jurisdiction

     33.6     26.8
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Tax benefit calculated at composite statutory tax rates applicable by tax jurisdiction

     (85     (68

Tax effects of:

    

Unrecorded tax benefits

     43        29   

Other—net

     (2     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income tax benefit

     (44     (39
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effective income tax rates

     17.4     15.4
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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The following amounts relating to tax have been recognized directly in other comprehensive income:

 

9. INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Intangible asset balances and activity are comprised as follows:

 

     Trademarks
and Licenses
    Patented and
Non-Patented
Technology
    Customer
Contracts
    Total  

At January 1, 2009

        

Cost

     12        4        17        33   

Accumulated amortization and impairment

     (5     (1     (17     (23
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at January 1, 2009

     7        3        —          10   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2009 Activity

        

Net book amount at January 1, 2009

     7        3        —          10   

Amortization expense

     (1     —          —          (1
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at December 31, 2009

     6        3        —          9   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2009

        

Cost

     12        4        17        33   

Accumulated amortization and impairment

     (6     (1     (17     (24
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at December 31, 2009

     6        3        —          9   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2010 Activity

        

Net book amount at January 1, 2010

     6        3        —          9   

Impairment charges

     (5     (3     —          (8

Effects of changes in foreign exchange rates

     (1     —          —          (1
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at December 31, 2010

     —          —          —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2010

        

Cost

     12        3        19        34   

Accumulated amortization and impairment

     (12     (3     (19     (34
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at December 31, 2010

     —          —          —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Amortization expense

Total amortization expense related to intangible assets is included in Cost of sales in the Group’s combined income statements.

Impairment tests for intangible assets

Intangible assets are reviewed for impairment at least annually, or if there is any indication that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The recoverable amount is based on the higher of fair value less costs to sell (market value) and value in use (determined using estimates of discounted future net cash flows).

Impairment charges

Year Ended December 31, 2010

As a result of the binding offer and Transaction as described in Note 1—General Information, the Group determined that the carrying amounts of the Group’s assets were in excess of their recoverable amounts. As a result, the Group recorded impairment charges of €8 in its Aerospace & Transportation operating segment (see Note 28—Operating Segment Information).

 

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10. PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

Property, plant and equipment balances and activity are as follows:

 

     Notes      Land
And
Property
Rights
    Buildings     Machinery
And
Equipment
    Construction
Work In
Progress
(Cwip)
    Total  

At January 1, 2009

             

Cost

        191        385        811        72        1,459   

Less: Accumulated depreciation, amortization and impairment

        (69     (226     (474     (24     (793
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at January 1, 2009

        122        159        337        48        666   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2009 Activity

             

Net book amount at January 1, 2009

        122        159        337        48        666   

Additions

     28         —          1        13        48        62   

Transfers in from (out of) CWIP

        2        6        55        (63     —     

Depreciation and amortization expense

     3         —          (25     (59     —          (84

Impairment charges

        (39     (54     (118     (3     (214

Disposals

        (11     (1     (6     —          (18

Other adjustments—net

        —          —          3        —          3   

Effects of changes in foreign exchange rates

        1        2        6        1        10   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at December 31, 2009

        75        88        231        31        425   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2009

             

Cost

        185        397        888        62        1,532   

Less: Accumulated depreciation, amortization and impairment

        (110     (309     (657     (31     (1,107
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at December 31, 2009

        75        88        231        31        425   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2010 Activity

             

Net book amount at January 1, 2010

        75        88        231        31        425   

Additions

     28         —          —          13        38        51   

Disposals

     5         —          —          (1     —          (1

Transfers in from (out of) CWIP

        1        1        1        (3     —     

Depreciation and amortization expense

     3         —          (9     (29     —          (38

Impairment charges

        (31     (23     (106     (56     (216

Contribution by the Non-controlling interests

     25         —          —          2        —          2   

Other adjustments—net

        (3     1        (8     9        (1

Effects of changes in foreign exchange rates

        (3     —          (4     (1     (8
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at December 31, 2010

        39        58        99        18        214   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2010

             

Cost

        180        398        856        102        1,536   

Less: Accumulated depreciation, amortization and impairment

        (141     (340     (757     (84     (1,322
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net book amount at December 31, 2010

        39        58        99        18        214   
     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Depreciation and amortization expense

Total depreciation and amortization expense related to property, plant and equipment is included in the Group’s combined income statements as follows:

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010      2009  

Cost of sales

     30         70   

Selling and administrative expenses

     4         5   

Research and development expenses

     4         9   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     38         84   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Impairment tests for property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment if there is any indication that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The recoverable amount is based on the higher of fair value less costs to sell (market value) and value in use (determined using estimates of discounted future net cash flows).

Impairment charges

Year Ended December 31, 2010

As a result of the binding offer and Transaction as described in Note 1—General Information, the Group determined that the carrying amounts of the Group’s assets were in excess of their recoverable amounts. As a result, the Group recorded impairment charges of €216.

Year Ended December 31, 2009

Based on calculations performed by expert valuation consultants using primarily a “market approach” whereby fair value is based on a comparison to publicly traded companies and transactions in its industry and markets, the estimated overall value of the Group decreased significantly. The decline in overall value was primarily a result of (i) the global economic downturn; (ii) the adverse trading performance of the Group’s companies in their respective markets; and (iii) adverse changes in the capital markets, which made it difficult to finance the acquisitions of companies in general. As a result, the Group recorded impairment charges of €214.

All of the Group’s impairment charges related to property, plant and equipment for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 were associated with the Group’s continuing operations. Impairments of property, plant and equipment by operating segment (see Note 28—Operating Segment Information) are as follows:

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010      2009  

Aerospace & Transportation

     65         5   

Automotive Structures & Industry

     24         123   

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products

     93         86   

Intersegment and other

     34         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total impairment charge

     216         214   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

11. INVESTMENTS IN JOINT VENTURES

The activity in the Group’s investments in joint ventures is summarized as follows:

 

     2010      2009  

At January 1,

     11         12   

Group’s share of profit of joint ventures

     2         —     

Effects of changes in foreign exchange rates

     —           (1
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

At December 31,

     13         11   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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None of the joint ventures in which the Group holds an interest is a publicly listed or traded entity. The Group’s share of each of the revenues, profit (loss) for the year, assets (including goodwill) and liabilities of its principal joint ventures, and a description of the business of each such venture is as follows:

 

     Consortium Strojmetal
A.S. Kamenice (A)
   Rhenaroll S.A. (B)

Country of incorporation:

   Czech Republic    France

Interest held by the Group:

   50%    49.85%

2010:

     

Revenues

   21    2

Profit (loss) for the year

   3    (1)

Assets

   15    1

Liabilities

   3    —  

2009:

     

Revenues

   11    1

Profit (loss) for the year

   —      —  

Assets

   12    3

Liabilities

   4    —  

 

(A) Specializes in the forging of products primarily for the automotive industry.
(B) Specializes in the chrome-plating, grinding and repairing of rolling mills’ rolls and rollers.

 

12. DEFERRED INCOME TAXES

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities arise from the estimated future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are offset when the deferred income tax asset and liability amounts are due from and to the same tax jurisdiction and fiscal authority.

The Group’s total deferred income tax assets and liabilities, before offsetting amounts by tax jurisdiction, and the amounts shown in the Group’s combined statements of financial position are as follows:

 

At December 31,

   2010     2009  

Deferred income tax assets arising from:

    

Tax losses

     (69     (69

Post-retirement benefits

     (46     (40

Accounting provisions

     (33     (36

Capital allowances

     (94     (51

Other

     —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred income tax assets

     (242     (196
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred income tax liabilities arising from:

    

Accelerated capital allowances

     15        27   

Other

     14        14   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred income tax liabilities

     29        41   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net deferred income tax (assets) liabilities

     (213     (155
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

As shown in the Group’s combined statements of financial position:

    

Deferred income tax assets

     (222     (173

Deferred income tax liabilities

     9        18   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net deferred income tax (assets) liabilities

     (213     (155
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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In France, the Group incurred losses in the year ended December 31, 2009 and had net deferred income tax assets of €203 and €160 at December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The losses were mainly due to conditions existing as a result of the economic downturn. The Group expects future operations to generate sufficient taxable income to realize these net deferred income tax assets.

At December 31, 2010, the Group has unrecognized deferred income tax assets mostly related to U.S. businesses comprised of: (i) deductible temporary differences of €371; and (ii) unused tax losses of €334, which expire at various dates between 2012 and 2030.

The following table shows the changes in the Group’s net deferred income tax liabilities (assets) for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 and where the offsetting impact of the changes appears in the Group’s combined financial statements.

 

     2010     2009  

Balance at January 1,

     (155     (119
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred income taxes charged (credited) to the combined income statement:

    

Continuing operations

     (49     (42

Discontinued operations

     —          2   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     (49     (40
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred income taxes charged (credited) directly to Invested equity

     (1     5   

Disposals of businesses

     —          (1

Effects of changes in foreign exchange rates

     (8     —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at December 31,

     (213     (155
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

13. OTHER FINANCIAL ASSETS

Other financial assets are comprised of the following:

 

     Non-Current      Current  

At December 31,

   2010      2009      2010      2009  

Available for sale securities

     —           7         —           —     

Derivatives not designated as hedges—related parties

     13         41         91         48   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total other financial assets

     13         48         91         48   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Details of derivatives not designated as hedges—related parties are described in Note 21—Financial Risk Management, Note 22—Financial Instruments and Note 24—Related Party Transactions.

 

14. INVENTORIES

Inventories are comprised of the following:

 

At December 31,

   2010      2009  

Finished goods

     113         86   

Work in progress

     85         69   

Raw materials

     274         175   

Stores and supplies

     28         28   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total inventories

     500         358   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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The Group carries inventories at the lower of cost and net realizable value (NRV). Adjustments to increase (decrease) the NRV reserve for inventories are included as charges (credits) in Cost of sales. During the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Group recorded total (decreases) to the NRV reserve for inventories of €(1) and €(27), respectively, of which €(1) resulted in a credit to Loss for the year from discontinued operations during each year, and nil and €(26) resulted in credits to Cost of sales during the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

 

15. TRADE RECEIVABLES AND OTHER

Trade receivables and other are comprised of the following:

 

            Non-Current      Current  

At December 31,

   Notes      2010      2009      2010     2009  

Trade receivables—third parties—gross

        —           —           426        358   

Less: Provision for impairment

        —           —           (8     (18
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Trade receivables—third parties—net

        —           —           418        340   

Trade receivables—related parties

     24         —           —           20        14   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total trade receivables—net

        —           —           438        354   

Net finance lease receivable

        39         36         4        4   

Other debtors

        22         12         29        20   

Deferred tooling development costs

        5         4         —          —     

Other prepayments and accrued income

        —           —           12        24   

Interest receivable—related parties

     24         —           —                  4   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total trade receivables and other

        66         52         483        406   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ageing of trade receivables

The ageing of total trade receivables by percentage of the total, including third parties—gross and related parties, is as follows:

 

At December 31,

   2010     2009  

Current

     94     86

1 – 30 days past due

     3     6

31 – 60 days past due

     1     1

61 – 90 days past due

     —       1

Greater than 90 days past due

     2     6
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     100     100
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Provision for impairment

Group management periodically reviews its customers’ account ageings, credit worthiness, payment histories and balance trends in order to evaluate trade accounts receivable for impairment. Group management also considers whether changes in general economic conditions, and in the industries in which the Group operates in particular, are likely to impact the ability of the Group’s customers to remain current or pay their account balances in full.

Revisions to the provision for impairments arising from changes in estimates are included as either additional provisions or recoveries, with the offsetting expense or income included in Other expenses (income)—net.

 

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Changes in the Group’s provision for impairment are as follows:

 

     2010     2009  

Provision for impairment at January 1,

     (18     (13

(Additions to) recoveries of impairment provisions—net

     1        (5

Trade receivables written off as uncollectible

     9        —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Provision for impairment at December 31,

     (8     (18
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

None of the other amounts included in the Group’s other receivables was deemed to be impaired. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the carrying value of each class of receivable shown above. The Group does not hold any collateral from its customers or debtors as security.

Currency concentration

The composition of the carrying amounts of the Group’s trade receivables—net in EUR equivalents is denominated in the currencies shown below.

 

At December 31,

   2010      2009  

Euro

     240         189   

U.S. dollar

     170         143   

Swiss franc

     9         11   

All other

     19         11   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total trade receivables—net

     438         354   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Sales of trade receivables

Germany

During September 2010, the Group entered into a program to sell certain trade receivables without recourse to a financial institution. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Group entered into an agreement to sell up to €5 of trade receivables under this program. At December 31, 2010, the Group had sold trade receivables of €3 related to this program. These receivables were derecognized from the combined statements of financial position as the Group had transferred substantially all of the associated risks and rewards. The Group incurred no significant fees in connection with this program for the year ended December 31, 2010.

France

In France, the Group participated in two programs to sell certain trade receivables without recourse to a financial institution. During the year ended December 31, 2010, both of these programs were terminated by the Group. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Group entered into agreements to sell up to €56 of trade receivables under these programs. At December 31, 2009, the Group had sold trade receivables of €2 related to these programs. These receivables were derecognized from the combined statements of financial position as the Group had transferred substantially all of the associated risks and rewards. There were no net fees incurred by the Group in association with these programs as the fees charged by the financial institution are reimbursed to the Group by the customers participating in the programs.

North America

In March 2005, certain of the Owner’s businesses in North America entered into a program to sell an undivided interest in certain trade receivables with limited recourse to a third party. Certain Group trade receivables were used in this program. Under this program, the Owner (which owns the Group entities for which the receivables are used and is not included in the Group) sold an undivided interest in the receivables of the Group’s entities,

 

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under an Eligible Operating Subsidiary Receivables Purchase Agreement. The sales of these receivables did not qualify for derecognition under IAS 39 “Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement” as the Owner retained substantially all of the associated risks and rewards. The Owner’s use of the Group’s receivables had no financial impact on the Group’s combined financial statements and accordingly, the Group continued to include these receivables in Trade receivables and other in its combined statements of financial position.

In August 2009, the program was terminated by mutual consent of the Owner and the Group and therefore, none of the Group’s trade receivables was used for this program at December 31, 2010 or 2009.

Net finance leases receivable

In December 2003, Alcan entered into a 13-year finance lease as lessor with a third party for certain of its property, plant and equipment located in Teningen, Germany. The lease has an interest rate of 3.52% and the Group receives fixed monthly payments of €0.1. The amounts receivable under this lease are included in Other debtors in the table shown above.

In December 2004, Alcan entered into a 15-year finance lease as lessor with a third party for certain of its property, plant and equipment located in Sierre, Switzerland. The lease has an interest rate of 3.43% and the Group receives fixed quarterly payments of 1.7 million Swiss francs (approximately €1.4 at December 31, 2010 using the prevailing foreign exchange rate). The following tables show the reconciliation of the Group’s gross investment in finance lease to the net finance lease receivable (which is the present value of minimum lease payments receivable) by period.

 

At December 31,

   2010      2009  
   Gross
Investment
In Finance
Lease
     Less
Unearned
Finance
Lease
Income
    Net
Finance
Lease
Receivable
     Gross
Investment
In Finance
Lease
     Less
Unearned
Finance
Lease
Income
    Net
Finance
Lease
Receivable
 

Period:

               

Within 1 year

     6         (2     4         5         (1     4   

Between 2 and 5 years

     22         (4     18         19         (4     15   

Later than 5 years

     22         (1     21         23         (2     21   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 
     50         (7     43         47         (7     40   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

16. BORROWINGS

Borrowings due to third parties

The Group’s non-current and current borrowings due to third parties are comprised of various non-interest bearing instruments (typically from government entities) and other fixed and variable rate loans.

Borrowings due to related parties

The Group and its related parties (the Owner and its subsidiaries, businesses and entities) have historically loaned and borrowed funds among themselves through intercompany term loans, revolving credit facilities and cash pooling agreements on an as needed basis. As of December 31, 2010, there are no material committed and undrawn facilities from related parties upon which the Group has the availability to draw down additional borrowings.

 

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Non-current borrowings due to related parties

The following table shows the details of the Group’s non-current borrowings due to related parties.

 

                Non-Current
Borrowings
Due to Related
Parties
 

At December 31,

        Interest
Rates (A)
    2010      2009  

Borrower and Instrument (B)

   Counterparty                    

PRP Property & Equipment, LLC

          

Fixed rate loan due 2017 (USD 7 million) (C)

   Pechiney Metals LLC      5.50     —           5   
       

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total non-current borrowings due to related parties

          —           5   
       

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Interest rates are the effective rates at the most recent year end date for which a borrowing balance is presented.
(B) Amounts owed in currencies other than the euro indicate the denomination of the borrowing instrument and the stated foreign currency equivalent of the outstanding balance at the most recent year end date for which a borrowing balance is presented.
(C) This loan was paid in full during the year ended December 31, 2010, in advance of its maturity date, in contemplation of the Transaction as described in Note 1—General Information.

Current borrowings due to related parties

In contemplation of the Transaction as described in Note 1—General Information, during the year ended December 31, 2010 the Group repaid or converted to Owner’s net investment (included in Invested equity) a substantial portion of its current borrowings due to related parties. The following table shows the details of the Group’s current borrowings due to related parties.

 

              Current
Borrowings
Due to Related
Parties
 

At December 31,

      Interest
Rates (1)
    2010     2009  

Borrower and Instrument (2)

 

Counterparty

                 

Engineered Products France S.A.S.

       

Variable rate multi-currency revolving credit facility (3)

  Alcan France S.A.S.     1.86     134        311   

Ravenswood Rolled

       

Variable rate revolving credit facility (USD 384 million) (4)

  Alcan Corporation     1.43     —          268   

Alcan Holdings Germany GmbH

       

Variable rate cash pooling agreement (5)

  Alcan Packaging Tscheulin-Rothal GmbH     1.64     —          38   

Variable rate cash pooling agreement (6)

  Alcan Packaging Muehltal GmbH     1.64     —          14   

Variable rate cash pooling agreement (5)

  Alcan Packaging Neumunster GmbH     1.64     —          7   

Alcan Alesa Engineering AG

       

Variable rate multi-currency revolving credit facility

  Alcan France S.A.S.     1.34     39        —     

Pechiney Aviatube Ltd.

       

Variable rate loan (16 million British pounds (GBP))

  Pechiney Holdings UK Limited     1.74     19        18   

Alcan Rhenalu

       

Variable rate multi-currency revolving credit facility

  Alcan France S.A.S.     1.44     —          12   

Other miscellaneous

  Various     Various        3        11   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current borrowings due to related parties

        195        679   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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(1) Interest rates are the effective rates at the most recent year end date for which a borrowing balance is presented, and for multi-currency revolving credit facilities are the weighted-average interest rate for each respective facility.
(2) Amounts owed in currencies other than the euro indicate the denomination of the borrowing instrument and the stated foreign currency equivalent of the outstanding balance at the most recent year end date for which a borrowing balance is presented.
(3) The significant reduction of this credit facility during the year ended December 31, 2010 was due to repayment in contemplation of the Transaction. Additionally, subsequent to December 31, 2010, approximately €47 of the credit facility was converted to Owner’s net investment during January 2011 prior to and in contemplation of the Transaction.
(4) This balance of this credit facility was converted to Owner’s net investment during the year ended December 31, 2010 in contemplation of the Transaction.
(5) The balances of these cash pooling agreements were repaid during the first quarter of 2010 as part of the sale of certain Rio Tinto Packaging entities (including the named counterparties to these debt instruments).
(6) This balance of this cash pooling agreement was repaid during the year ended December 31, 2010 in contemplation of the Transaction.

Currency concentration

The composition of the carrying amounts of the Group’s total non-current and current borrowings due to third and related parties in EUR equivalents is denominated in the currencies shown below.

 

At December 31,

   2010      2009  

U.S. dollar

     1         442   

Euro

     88         199   

British pound

     27         23   

Swiss franc

     73         21   

Other currencies

     11         5   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total borrowings

     200         690   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Variable rate borrowings and interest rate sensitivity

At December 31, 2010 and 2009, substantially all of the Group’s total borrowings were at variable rates. The annual effect on net earnings of a 50 basis point increase or decrease in the LIBOR interest rates on the portion of the Group’s borrowings at variable interest rates at December 31, 2010 and 2009 (using the Group’s composite statutory tax rates) was estimated to be €1 and €2 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Fair value

The carrying value of Group’s borrowings approximate their fair value due to their short maturity or because they are at variable interest rates.

 

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17. TRADE PAYABLES AND OTHER

Trade payables and other are comprised of the following:

 

            Non-Current      Current  

At December 31,

   Notes      2010      2009      2010      2009  

Trade payables

              

—third parties

        —           —           300         216   

—related parties

     24         —           —           119         80   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
        —           —           419         296   

Other payables

        —           —           15         13   

Employee entitlements

        35         34         141         120   

Other accruals

        4         4         80         61   

Deferred revenues, including tooling

        15         24         32         32   

Taxes payable other than income

        —           —           10         8   

Accrued interest payable—related parties

     24         —           —           —           1   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total trade payables and other

        54         62         697         531   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

18. POST-RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Description of plans

The Group operates a number of pension and post-retirement healthcare plans. Some of these plans are defined contribution plans and some are defined benefit plans, with assets held in separate trustee-administered funds. Valuations of these plans are produced and updated annually to December 31, by qualified actuaries.

Pension plans

The Group’s pension obligations are in the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, France and Japan. Pension benefits are generally based on the employee’s service and highest average eligible compensation before retirement, and are periodically adjusted for cost of living increases, either by Group practice, collective agreement or statutory requirement.

Post-retirement healthcare plans

The Group provides health and life insurance benefits to retired employees and in some cases to their beneficiaries and covered dependents, mainly in the U.S. Eligibility for coverage is dependent upon certain age and service criteria. These benefit plans are unfunded.

Plan assets

The assets of the plans are generally managed on a day-to-day basis by external specialist fund managers. The proportions of the aggregate fair value of assets held by all of the Group’s pension plans for each asset class were as follows:

 

At December 31,

   2010     2009  

Equities

     44     45

Bonds

     25     28

Property

     18     17

Other

     13     10
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     100     100
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Main assumptions (rates per annum)

The main assumptions used in the valuations of the plans are set out below:

 

     Switzerland     US     Eurozone     Other  

At December 31, 2010

        

Rate of increase in salaries

     2.6     3.8     2.1     2.1

Rate of increase in pensions

     —       —       2.1     —  

Discount rate

     2.6     5.3     4.9     2.0

Inflation

     1.6     2.3     2.1     1.0

At December 31, 2009

        

Rate of increase in salaries

     2.7     4.0     2.1     2.1

Rate of increase in pensions

     —       —       1.8     —  

Discount rate

     2.9     5.9     5.3     2.0

Inflation

     1.5     2.5     2.1     1.0

The main financial assumptions used for the healthcare plans, which are predominantly in the U.S., were: discount rate: 5.3% (2009: 5.9%); medical trend rate: 8.5%, reducing to 5.0% by the year 2017 broadly on a straight-line basis (2009: 8.5%, reducing to 5.0% by the year 2016); and claims cost based on individual company experience. For both the pension and healthcare benefit plans, the post-retirement mortality assumptions allow for future improvements in life expectancy. The mortality tables used for the main benefit plans imply that a male aged 60 at December 31, 2010 has an expected future life expectancy of 24 years (2009: 24 years), and that a male reaching age 60 at December 31, 2030 would have an expected future life expectancy of 26 years (2009: 25 years).

 

Long-term rate of return expected at:

   Switzerland     US     Eurozone    Other

January 1, 2010

         

Equities

     6.4     8.3   N/A    N/A

Bonds

     2.8     5.0   N/A    N/A

Property

     4.4     6.3   N/A    N/A

Other

     3.4     3.1   N/A    N/A

January 1, 2009

         

Equities

     6.5     7.5   N/A    N/A

Bonds

     3.2     4.0   N/A    N/A

Property

     4.5     5.0   N/A    N/A

Other

     2.4     2.2   N/A    N/A

The expected rate of return on pension plan assets is determined as management’s best estimate of the long-term returns of the major asset classes—equities, bonds, property and other—weighted by the actual allocation of assets among the categories at the measurement date. The expected rate of return is calculated using geometric averaging. The expected rates of return shown have been reduced to allow for plan expenses including, where appropriate, taxes incurred on investment returns within pension plans. The pension plan assets of Eurozone and Other are not significant or nil, therefore the expected rates of return are not meaningful and not presented above.

The sources used to determine management’s best estimate of long-term returns are numerous and include country-specific bond yields, which may be derived from the market using local bond indices or by analysis of the local bond market, and country-specific inflation and investment market expectations derived from market data and analysts’ or governments’ expectations as applicable.

 

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Total expense recognized in the Group’s combined income statements

The expenses shown as attributable to continuing operations in the following tables are included as an employee cost within employee benefit expense. See Note 4—Employee Benefit Expense.

 

Year ended December 31, 2010

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
     Total  

Current employer service cost for defined benefit plans

     15        4         19   

Current employer service cost for defined contribution plans

     2        —           2   

Interest cost

     26        13         39   

Expected return on assets

     (15     —           (15

Gains on curtailment and settlement

     (6     —           (6
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total expense

     22        17         39   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Attributable to:

       

Continuing operations

     21        16         37   

Discontinued operations

     1        1         2   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total expense

     22        17         39   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2009

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
     Total  

Current employer service cost for defined benefit plans

     14        4         18   

Current employer service cost for defined contribution plans

     2        —           2   

Interest cost

     26        12         38   

Expected return on assets

     (12     —           (12

Gains on curtailment and settlement

     (12     —           (12
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total expense

     18        16         34   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Attributable to:

       

Continuing operations

     17        15         32   

Discontinued operations

     1        1         2   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 
     18        16         34   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Gains (losses) recognized in the Group’s combined financial statements

 

     2010     2009  

Cumulative gains (losses) recognized directly in the combined statements of changes in invested equity:

    

At January 1,

     (47     (56

Actuarial gains (losses) for the year—net of tax, recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) for the year

     (34     9   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31,

     (81     (47
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Fair values, obligations and deficits in pension and other benefit plans

The following amounts were measured in accordance with IAS 19:

 

At December 31, 2010

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Total fair value of plan assets

     300        —          300   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Present value of obligations:

      

Funded

     (496     —          (496

Unfunded

     (108     (233     (341
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     (604     (233     (837
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Aggregate plan deficit to be shown in the combined statements of financial position

     (304     (233     (537
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprised of:

      

Deficits in pension plans

     (304     —          (304

Unfunded post-retirement healthcare obligation

     —          (233     (233
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     (304     (233     (537
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

At December 31, 2009

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Total fair value of plan assets

     252        —          252   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Present value of obligations:

      

Funded

     (432     —          (432

Unfunded

     (102     (202     (304
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     (534     (202     (736
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Aggregate plan deficit to be shown in the combined statements of financial position

     (282     (202     (484
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprised of:

      

Deficits in pension plans

     (282     —          (282

Unfunded post-retirement healthcare obligation

     —          (202     (202
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     (282     (202     (484
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The amounts shown above as Deficits in pension plans and Unfunded post-retirement healthcare obligations are included in Post-retirement benefits in the combined statements of financial position.

Contributions to plans

Contributions to pension plans totalled €31 and €27 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. These contributions include €2 in each year relating to plans providing purely defined contribution benefits (including 401k plans in the U.S.). These contributions are charged to expense and are included in the amounts shown above as “current employer service cost”.

Contributions for other benefits totalled €12 for each of the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009.

Contributions to pension plans for the year ending December 31, 2011 are expected to be approximately €4 higher than 2010 contributions. Healthcare plans are unfunded and contributions for future years will be equal to benefit payments and therefore cannot be predetermined.

 

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Change in present value of the defined benefit obligation and in the fair value of plan assets

The amounts shown below include, where appropriate, 100% of the costs, contributions, gains and losses in respect of employees who participate in the plans and who are employed in operations that are proportionally consolidated or accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Consequently, the costs, contributions, gains and losses do not correspond directly to the amounts disclosed above in respect of the Group.

 

Year ended December 31, 2010

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Change in present value of obligation:

      

Present value of obligation at January 1,

     (534     (202     (736

Current employer service cost

     (15     (4     (19

Interest cost

     (26     (13     (39

Contributions by plan participants

     (5     —          (5

Experience gains (losses)

     (3     5        2   

Changes in actuarial assumptions gains (losses)

     (26     (16     (42

Benefits paid

     42        12        54   

Curtailment gains (losses)

     6        —          6   

Currency exchange rate gains (losses)

     (43     (15     (58
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Present value of obligation at December 31,

     (604     (233     (837
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2009

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Change in present value of obligation:

      

Present value of obligation at January 1,

     (515     (201     (716

Current employer service cost

     (14     (4     (18

Interest cost

     (26     (12     (38

Contributions by plan participants

     (5     —          (5

Experience gains (losses)

     12        4        16   

Changes in actuarial assumptions gains (losses)

     (25     (5     (30

Benefits paid

     23        12        35   

Curtailment gains (losses)

     12        —          12   

Currency exchange rate gains (losses)

     4        4        8   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Present value of obligation at December 31,

     (534     (202     (736
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gains and losses on obligations:

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010     2009  

Experience gains (losses)

     2        16   

As a percentage of the present value of the obligations

     0.2     2.2

Change in assumptions gains (losses)

     (42     (30

 

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Change in plan assets:

 

Year ended December 31, 2010

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Change in plan assets:

      

Fair value of plan assets at January 1,

     252        —          252   

Expected return on plan assets

     15        —          15   

Actuarial gains (losses) on plan assets

     6        —          6   

Contributions by plan participants

     5        —          5   

Contributions by employer

     29        12        41   

Benefits paid

     (42     (12     (54

Currency exchange rate gains (losses)

     35        —          35   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fair value of plan assets at December 31,

     300        —          300   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Actual return on plan assets

     21        —          21   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2009

   Pension
Benefits
    Other
Benefits
    Total  

Change in plan assets:

      

Fair value of plan assets at January 1,

     212        —          212   

Expected return on plan assets

     11        —          11   

Actuarial gains (losses) on plan assets

     24        —          24   

Contributions by plan participants

     5        —          5   

Contributions by employer

     25        12        37   

Benefits paid

     (23     (12     (35

Currency exchange rate gains (losses)

     (2     —          (2
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Fair value of plan assets at December 31,

     252        —          252   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Actual return on plan assets

     35        —          35   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010     2009  

Actuarial return on plan assets:

    

Gains (losses)

     6        24   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

As a percentage of plan assets

     2.0     9.5
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Post-retirement healthcare—sensitivity to changes in assumptions

An increase of 1% in the assumed medical cost trend rates would increase the aggregate of the current service cost and interest cost components of the post-retirement healthcare expense by €2 and €1 in the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and increase the benefit obligation at December 31, for these plans by €20 and €17 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. A decrease of 1% in the assumed medical cost trend rates would decrease the aggregate of the current service cost and interest cost components of the post-retirement healthcare expense by €1 in each of the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, and decrease the benefit obligation for these plans by €17 and €14 at December 2010 and 2009, respectively.

 

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19. OTHER FINANCIAL LIABILITIES

Other financial liabilities are comprised of the following:

 

     Non-Current      Current  

At December 31,

   2010      2009      2010      2009  

Derivatives not designated as hedges—related parties

     3         2         43         4   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Details of derivatives not designated as hedges—related parties are described in Note 21—Financial Risk Management, Note 22—Financial Instruments and Note 24—Related Party Transactions.

 

20. PROVISIONS

Provision balances and activity are comprised as follows:

 

     Close Down
and
Environmental
Restoration
Costs
    Restructuring
Costs
    Legal Claims
and Other
Costs
    Total  

At December 31, 2009

        

Current

     7        30        13        50   

Non-current

     58        9        13        80   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     65        39        26        130   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Year ended December 31, 2010 Activity

        

Additional provisions (recoveries)—net

     (21     8        (1     (14

Discounting of provisions (recoveries)—net

     1        —          —          1   

Unwinding of discount

     3        —          —          3   

Payments

     (2     (26     (1     (29

(Recoveries) due to disposals of businesses within AIN (discontinued operations) (A)

     —          (1     —          (1

Amounts settled by Owner (non-cash transfer of liability to Owner)

     —          (2     —          (2

Effects of changes in foreign exchange rates

     1        —          1        2   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2010

     47        18        25        90   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

At December 31, 2010

        

Current

     6        17        12        35   

Non-current

     41        1        13        55   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     47        18        25        90   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) See Note 26—Purchases and Disposals of Businesses and Investments, including Discontinued Operations.

Close down and environmental restoration costs

The Group records provisions for the estimated present value of the costs of its environmental cleanup obligations and close down and restoration efforts based on the net present value of estimated future costs of the dismantling and demolition of infrastructure and the removal of residual material of disturbed areas. Certain of these matters are also described in Note 23—Contingencies and Commitments.

The majority of the Group’s close down and environmental restoration provisions relate to closed sites or certain non-operational facilities within operating sites and are expected to be settled over the next five years.

 

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Restructuring costs

The Group records provisions for restructuring costs when management has a detailed formal plan, is demonstrably committed to its execution, and can reasonably estimate the associated liabilities. The related charges are included in restructuring costs in the Group’s combined income statements. Subsequent changes to restructuring plans may result in further adjustments (including recoveries) of provisions. The following restructuring plan actions resulted in changes to the provisions for the Group, with corresponding charges and reversals included in Restructuring costs in the combined income statements.

Year ended December 31, 2010

The Group incurred restructuring provisions of €8 (including €2 in discontinued operations) during the year ended December 31, 2010 related primarily to restructuring programs in France, of which €2 was settled on our behalf by the Owner and included by us as a non-cash transfer of the liability to the Owner within Invested equity.

Year ended December 31, 2009

The Group incurred restructuring provisions of €43 (including €5 in discontinued operations) during the year ended December 31, 2009, of which €25, €6 and €6 relates to restructuring programs in France, the U.S. and Germany, respectively, and an additional €6 relates to programs throughout the rest of the world.

Legal claims and other costs

At December 31, 2010, the provision for legal claims and other costs includes €8 in litigation accruals, and other costs comprised of €9 relating to an estimate for potential occupational disease claims in France, €4 relating to tool dismantling, €3 relating to product warranties and guarantees and €1 relating to late delivery penalties (see Note 23—Contingencies and Commitments).

 

21. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT

The Group’s policies with regard to financial risk management are determined and governed by its Owner. The Owner’s financial risk management strategy focuses on having the financial flexibility required to execute its business strategy, by achieving the best mix of capital structure and risk transfer instruments in support of its business portfolio composition, business plan, growth plans, investment program and investor expectations.

Due to the Group’s capital structure and the nature of its operations, the Group is exposed to the following financial risks: (a) market risk (including foreign exchange risk, commodity price risk and interest rate risk); (b) credit risk and (c) liquidity and capital management risk.

(a) Market risk

(i) Foreign exchange risk

The Group’s net investment, earnings and cash flows are influenced by multiple currencies due to the geographic diversity of the Group’s sales and the countries in which it operates. The euro and the U.S. dollar are the currencies in which the majority of the Group’s sales are denominated. Operating costs are influenced by the currencies of those countries where the Group’s operating plants are located and also by those currencies in which the costs of imported equipment and services are determined. The euro and U.S. dollar are the most important currencies influencing operating costs.

To the extent that the Group hedges foreign exchange transaction exposures, it is required to do so with the Owner’s risk management group.

 

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As described in Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, the Group’s combined financial statements are presented in euros. Borrowings are typically executed in the functional currencies of the borrowers, which at December 31, 2010 is primarily the euro (see Note 16—Borrowings).

Foreign exchange sensitivity: Risks associated with exposure to financial instruments

A 10% strengthening in the year end closing EUR exchange rate on the value of financial instruments not denominated in euros held by the Group at December 31, 2010 and 2009 would have impacted the Group’s earnings and Owner’s net investment (using the Group’s composite statutory income tax rates) by amounts as shown in the table below, which may not be indicative of future results since the balances of financial assets and liabilities may not remain constant throughout 2011.

 

     Impact (Increase/(Decrease)) on Earnings and Owner’s Net
Investment Arising from the Balances of

Foreign-Currency-Denominated Instruments Included in:
 
     Trade
Receivables
    Loans
Receivable
    Trade
Payables
     Borrowings  

At December 31, 2010

         

U.S. dollar

     (11     (14     10         —     

Swiss franc

     (1 )     —          1         5   

British pound

     —          —          —           2   

At December 31, 2009

         

U.S. dollar

     (10     (9     9         32   

Swiss franc

     (1     (17     1         2   

British pound

     —          —          —           2   

Czech koruna

     —          (1     —           —     

(ii) Commodity price risk

The Group is subject to the effects of market fluctuations in aluminum, which is its primary metal input. At December 31, 2010, the Group has entered into derivatives (forward purchase contracts) for aluminum. Commodity price risk refers to the risk that the value of financial instruments that are held by the Group related to aluminum will fluctuate due to changes in market prices. During 2010 and in prior years, the Group also entered into derivatives for natural gas; however, at December 31, 2010 all such contracts had expired.

Commodity price sensitivity: Risks associated with derivatives

Since none of the Group’s derivatives are designated for hedge accounting treatment, the net impact on the Group’s net earnings and Owners’ net investment of a 10% increase in the market price of aluminum, based on the aluminum derivatives held by the Group at December 31, 2010 and 2009 (using the Group’s composite statutory tax rates), with all other variables held constant was estimated to be €20 and €24 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The balances of such financial instruments may not remain constant in future periods however, and therefore the amounts shown may not be indicative of future results.

(iii) Interest rate risk

Interest rate risk refers to the risk that the value of financial instruments that are held by the Group and that are subject to variable rates will fluctuate, or the cash flows associated with such instruments will be impacted due to changes in market interest rates. The Group’s interest rate risk arises from borrowings. Borrowings issued at variable rates expose the Group to cash flow interest rate risk which is partially offset by cash and loans receivable at variable rates. Borrowings issued at fixed rates expose the Group to fair value interest rate risk.

 

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Interest rate sensitivity: Risks associated with variable-rate financial instruments

The net impact on the Group’s net earnings of a 50 basis point increase or decrease in LIBOR interest rates, based on the variable rate financial instruments held by the Group at December 31, 2010 and 2009 (using the Group’s composite statutory tax rates), with all other variables held constant, was estimated to be €1 and €2 for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The balances of such financial instruments may not remain constant in future periods however, and therefore the amounts shown may not be indicative of future results.

(b) Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will not meet its obligations under a financial instrument or customer contract, leading to a financial loss. The Group is exposed to credit risk from deposits it has with banks and financial institutions and from its operating activities, primarily related to customer trade receivables. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the carrying value of each class of financial asset as described in Note 22—Financial Instruments. The Group does not generally hold any collateral as security.

Credit risk related to deposits with banks and financial institutions

Credit risk from balances with banks and financial institutions has historically been managed by the Owner’s treasury department in accordance with a Board approved policy. Group management is not aware of any significant risks associated with its cash and cash equivalents deposits.

Credit risks related to customer trade receivables

The Group has a diverse customer base geographically and by industry. The responsibility for customer credit risk management rests with Group management. Payment terms vary and are set in accordance with practices in the different geographies and end-markets served. Credit limits are typically established based on internal or external rating criteria, which take into account such factors as the financial condition of the customers, their credit history and the risk associated with their industry segment. Trade accounts receivable are actively monitored and managed, at the business unit or site level. Business units report credit exposure information to Group management on a regular basis. In situations where collection risk is considered to be above acceptable levels, risk is mitigated through the use of advance payments, letters of credit or credit insurance.

(c) Liquidity and capital risk management

The Group’s capital structure is a component of the capital structure of the Owner (see Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies—Basis of Presentation), and includes borrowings and loans receivable. The Group’s total capital is defined as total invested equity plus net debt. Net debt includes borrowings from third and related parties, less loans receivable from related parties.

The Group’s over-riding objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the business as a going concern; to maximize returns for its Owner and to maintain an optimal capital structure in order to reduce the cost of capital.

All activities around cash funding, borrowings and financial instruments are centralized within the Owner’s treasury department. Direct external funding or transactions with banks at the Group entity level are generally not permitted, and exceptions must be approved by the Owner. Capital and liquidity requirements within the Group are funded by the Owner in the form of cash transfers, cash pooling agreements and/or loans. Capital structures of entities within the Group are determined in consideration of tax and corporate finance objectives in order to ensure an optimal cost efficient financial structure for the Owner.

 

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The tables below show the Group’s financial liabilities by relevant maturity groupings based on the remaining period from the respective dates of the statements of financial position to the contractual maturity date.

 

At December 31, 2010

   Less Than
1 Year
     Between
1 and 5
Years
     Over
5 Years
 

Borrowings (A)

     198         1         1   

Derivatives related to currencies and aluminum

     43         3         —     

Trade payables and other (excludes deferred revenue)

     665         16         23   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

     906         20         24   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

At December 31, 2009

   Less Than
1 Year
     Between
1 and 5
Years
     Over
5 Years
 

Borrowings (A)

     683         4         3   

Derivatives related to currencies, aluminum and natural gas

     4         2         —     

Trade payables and other (excludes deferred revenue)

     499         20         18   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

     1,186         26         21   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Borrowings include revolving credit facilities and cash pooling agreements which are considered short-term in nature and are included in the category “Less than 1 year”.

 

22. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The tables below show the classification of the Group’s financial assets and liabilities, and include all third and related party amounts.

 

Financial assets and liabilities

   Notes      Loans and
Receivables
     Available
For Sale
Securities
     At Fair
Value
Through
Profit and
Loss
     Other
Financial
Assets /
Liabilities
     Total  

At December 31, 2010

                 

Financial assets:

                 

Cash and cash equivalents

        15         —           —           —           15   

Trade receivables and other (A)

     15         481         —           —           —           481   

Investments in joint ventures

     11         —           —           —           13         13   

Loans receivable—related parties

                 

Short-term

     24         206         —           —           —           206   

Long-term

     24         14         —           —           —           14   

Other financial assets—related parties

     13                  

Short-term

        —           —           91         —           91   

Long-term

        —           —           13         —           13   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial assets

        716         —           104         13         833   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Financial liabilities:

                 

Trade payables and other (B)

     17               —           419         419   

Current borrowings

     16               —           198         198   

Non-current borrowings

     16               —           2         2   

Other financial liabilities—related parties

     19, 24                  

Short-term

              43         —           43   

Long-term

              3         —           3   
           

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

              46         619         665   
           

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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Financial assets and liabilities

   Notes      Loans and
Receivables
     Available
For Sale
Securities
     At Fair
Value
Through
Profit and
Loss
     Other
Financial
Assets /
Liabilities
     Total  

At December 31, 2009

                 

Financial assets:

                 

Cash and cash equivalents

        7         —           —           —           7   

Trade receivables and other (A)

     15         394         —           —           —           394   

Investments in joint ventures

     11         —           —           —           11         11   

Loans receivable—related parties

                 

Short-term

     24         244         —           —           —           244   

Long-term

     24         258         —           —           —           258   

Other financial assets

     13                  

Short-term—related parties

        —           —           48         —           48   

Long-term—third parties

        —           7         —           —           7   

Long-term—related parties

        —           —           41         —           41   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial assets

        903         7         89         11         1,010   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Financial liabilities:

                 

Trade payables and other (B)

     17               —           296         296   

Current borrowings

     16               —           683         683   

Non-current borrowings

     16               —           7         7   

Other financial liabilities—related parties

     19, 24                  

Short-term

              4         —           4   

Long-term

              2         —           2   
           

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

              6         986         992   
           

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(A) Trade receivables and other includes only Total trade receivables—net and net finance lease receivable amounts.
(B) Trade payables and other includes only Total trade payables amounts.

Derivative financial instruments

The Group enters into forward contracts to manage operating exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency, aluminum and natural gas prices. These contracts are not designated as hedges. The tables below show the fair values of the Group’s Other financial assets and liabilities regarding derivative instruments, all of which are classified as short- or long-term—related parties in the preceding tables.

 

At December 31,

   2010      2009  

Assets

     

Forward Contracts

     

Aluminum forward contracts

     

Less than 1 year

     88         48   

1 to 5 years

     12         41   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total aluminum forward contracts

     100         89   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Currency forward contracts

     

Less than 1 year

     3         —     

1 to 5 years

     1         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total currency forward contracts

     4         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total assets relating to derivative instruments

     104         89   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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At December 31,

   2010      2009  

Liabilities

     

Forward Contracts

     

Aluminum forward contracts

     

Less than 1 year

     35         4   

1 to 5 years

     2         2   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total aluminum forward contracts

     37         6   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Currency forward contracts

     

Less than 1 year

     8         —     

1 to 5 years

     1         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total currency forward contracts

     9         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Natural gas forward contracts

     

Less than 1 year

     —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total natural gas forward contracts

     —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total liabilities relating to derivative instruments

     46         6   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Fair values

The fair values of all of the Group’s financial assets and liabilities approximate their carrying values as a result of their liquidity or short maturity, or because they are at variable interest rates, or in the case of derivatives, because they are remeasured to their fair value at the date of each statement of financial position.

Valuation hierarchy

The tables below shows the fair value, by valuation method, of the Group’s financial assets and liabilities, other than investments in joint ventures, trade receivables and other and trade payables and other at December 31, 2010 and 2009.

 

Financial assets and liabilities

   Notes      Total      Level 1 (1)      Level 2 (2)      Level 3 (3)      Not Held
At Fair
Value
 

At December 31, 2010

                 

Financial assets:

                 

Loans receivable—related parties short-term and long-term

     24         220         —           —           —           220   

Other financial assets—related parties

     13                  

Short-term

        91         —           91         —           —     

Long-term

        13         —           13         —           —     

Cash and cash equivalents

        15         —           —           —           15   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial assets

        339         —           104            235   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Financial liabilities:

                 

Current borrowings

     16         198         —           —           —           198   

Non-current borrowings

     16         2         —           —           —           2   

Other financial liabilities—related parties

     19, 24                  

Short-term

        43         —           43         —           —     

Long-term

        3         —           3         —           —     
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

        246         —           46         —           200   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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Financial assets and liabilities

   Notes    Total      Level 1 (1)      Level 2 (2)      Level 3 (3)      Not Held
At Fair
Value
 

At December 31, 2009

                 

Financial assets:

                 

Loans receivable—related parties Short-term and long-term

   24      502         —           —           —           502   

Other financial assets

   13               

Short-term—related parties

        48         —           48         —           —     

Long-term—third parties

        7         7         —           —           —     

Long-term—related parties

        41         —           41         —           —     

Cash and cash equivalents

        7         —           —           —           7   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial assets

        605         7         89            509   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Financial liabilities:

                 

Current borrowings

   16      683         —           —           —           683   

Non-current borrowings

   16      7         —           —           —           7   

Other financial liabilities—related parties

   19, 24               

Short-term

        4         —           4         —           —     

Long-term

        2         —           2         —           —     
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

        696         —           6         —           690   
     

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Valuation is based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical financial instruments. This category includes listed equity shares and other quoted funds.
(2) Valuation is based on inputs that are observable for the financial instruments which include quoted prices for similar instruments or identical instruments in markets which are not considered to be active or either directly or indirectly based on observable market data.
(3) Valuation is based on inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).

 

23. CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS

Contingencies

Environmental remediation

In July 2006, Alcoa Inc. (Alcoa) filed suit against Alcan, Alcan Rolled Products—Ravenswood, LLC (ARP) and Pechiney Cast Plate, Inc. (PCP) as well as Century Aluminum Company (Century) in the United States District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Alcoa, a former owner of a property known as the Vernon Facility, seeks a declaratory judgment that would allow it to avoid indemnification for the cost of remedying environmental conditions at the PCP facility in Vernon, California, which is being purchased by the City of Vernon, California.

The nature of the suit is to determine Alcoa’s obligations resulting from ARP’s claim for indemnification against Century and Century’s indemnification claim against Alcoa for the cost of remedying environmental conditions at the PCP facility. ARP, formerly named Pechiney Rolled Products (PRP), purchased the cast plate facility from Century in September 1999. Century had owned the cast plate facility since December 1998. Alcoa operated the facility for many years previous to Century. Century had an indemnification agreement with PRP, which extends for 12 years from date of purchase.

Alcan was dismissed from the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction. The Court vacated all court dates and will set new ones once the Remediation Action Plan in California has been finalized. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Group spent approximately €1 on remediation efforts related to this matter. The Group has accrued €8 at December 31, 2010 related to the remaining environmental remediation of this site (see Note 20—Provisions).

 

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Occupational disease claims

Since the early 1990s, certain businesses included in the Group have been subject to claims and lawsuits in France relating to occupational diseases, such as mesothelioma and asbestosis. It is not uncommon for the investigation and resolution of such claims to go on over many years as the latency period for acquiring such diseases is typically between 25 and 40 years. For any such claim, it is up to the social security authorities in each jurisdiction to determine if a claim qualifies as an occupational illness claim. If so determined, the Group must settle the case or defend its position in court. In relation to known and unknown unsettled occupational disease claims, the Group has accrued €9 at December 31, 2010 (see Note 20—Provisions).

Commitments

Capital projects

Capital expenditures contracted for but not yet incurred totalled €40 at December 31, 2010.

Operating leases

The Group leases various buildings, machinery, and equipment under operating lease agreements. Total rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 was as follows:

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010      2009  

Rent expense attributable to:

     

Continuing operations

     19         18   

Discontinued operations

     6         3   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     25         21   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The Group’s future aggregate minimum operating lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases at December 31, 2010 for continuing operations are as follows:

 

     Total  

Less than 1 year

     10   

Between 1 and 5 years

     22   

Over 5 years

     2   
  

 

 

 
     34   
  

 

 

 

 

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24. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

The following table describes the nature and amounts of related party transactions included in the Group’s combined income statements.

 

Year ended December 31,

   Notes      2010     2009  

Revenue (A)

        20        45   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Purchases of inventory (B)

        574        246   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Selling and administrative expenses (C)

     2         17        9   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance income

     7        

Interest income (D)

        —          2   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Finance costs

     7        

Interest expense (E)

        6        16   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other expenses (income)—net

     5        

Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives at fair value through profit and loss—net (F)

        31        (162

(Gain) on forgiveness of related party loan

     16         —          (29

Service fee income (G)

        (6     (19

Service fee expense (G)

        —          4   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other expenses (income)—net

        25        (206
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(A) The Group sells products to certain subsidiaries and entities of the Owner.
(B) Purchases of inventory from certain subsidiaries and entities of the Owner, net of changes in inventory levels, are included in Cost of sales in the Group’s combined income statements.
(C) The Owner performs certain centralized corporate office general and administrative services for the benefit of its owned subsidiaries and entities, including those in the Group, and allocates expenses accordingly. See Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies—Allocations from Owner—General corporate expenses.
(D) The Group earns interest income on its short-term and long-term loans receivable from certain subsidiaries and entities of the Owner. See Note 7—Finance Income (Costs)—Net. Details of loans receivable—related parties are included in the table below.
(E) The Group incurs interest expense on its borrowings from related parties. See Note 16—Borrowings and Note 7—Finance Income (Costs)—Net.
(F) The Owner is the counterparty to all of the Group’s derivative instruments. See Note 21—Financial Risk Management and Note 22—Financial Instruments.
(G) The Group and the Owner provide various miscellaneous services to each other, such as support for payroll and post-retirement benefits, human resources and legal functions. These amounts are billed directly from party to party and are included in Other expenses (income)—net as service fee income and expense, with the corresponding invoices included in Trade receivables and other and Trade payables and other, as included in the table below.

 

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The following table describes the nature and year-end related party balances of amounts included in the Group’s combined statements of financial position, none of which is secured by pledged assets or collateral.

 

At December 31,

   Notes      2010      2009  

Trade receivables and other—current (1)

     15         

Trade receivables

        20         14   

Interest receivable

        —           4   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total trade receivables and other—current

        20         18   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other financial assets (2)

     13, 22         

Current

        91         48   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Non-current

        13         41   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Short-term loans receivable (3)

        

Alcan Corporation

        

Variable rate loans USD 159 million at 0.00%

        115         106   

Variable rate loan USD 2 million at 1.46%

        2         —     
     

 

 

    

 

 

 
        117         106   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Alcan France S.A.S. (Holding Company)

        

Variable rate multi-currency loans at 0.00%

        88         87   

Variable rate loan Czech koruna (CZK) 534 million at 1.02%

        —           20   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 
        88         107   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Alcan Packaging Singen GmbH

        

Variable rate loan at 0.00%

        —           24   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other subsidiaries and entities of the Owner

        

Various loans and terms

        1         7   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total short-term loans receivable

        206         244   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Long-term loans receivable (3)

        

Alcan Holdings Switzerland AG (Holding Company)

        

Fixed rate loan Swiss franc (CHF) 311 million at 3.75%; matures June 2014 (4)

        —           210   

Alcan Aluminium Valais, S.A.—AAV Smelter Steg

        

Fixed rate loan CHF 39 million at 2.28%; no maturity date (5)

        —           26   

Pechiney Becancour Inc.

        

Non-interest bearing loan USD 19 million; no maturity date

        14         13   

Tscheulin-Rothal GmbH

        

Non-interest bearing capital lease; matures December 2016 (6)

        —           9   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total long-term loans receivable

        14         258   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Trade payables and other—current (7)

     17         

Trade payables

        119         80   

Interest payable

        —           1   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total trade payables and other—current

        119         81   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other financial liabilities (2)

     19, 22         

Current

        43         4   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Non-current

        3         2   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Borrowings

     16         

Current

        195         679   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Non-current

        —           5   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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(1) The Group sells products and provides various miscellaneous services to certain subsidiaries and entities of the Owner and has interest receivable related to its loans receivable—related parties.
(2) The Owner is the counterparty to all of the Group’s derivative instruments. See Note 21—Financial Risk Management and Note 22—Financial Instruments.
(3) The Group’s capital structure includes related party short-term and long-term loans receivable from subsidiaries and entities of the Owner. Details of these related party loans receivable, including the counterparty names, balances receivable, currency of denomination (unless euro-denominated), maturity dates and interest rates at December 31, 2010 (or the most recent date for which a balance is presented) are included in this table. Short-term variable rate related party loans are typically based on the London Interbank Offered Rate or Euro Interbank Offered Rate plus or minus a margin, as established from time to time by the Group.

At December 31, 2010, the weighted-average interest rates on the Group’s short- and long-term related party loans receivable were 0.01% and 0.00%, respectively.

At December 31, 2010, the composition of the Group’s related party loans receivable in EUR equivalents, using prevailing foreign exchange rates was as follows:

 

At December 31, 2010

   Current      Non-Current  

USD

     204         14   

EUR

     1         —     

Other

     1         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     206         14   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(4) The balance due on this loan receivable was collected in full during the year ended December 31, 2010 in contemplation of the Transaction described in Note 1—General Information.
(5) The balance due on this loan receivable was charged (as a non-cash transaction) against Owner’s net investment (included in Invested equity) as the counterparty to the loan was a business entity that was discontinued by Rio Tinto.
(6) As a result of Rio Tinto’s sale of certain of its Packaging entities (including the named counterparty to this debt instrument), the balance due on this capital lease became due from a third party during the year ended December 31, 2010.
(7) Trade payables to related parties arise from the Group’s purchase of inventory and from certain centralized corporate office general and administrative services and various miscellaneous services that are provided to the Group by certain subsidiaries and entities of the Owner. In addition, the Group has interest payable to related parties arising from borrowings as described above and in Note 16—Borrowings.

In addition to the amounts and balances shown in the tables above, the Group entered into certain additional arrangements with related parties, involving the sales of trade receivables and the Group’s participation in certain post-retirement benefit plans. The transaction amounts and balances associated with these arrangements are described in Note 15—Trade Receivables and Other and Note 18—Post-Retirement Benefits, and are not otherwise identified as related party amounts and balances in the accompanying combined financial statements. Key management remuneration is described in Note 27—Key Management Remuneration.

 

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25. PRINCIPAL SUBSIDIARIES AND BUSINESSES

The following wholly-owned subsidiaries of Rio Tinto are legal entities where all or a substantial portion of the operations, assets, liabilities, and cash flows are included in the Group (along with the operations, assets, liabilities and cash flows of certain businesses, subsidiaries and divisions of Rio Tinto) as defined in Note 1—General Information. Only the financial information related to the portion of the operations included in the Group have been included in the Group’s combined financial statements.

 

Subsidiary

   Principal  Operating
Segments (A)
   Country of
Incorporation

Engineered Products International S.A.S.

   AIN (B)    France

Alcan Rhenalu S.A.S.

   A&T

P&ARP

   France

Alcan Aerospace S.A.S.

   A&T    France

Societe des Fonderies d’Ussel

   A&T    France

Alcan Centre de Recherches de Voreppe

   All except AIN

(Research
and Development Facility)

   France

Alcan France Extrusions S.A.S.

   AS&I    France

Alcan Holdings Germany GmbH

   AS&I

P&ARP

   Germany

Alcan Slovensko Extrusions s.r.o.

   AS&I    Slovakia

Alcan Aluminium Valais S.A.

   A&T

AS&I

   Switzerland

Alcan Decin Extrusions s.r.o.

   AS&I    Czech Republic

Alcan Rolled Products Ravenswood LLC

   A&T    U.S.

PRP Property & Equipment Co., LLC

   A&T    U.S.

Alcan Automotive LLC

   AS&I    U.S.

AIN U.S.A. Inc.

   AIN (B)    U.S.

Alcan International Network (UK) Limited

   AIN (B)    UK

 

(A) See Note 28—Operating Segment Information for definition and description of operating segments.
(B) The businesses within the Alcan International Network operating segment are presented herein as discontinued operations. See Note 26—Purchases and Disposals of Businesses and Investments, Including Discontinued Operations.

In addition to the wholly-owned subsidiaries described above, the Group is the 54% majority shareholder in Alcan Engley (Changchun) Automotive Structures Co Ltd. (hereafter, Engley), an entity incorporated in the People’s Republic of China on December 24, 2009. The initial net investment in Engley was comprised of €3 in cash contributed by the Group and €2 in property, plant and equipment contributed by the Non-controlling interests. Engley commenced operations in 2010 and is included in the Group’s Automotive Structures and Industry operating segment. As the Group exercises control over this majority-owned subsidiary, all of its assets and liabilities and results of operations are included in the Group’s combined financial statements, which present the amounts of net assets (invested equity), loss for the year and comprehensive income (loss) attributable to both the Owner of the Group and the Non-controlling interests. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the non-controlling interests’ share of Engley’s total net income was approximately €0.4.

 

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26.    PURCHASES AND DISPOSALS OF BUSINESSES AND INVESTMENTS, INCLUDING DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

Purchases and Disposals of Businesses and Investments

Purchases

The Group had no significant purchases of businesses or investments during the year ended December 31, 2010.

During February 2009, the Group’s Alcan International Network operating segment (see Note 28—Information by Operating Segment) acquired a 100% controlling interest in Franck and Schulte in Austria GmbH at a total cost of approximately €1.

Disposals

During June 2010, the Group disposed of its entire 100% controlling interest in Service Centres Aero (Aero), a business entity included in AIN, which is included in discontinued operations in the Group’s combined income statements for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, as described in Note 1—General Information. Of the total proceeds of €15 received in the sale, the Group directly received €5, which is included in cash flows from (used in) investing activities from discontinued operations in the Group’s combined statement of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2010. The remaining proceeds of €10 were received directly by the Owner. As a result, the Group transferred net assets of Aero totaling €10 to the Owner, which is included in Owner’s net investment as part of the other non-cash transfers (to) from Owner during the year ended December 31, 2010. In connection with this disposition, the Group incurred a loss before income taxes of approximately €5, included in Loss for the year from discontinued operations in the Group’s combined income statement for the year ended December 31, 2010.

During November 2009, the Group disposed of its entire 100% controlling interest in Alcan Technology and Management, a business entity included in intersegment and other. In connection with the disposition, the Group received no proceeds and incurred a loss before income taxes of approximately €18, included in Other expenses (income)—net in the Group’s combined income statement.

Discontinued Operations

As described in Note 1—General Information, the operating results of AIN are presented as discontinued operations in the Group’s combined income statements and statements of cash flows.

AIN is a sales and supply chain logistics service organization comprised of 23 offices in 22 countries, selling specialty products and sourcing materials for industrial applications in 36 countries. AIN’s product portfolio includes primary aluminum for the aluminum and steel industries, semi-fabricated products for the construction, transportation, general engineering, packaging and other industrial sectors, minerals for the glass, ceramics and refractories industries, and specialty chemicals for industrial and healthcare applications.

The condensed income statement comprising the discontinued operations of AIN is as follows:

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010     2009  

Revenue

     357        351   

Expenses

     350        352   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

     7        (1

Income tax (expense) benefit

     (5     (2
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations

     2        (3
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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1. KEY MANAGEMENT REMUNERATION

Aggregate compensation expense for the Group’s key management, all of which is included in continuing operations, is comprised of the following:

 

     2010      2009  

Short-term employee benefits

     8         5   

Long-term employee benefits

     1         2   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total key management remuneration

     9         7   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

28. OPERATING SEGMENT INFORMATION

Management has defined the Group’s operating segments based upon product lines, markets and industries its serves, and prepares and reports operating segment information to the Group’s CODM on that basis.

The Group’s measure of segment profit or loss has historically been Business Group Profit or (Loss) as defined below. As described in Note 1—General Information and further below, the Purchaser uses Management Adjusted EBITDA, as defined below, as its measure of operating segment profit or loss. In these combined financial statements, Management Adjusted EBITDA has been provided as supplementary information only for comparative purposes with the consolidated financial statements of the Purchaser and not as the measure of operating segment profit or loss used historically by the Group.

Operating segments

The Group’s operating segments within both continuing and discontinued operations are described below.

Continuing Operations

Aerospace & Transportation (previously Global Aerospace & Transportation Industry)

Aerospace and Transportation (A&T) produces and supplies high value-added plate, sheet, extruded and precision cast products to customers in the aerospace, marine, automotive, and mass-transportation markets and engineering industries. It offers a comprehensive range of products and services including technical assistance, design and delivery of cast, rolled, extruded, rolled pre-cut or shaped parts, and the recycling of customers’ machining scrap metal. A&T is also a key supplier of new alloy solutions, such as Aluminum Lithium. A&T operates 7 facilities in 3 countries.

Automotive Structures & Industry (previously Extrusions & Automotive Structures)

On January 1, 2010, the Group combined the businesses in its Extruded Products segment with the Automotive Structures businesses of its Engineered and Automotive Solutions segment to form a new operating segment called Automotive Structures and Industry (AS&I). The Forging businesses previously included in the Group’s Engineered and Automotive Solutions segment were moved to Intersegment and other. Extrusions focuses on specialty products and supplies a variety of hard and soft alloy extrusions, including technically advanced products, to the automotive, industrial, energy, electrical and building industries, and to manufacturers of mass transport vehicles and shipbuilders. Automotive Structures serves major automotive and transportation manufacturers with innovative and cost-effective aluminum solutions using advanced technology. It develops and manufactures aluminum crash management systems, front-end components, cockpit carriers and Auto Body Sheet structural components. AS&I operates 15 facilities in 7 countries.

Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products (previously Specialty Sheet)

This segment produces and provides coils and sheet to customers in the beverage and closures, automotive, customized industrial sheet solutions and high-quality bright surface product markets. It includes world-class

 

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rolling and recycling operations, as well as dedicated research and development capabilities. Packaging & Automotive Rolled Products (P&ARP) operates 3 facilities in 2 countries.

Discontinued Operations

Alcan International Network (AIN)

AIN is a sales and supply chain logistics service organization comprised of 23 offices in 22 countries, selling specialty products and sourcing materials for industrial applications in 36 countries. AIN’s product portfolio includes primary aluminum for the aluminum and steel industries, semi-fabricated products for the construction, transportation, general engineering, packaging and other industrial sectors, minerals for the glass, ceramics and refractories industries, and specialty chemicals for industrial and healthcare applications.

Intersegment and Other

The Group recognizes certain sales and operating revenues, costs and net assets as Intersegment and other for those operations or items that are not under the control of the operating segments or considered in the measurement of their profitability. These items are generally managed by the Group’s head office, which focuses on strategy development and oversees governance, policy, legal, compliance, human resources and finance matters. Intersegment and other costs include such items as non-integral operating entities such as our forging businesses, pass-through entities for import/export or income tax purposes, corporate and head office costs, non-service related pension and other post-retirement benefit costs (actuarial gains and losses and other adjustments), businesses that have been sold, the deferral or realization of profits on intersegment sales, and other non-operating items. For supplementary segment operating profit measure reporting (Management Adjusted EBITDA), Intersegment and Other is presented as an operating segment within continuing operations in the relevant table below.

Segment Profitability Measures

Business Group Profit or (Loss) (BGP)

Group management has historically measured the profitability and financial performance of the Group’s operating segments based on BGP. BGP is not a measurement of profitability that is recognized under IFRS. Nonetheless, the Group’s CODM has historically used BGP to measure the Group’s underlying operating segment results in a manner that is in line with the Group’s portfolio approach to risk management. BGP is comprised of earnings before: (a) depreciation and amortization; (b) certain restructuring costs (relating to major corporate-wide acquisitions or initiatives); (c) impairment charges related to long-lived assets; (d) unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives—net; (e) share of profit of joint ventures; (f) certain finance income (costs)—net; (g) income tax expense (benefit); and (h) intersegment and other costs (as described above).

Unrealized gains (losses) resulting from changes in fair market value of derivative instruments are excluded from BGP because this presentation provides a more accurate portrayal of underlying segment operating results and is in line with the Owner’s portfolio approach to risk management.

BGP for the operating segments include the Group’s proportionate share of the profit of joint ventures as they are managed within each operating segment, with the adjustments for these investments shown on a separate line in the reconciliation of BGP to Loss for the year from continuing operations and Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations.

With the exception of the items excluded from BGP as described above, the accounting principles used to prepare the information by operating segment are the same as those used to prepare the Group’s combined financial statements. Transactions between operating segments are conducted on an arm’s-length basis and reflect market prices.

 

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The following table presents BGP by segment and reconciles Total BGP for continuing operations, discontinued operations and in Total to Loss for the year from continuing operations, Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations and Loss for the year, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009.

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010     2009  
     Continuing
Operations
    Discontinued
Operations
    Total     Continuing
Operations
    Discontinued
Operations
    Total  

BGP by Segment

            

A&T

     36        —            (13     —       

P&ARP

     79        —            33        —       

AS&I

     (2     —            (25     —       

AIN (comprising discontinued operations)

     —          9          —          —       
  

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

   

Total BGP

     113        9          (5     —       

Depreciation and amortization

     (38     —            (85     —       

Certain restructuring costs

     (2     —            (33     (5  

Impairment charges

     (224     —            (214     —       

Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives

     (31     —            162        (1  

Share of profit of joint ventures

     2        —            —          —       

Certain finance income (costs)—net

     (5     4          (13     8     

Income tax (expense) benefit

     43        (4       39        (2  

Intersegment and other costs

     (67     (7       (66     (3  
  

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

   

Loss for the year from continuing operations

     (209       (209     (215       (215

Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations

       2        2          (3     (3
    

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year

         (207         (218
      

 

 

       

 

 

 

Supplementary Information—Management Adjusted EBITDA

As described above and in Note 1—General Information, Management Adjusted EBITDA is presented only as supplementary information for comparison with the measure of operating segment profit or loss used by the Purchaser in its consolidated financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2011.

Management Adjusted EBITDA is comprised of earnings before: (a) depreciation and amortization; (b) all restructuring costs; (c) impairment charges related to long-lived assets; (d) unrealized gains or losses on derivatives—net; (e) foreign currency gains or losses—net; (f) share of profit of joint ventures; (g) certain finance costs or income—net; (h) gains or losses on disposals of property, plant and equipment, businesses and investments—net; (i) certain separation costs included in other expenses (income)—net; and (j) income tax expense or benefit—net.

 

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The following table presents Management Adjusted EBITDA by segment and reconciles Total Management Adjusted EBITDA for continuing operations, discontinued operations and in Total to Loss for the year from continuing operations, Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations and Loss for the year, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009.

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010     2009  
   Continuing
Operations
    Discontinued
Operations
    Total     Continuing
Operations
    Discontinued
Operations
    Total  

Management Adjusted EBITDA by Segment

            

A&T

     35        —            (31     —       

AS&I

     (4     —            (25     —       

P&ARP

     74        —            28        —       

Intersegment and Other

     (47     (1       (21    

AIN (comprising discontinued operations)

     —          1          —          (2  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Management Adjusted EBITDA

     58        —            (49     (2  

Depreciation and amortization

     (38     —            (85     —       

Restructuring costs

     (6     (3       (38     (5  

Impairment charges

     (224     —            (214     —       

Unrealized gains or losses on derivatives—net

     (31     —            162        (1  

Foreign currency gains or losses—net

     (7     10          1        (1  

Share of profit of joint ventures

     2        —            —          —       

Certain finance costs or income—net

     (6     4          (14     8     

Gains or losses on disposals of property, plant and equipment, businesses and investments—net

     —          (5       (17     —       

Certain separation costs

     (1     —            —          —       

Income tax expense or benefit—net

     44        (4       39        (2  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss for the year from continuing operations

     (209       (209     (215       (215

Income (loss) for the year from discontinued operations

       2        2          (3     (3
      

 

 

       

 

 

 

Loss for the year

         (207         (218
      

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

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Additional Operating Segment Information

 

     Continuing Operations      Discontinued
Operations
 
     A&T      AS&I      P&ARP      Intersegment
and Other
    Total      AIN  

Year ended December 31, 2010

                

Revenues—third and related parties

     810         754         1,373         20        2,957         357   

Revenues—intersegment

     43         83         16         (142     —           —     

Depreciation and amortization

     3         15         16         4        38         —     

Capital expenditures—property, plant and equipment

     26         14         10         1        51         —     

Year ended December 31, 2009

                

Revenues—third and related parties

     729         610         934         19        2,292         351   

Revenues—intersegment

     68         53         11         (132     —           —     

Depreciation and amortization

     4         42         29         10        85         —     

Capital expenditures—property, plant and equipment

     23         12         25         1        61         1   

Investments in Joint Ventures

                

At December 31, 2010

     —           —           1         12        13         —     

At December 31, 2009

     —           —           2         9        11         —     

Segment assets are comprised of total assets of the Group by segment, less adjustments for equity-accounted joint ventures (as described above) and intersegment and other assets. The amounts provided to the CODM with respect to segment assets are measured in a manner consistent with that of the Group’s combined statements of financial position. Assets are allocated based on the operations of the segment.

SEGMENT ASSETS AND RECONCILIATION TO TOTAL ASSETS

 

At December 31,

   2010     2009  

Continuing operations:

    

A&T

     502        507   

AS&I

     241        230   

P&ARP

     510        528   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
     1,253        1,265   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Discontinued operations:

    

AIN

     330        293   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Segment assets

     1,583        1,558   

Unallocated:

    

Adjustments for equity-accounted joint ventures

     (2     (3

Intersegment and other

     256        485   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

     1,837        2,040   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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29. INFORMATION BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA

 

Year ended December 31,

   2010      2009  

Revenue—third and related parties (by destination)

     

France

     512         463   

Germany

     777         444   

United Kingdom

     570         463   

Switzerland

     93         86   

Other Europe

     487         395   

United States

     293         289   

Canada

     36         33   

Asia and Other Pacific

     83         58   

All Other

     106         61   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     2,957         2,292   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

At December 31,

   2010      2009  

Property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (by physical location)

     

France

     17         116   

Germany

     150         183   

Switzerland

     —           33   

Czech Republic

     28         32   

Other Europe

     18         25   

United States

     —           45   

All other

     1         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     214         434   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

30. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

As described in Note 1—General Information, on June 17, 2011 Rio Tinto received the Purchaser’s Disagreement Notice related to the Transaction. The Purchaser’s Disagreement Notice proposed certain reductions to the preliminary purchase price paid by the Purchaser to Rio Tinto for the net assets received in the Transaction. During 2011, Rio Tinto and the Purchaser negotiated a settlement of the amounts in dispute, the outcome of which was that there was no further impairment charges required to the Group’s combined financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2010.

The sale of the Group on January 4, 2011 effectively liquidates the reporting entity, and therefore no further subsequent events can be derived or attributable to the Group for disclosure.

 

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LOGO

Until                     , 2013 (25 days after commencement of this offering), all dealers that buy, sell or trade ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS

 

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Association provide that we will indemnify our directors against all adverse financial effects incurred by such person in connection with any action, suit or proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably could believe to be in or not opposed to our best interests. In addition, upon completion of this offering, we may enter into indemnification agreements with our directors and officers. We also intend to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of our directors and officers to insure them against such liabilities, expenses and claims.

The underwriting agreement, the form of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this registration statement, will also provide for indemnification by the underwriters of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act, but only to the extent that such liabilities are caused by information relating to the underwriters furnished to us in writing expressly for use in this registration statement and certain other disclosure documents.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Item 7. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

On May 14, 2010, Constellium Holdco B.V. issued the following shares: 1,800,000 ordinary shares to Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à r.l. for an aggregate subscription price of €18,000.

On January 4, 2011, Constellium Holdco B.V. issued the following shares: 45 ordinary shares to Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à r.l. for an aggregate subscription price of $63,750,000; 1,376,505 ordinary shares to Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited for an aggregate subscription price of $48,750,000; and 352,920 ordinary shares to Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement for an aggregate subscription price of $12,500,000.

On April 12, 2011, Constellium Holdco B.V. issued 148,998 Class A ordinary shares in consideration for $35.42 per share and 82,032 Class B2 shares in consideration for $10.50 per share to Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG.

On July 19, 2011, Constellium Holdco B.V. issued 18,699 Class A ordinary shares in consideration for $35.42 per share and 9,652 Class B2 shares in consideration for $10.50 per share to Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG.

On February 28, 2012, 4,027 Class B2 shares were converted into Class B1 shares. On May 22, 2012, an additional 9,639 Class B2 shares were converted into Class B1 shares.

Additionally, on March 13, 2013, 24,526 Class B2 shares were converted into Class B1 shares.

The issuance of the foregoing securities in each of the transactions described above was made in reliance in the Netherlands upon either the qualified investor exemption pursuant to Article 2(1)(e) of the European Union Prospectus Directive or the 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors) exemption pursuant to the 2010 PD Amending Directive, and in reliance in the United States on Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933.

 

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Table of Contents
Item 8. Exhibits

(a) See Exhibit Index beginning on page II-4 of this registration statement.

The agreements included as exhibits to this registration statement contain representations and warranties by each of the parties to the applicable agreement. These representations and warranties were made for the benefit of the other parties to the applicable agreement and (i) were not intended to be treated as categorical statements of fact, but rather as a way of allocating the risk to one of the parties if those statements prove to be inaccurate; (ii) may have been qualified in such agreement by disclosures that were made to the other party in connection with the negotiation of the applicable agreement; (iii) may apply contract standards of “materiality” that are different from “materiality” under the applicable securities laws; and (iv) were made only as of the date of the applicable agreement or such other date or dates as may be specified in the agreement.

We acknowledge that, notwithstanding the inclusion of the foregoing cautionary statements, we are responsible for considering whether additional specific disclosures of material information regarding material contractual provisions are required to make the statements in this registration statement not misleading.

(b) Financial Statement Schedules

All schedules have been omitted since they are not required or are not applicable or the required information is shown in the financial statements or related notes.

 

Item 9. Undertakings

The undersigned hereby undertakes:

 

  (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

 

  (b) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

  (c) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

  (1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or Rule 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

  (2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

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Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-1 and has duly caused this Amendment No. 3 to its registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, on May 21, 2013.

 

Constellium N.V.
By:  

/s/    Pierre Vareille

 

Name:

Title:

 

Pierre Vareille

Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been executed as a deed by the following persons on May 21, 2013 in the capacities indicated:

 

Name

 

Title

/s/    Pierre Vareille

Pierre Vareille

  Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)

/s/    Didier Fontaine

Didier Fontaine

 

Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)

  *

Richard B. Evans

  Chairman

/s/    Pierre Vareille

Pierre Vareille

  Director

  *

Gareth N. Turner

  Director

  *

Guy Maugis

  Director

   

Werner P. Paschke

  Director

   

Pieter Oosthoek

  Director

  *

Matthew H. Nord

  Director

  *

Bret Clayton

  Director

 

Philippe Guillemot

  Director

 

*By:  

/s/ Pierre Vareille

 

Pierre Vareille

Attorney-in-fact

 

Constellium Holdings I, LLC

/s/ Didier Fontaine

  Authorized U.S. Representative

Didier Fontaine

President

 

 

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Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX

The following documents are filed as part of this registration statement:

 

  1.1    Form of Underwriting Agreement**
  3.1    Amended and Restated Articles of Association of Constellium N.V.**
  4.1    Partnership Agreement of Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG as amended and restated as of May 21, 2013**
  4.2    Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of March 25, 2013, among Constellium N.V., as the Dutch Borrower, Constellium France S.A.S., as the French Borrower, the new Term Lenders party thereto, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as the Existing Administrative Agent, and Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, as the successor Administrative Agent†
  4.3    ABL Credit Agreement, dated as of May 25, 2012, among Constellium Holdco II B.V., Constellium U.S. Holdings I, LLC, Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC, as borrower, the lenders from time to time party hereto, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent†
  4.4    Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of March 25, 2013, among Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC, as borrower, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent†
  5.1    Opinion of Stibbe, Dutch counsel to Constellium N.V., as to the validity of the ordinary shares being issued**
10.1    Form of Amended and Restated Shareholders Agreement, among Constellium N.V. and the other signatories thereto†
10.2    2012 Executive Performance Award Plan†
10.3    2012 Long-Term Incentive (Cash) Plan†
10.4    Employment Letter by and between Constellium Switzerland AG and Pierre Vareille, dated August 30, 2012†
10.5    Employment Letter by and between Constellium France Holdco SAS and Didier Fontaine, dated May 11, 2012†
10.6    Severance Agreement between Constellium Switzerland AG. Zurich and Arnaud de Weert, dated March 21, 2012†
10.7    Factoring Agreement between Alcan Rhenalu S.A.S. as French Seller, Alcan Aerospace S.A.S. as French Seller, Alcan Softal S.A.S. as French Seller, Alcan France Extrusions S.A.S. as French Seller, Alcan Aviatube S.A.S. as French Seller, Omega Holdco II B.V. as Parent Company, Engineered Products Switzerland A.G. as Sellers’ Agent and GE Factofrance S.N.C. as Factor, dated January 4, 2011, as amended as of May 25, 2012†
10.8    Factoring Agreement between GE Capital Bank AG and Alcan Aluminium Valais S.A., dated December 16, 2010†
10.9    Country Specific Amendment Agreement (Switzerland) to the Factoring Agreement between GE Capital Bank AG and Alcan Aluminium Valais S.A., dated December 16, 2010†
10.10    Factoring Agreement between GE Capital Bank AG and Alcan Aluminium-Presswerke GmbH, dated December 16, 2010†
10.11    Factoring Agreement between GE Capital Bank AG and Alcan Singen GmbH, dated December 16, 2010†

 

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Table of Contents
10.12    Metal Supply Agreement between Engineered Products Switzerland AG and Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. for the supply of sheet ingot in Europe, dated January 4, 2011+**
10.13    Form of Constellium N.V. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan†
21.1    List of subsidiaries†
23.1    Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm**
23.2    Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit S.A., Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm**
23.3    Form of Consent of Stibbe (included in Exhibit 5.1)**
24.1    Powers of attorney (included on signature page to the registration statement)†
99.1    Consent of Philippe Guillemot to be named as a director†
99.2    Consent of Werner P. Paschke to be named as a director†
99.3    Consent of Pieter Oosthoek to be named as a director†

 

* To be filed by amendment.
Previously filed.
** Filed herein.
+ Application has been made to the Securities and Exchange Commission for confidential treatment of certain provisions of this exhibit. Omitted material for which confidential treatment has been requested has been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

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Exhibit 1.1

Constellium N.V.

Class A Ordinary Shares, nominal value €0.02 per share

 

 

Form of Underwriting Agreement

May [    ], 2013

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

    As representatives of the several Underwriters

        named in Schedule I hereto,

c/o Goldman, Sachs & Co.,

200 West Street,

New York, New York 10282

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Constellium N.V., a public company with limited liability ( naamloze vennootschap ) incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated in this Underwriting Agreement (this “Agreement”), to issue and sell to the Underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”) for whom you are acting as representatives (the “Representatives”), an aggregate of [# of primary firm shares ] Class A Ordinary Shares, nominal value €0.02 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), [and, at the election of the Underwriters, up to [# of primary optional shares] additional Ordinary Shares], and the shareholders of the Company named in Schedule II hereto (the “Selling Shareholders”) propose, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to sell to the Underwriters an aggregate of [# of secondary firm shares] Ordinary Shares and, at the election of the Underwriters, up to [# of secondary optional shares] additional Ordinary Shares (the “offering”). The aggregate of [# of firm shares] Ordinary Shares to be sold by the Company and the Selling Shareholders are herein called the “Firm Shares” and the aggregate of [# of optional shares] additional Ordinary Shares to be sold by the Company and the Selling Shareholders at the election of the Underwriters on the terms set forth herein are herein called the “Optional Shares”. The Firm Shares and the Optional Shares that the Underwriters elect to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof are herein collectively called the “Shares”.

1.(a) The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:

(i) A registration statement on Form F–1 (File No. 333-188556) (the “Initial Registration Statement”) in respect of the Shares has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”); the Initial Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, each in the form heretofore delivered to you and, excluding exhibits thereto, to you for each of the other Underwriters, have been declared effective by the Commission in such form; other than a registration statement, if any, increasing the size of the offering (a “Rule 462(b)


Registration Statement”), filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), which became effective upon filing, no other document with respect to the Initial Registration Statement has heretofore been filed with the Commission; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment thereto or the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission (any preliminary prospectus included in the Initial Registration Statement or filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(a) under the Act is hereinafter called a “Preliminary Prospectus”); the various parts of the Initial Registration Statement and the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, including all exhibits thereto and including the information contained in the form of final prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof and deemed by virtue of Rule 430A under the Act to be part of the Initial Registration Statement at the time it was declared effective, each as amended at the time such part of the Initial Registration Statement became effective or such part of the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, if any, became or hereafter becomes effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “Registration Statement”; the Preliminary Prospectus relating to the Shares that was included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Applicable Time (as defined in Section 1(a)(iii) hereof) is hereinafter called the “Pricing Prospectus”; such final prospectus, in the form first filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act, is hereinafter called the “Prospectus”; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act relating to the Shares is hereinafter called an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”);

(ii) No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and the Pricing Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein or by a Selling Shareholder expressly for use therein;

(iii) For the purposes of this Agreement, the “Applicable Time” is [    :    ] p.m. (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement; the Pricing Prospectus, as supplemented by the information listed on Schedule III(c) hereto, taken together (collectively, the “Pricing Disclosure Package”), as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus listed on Schedule III(a) hereto does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or

 

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omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein or by a Selling Shareholder expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described as such in Section 9(g);

(iv) No documents were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement, except as set forth on Schedule III(b) hereto;

(v)  (A) The Registration Statement conforms, and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and (B) the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Prospectus will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein or by a Selling Shareholder expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described as such in Section 9(g);

(vi) Except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing Prospectus there has been no material adverse change, nor any development that could reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse change, in the financial condition, business, properties or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, and, except as disclosed in or contemplated by the Pricing Prospectus, there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock;

(vii) The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real property and good and marketable title to all personal property owned by them (other than intellectual property rights, which is addressed in clause (xxvi) of this Section 1), in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the Pricing Prospectus or such as do not materially affect the value of such property, taken as a whole, and do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, business, properties or results of operations of the

 

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Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole (a “Material Adverse Effect”) and subject to the effects of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent conveyance, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the rights of creditors generally and (ii) the application of general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforcement is considered in proceedings at law or in equity));

(viii) The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a Dutch public company with limited liability under the laws of The Netherlands, with all corporate power and authority necessary to own or hold its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and has been duly qualified as a foreign entity for the transaction of business and is in good standing (where such concept exists) under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect. The entities listed on Schedule V hereto are the only direct or indirect subsidiaries of the Company. Each of the subsidiaries listed on Schedule V as “Significant Subsidiaries” has been duly incorporated, formed or organized and is validly existing as a corporation, limited liability company or other business entity in good standing (where such concept exists) under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, formation or organization, with power and authority to own or hold its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Prospectus, and each Significant Subsidiary has been duly qualified as a foreign entity for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, except where the failure to have such power or authority or to be so qualified or in good standing would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(ix) The Company has, and at each Time of Delivery will have, an authorized capitalization as set forth under “Capitalization” and “Description of Capital Stock” in the Pricing Prospectus and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company, including the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholders, have been duly and validly authorized and when issued will be fully paid and non-assessable, and will not be subject to preemptive or similar rights, and the Ordinary Shares, the Company’s Class B Ordinary Shares, nominal value €0.02 per share, and the preference shares issued in connection with the offering, will in each case conform to the descriptions thereof contained in the Pricing Prospectus in all material respects; and all of the issued shares of capital stock of each Significant Subsidiary of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and (except for directors’ qualifying shares and except as otherwise set forth in the Pricing Prospectus) are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities or claims;

(x) The Shares to be issued and sold by the Company have been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable and will conform in all material respects to the description of the Ordinary Shares contained in the Pricing Disclosure Package;

(xi) The issue and sale of the Shares to be sold by the Company, the execution, delivery and performance by the Company with this Agreement and the

 

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consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, (A) any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, (B) the charter, bylaws or similar organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or (C) any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, except in the case of clauses (A) and (C) as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or materially adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue and sale of the Shares to be sold by the Company, the execution, delivery and performance by the Company with this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated, except for the registration under the Act of the Shares, the approval by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) of the underwriting terms and arrangements and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters;

(xii) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries (A) in violation of its charter, bylaws or similar organizational documents or (B) in default in the performance or observance of any material obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which it is a party or by which it or any of its properties may be bound, except in the case of this clause (B) as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(xiii) The statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the Ordinary Shares, under the caption “Description of Certain Indebtedness”, insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the indebtedness referred to therein, are accurate in all material respects; and the statements set forth in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus under the caption “Material Tax Consequences”, insofar as such statements purport to summarize the provisions of the laws referred to therein, are accurate in all material respects, subject to the limitations, qualifications, exceptions, and assumptions set forth herein and therein;

(xiv) Other than as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental proceedings pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company is a party or of which any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any officer or director of the Company is the subject which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or materially adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby; and, to the Company’s knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened by governmental authorities or others;

 

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(xv) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and the application of the proceeds thereof as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, will not be, required to register as an “investment company”, as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);

(xvi) At the time of filing the Initial Registration Statement the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; and the Company is a “foreign private issuer” within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Act;

(xvii) The financial statements, together with the related notes, included in the Pricing Prospectus present fairly in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the entities to which they relate as of and at the dates indicated and the results of their operations and cash flows for the periods specified. Such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto. PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit S.A. (“PWC France”), who have expressed their opinion as to the audited financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries included in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PWC Canada”) , who have express their opinion as to the audited financial statements of Engineered Aluminum Products, a component of Rio Tinto plc (the “Predecessor”) included in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus, are each independent public accountants as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission. The other financial information included in the Pricing Prospectus has been derived from the accounting records of the entities and presents fairly the information shown thereby.

(xviii) Except as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company, its subsidiaries and the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) are in material compliance with (a) all applicable provisions of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and (b) all applicable rules of the Exchanges (as defined below) (the “Exchange Rules”).

(xix) The Company maintains a system of internal controls, including, but not limited to, disclosure controls and procedures, internal controls over accounting matters and financial reporting, an internal audit function and legal and regulatory compliance controls (collectively, “Internal Controls”) that comply with the applicable requirements of the Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the Exchange Rules and are sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) information is accumulated and communicated to management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure, (ii) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations, (iii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS and to maintain asset accountability, (iv) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (v) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Internal Controls are, or upon consummation of the offering of the Shares will be, overseen by the Audit Committee (the “Audit Committee”) of the Board in accordance with the applicable requirements of the Act, the Exchange Act and the Exchange Rules. As of the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company does not have any significant deficiency or material weakness in Internal Controls. Since the date of the latest audited financial statements included in the Pricing

 

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Prospectus, the Company has not disclosed or reported to the Audit Committee or the Board, any adverse change in Internal Controls, any fraud involving management or other employees who have a significant role in Internal Controls, or any violation of the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act or the Exchange Rules relating to accounting matters;

(xx) The Company has power and authority (public limited company and other) to enter into this Agreement and perform its obligations thereunder, and this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company;

(xxi) Except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or any Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or other like payment in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares to the Underwriters;

(xxii) The Shares have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Euronext Paris (“Euronext Paris”, and together with the NYSE, the “Exchanges”), subject to notice of issuance;

(xxiii) Except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Act with respect to any securities of the Company;

(xxiv) Except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries possess adequate certificates, authorities or permits issued by appropriate governmental agencies or bodies necessary to conduct their business as described in the Pricing Prospectus and have not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, authority or permit that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(xxv) No labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any subsidiary exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent that would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(xxvi) The Company and its subsidiaries own, possess or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate trademarks, trade names and other rights to inventions, know-how, patents, copyrights, confidential information and other intellectual property (collectively, “intellectual property rights”) that are necessary to conduct their business as described in the Pricing Disclosure Package, or presently employed by them, and have not received any notice of infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any intellectual property rights that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(xxvii) Except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, to the best knowledge of the Company, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation of any statute, any rule, regulation, decision or order of any governmental agency or body or

 

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any court, domestic or foreign, relating to the use, disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or relating to the protection or restoration of the environment or human exposure to hazardous or toxic substances (collectively, “environmental laws”), owns or operates any real property contaminated with any substance that is subject to any environmental laws, is liable for any off-site disposal or contamination pursuant to any environmental laws, or is subject to any claim relating to any environmental laws, which violation, contamination, liability or claim would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and except as disclosed in the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Company is not aware of any pending investigation which might lead to such a claim;

(xxviii) No “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act (i) has imposed (or has informed the Company that it is considering imposing) any condition (financial or otherwise) on the Company’s or any of its subsidiaries’ retaining any rating currently assigned to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any indebtedness of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (ii) has indicated to the Company that it is considering (a) the downgrading, suspension, or withdrawal of, or any review for a possible change that does not indicate the direction of the possible change in, any rating so assigned or (b) any negative change in the outlook for any rating of the Company or any indebtedness of the Company or any of its subsidiaries;

(xxix) None of the Company or its subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any of their directors, officers, agents or employees has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity, (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any government official or employee from corporate funds, (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 or any similar law of the European Union or any European Union Member State or any similar law of a jurisdiction in which the Company or its subsidiaries conduct their business and to which they are lawfully subject or (iv) made any unlawful bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment;

(xxx) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted in compliance with applicable financial record-keeping and reporting requirements of the anti-money laundering laws and regulations of the United States and the European Union and similar laws of any jurisdiction in which the Company or its subsidiaries conduct their business and to which they are lawfully subject, as applicable (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Issuer, its subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of their directors, officers, agents or employees with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened;

(xxxi) None of the Company or its subsidiaries, nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent or employee is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”) or equivalent European Union measure; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of any person currently known by the Company to be subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC or any equivalent European Union measure;

 

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(xxxii)  (A) The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all Netherlands, France and other non-U.S. and all U.S. federal, state and local tax returns that are required to be filed or have requested extensions thereof (except in any case in which the failure so to file would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect); (B) except as set forth in the Pricing Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries have paid all taxes (including any assessments, fines or penalties) required to be paid by them, except for any such taxes, assessments, fines or penalties currently being contested in good faith or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (C) the Company and each of its subsidiaries is, to the extent required, registered for the purposes of any applicable value-added tax (“VAT”) and has complied in all respects with the terms of applicable legislation relating to VAT, except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect;

(xxxiii) The Company (i) is and has at all times been resident of the Netherlands for tax purposes and is not and has not been treated as resident in any other jurisdiction for any tax purpose (including any double taxation arrangement), (ii) has not been subject to any material tax on its net profits in any jurisdiction other than the Netherlands, and (iii) is not required to make any deduction for or on account of any tax in the Netherlands or any other jurisdiction in which the Company does business in connection with the offering;

(xxxiv) Under the laws and regulations of the Netherlands, all dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the Shares in cash may be freely transferred out of the Netherlands and may be freely converted into U.S. dollars, in each case without there being required any consent, approval, authorization or order of, or qualification with, any court or governmental agency or body in the Netherlands; and, except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, all such dividends and other distributions would not be subject to withholding, value added or other taxes under the laws and regulations of the Netherlands;

 

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(xxxv) Under the laws of the Netherlands the Company would not be entitled to invoke immunity from jurisdiction or immunity from execution in respect of any action arising out of its obligations under this Agreement.

(b) Each of the Selling Shareholders severally represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters and the Company that:

(i) Such Selling Shareholder has full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement, and such Selling Shareholder’s deeds of transfer, pursuant to which the Shares to be sold by such Selling Shareholder will be transferred to or as directed by the Representatives in accordance with this Agreement (all such deeds of transfer, the “Deeds of Transfer”) and to sell, assign, transfer and deliver the Shares to be delivered by such Selling Shareholder at such Time of Delivery hereunder;

(ii) No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing with, any governmental agency or body or any court is required to be obtained or made by such Selling Shareholder for the execution and delivery by such Selling Shareholder of this Agreement and such Selling Shareholder’s Deeds of Transfer and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in connection with the sale of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Shareholder, except (A) as may be required under states securities “Blue Sky” laws in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, (B) such as will have been obtained on or prior to the First Time of Delivery and (C) for such consents, approvals, authorizations or orders as would not materially adversely affect such Selling Shareholder’s ability to perform its obligations hereunder or materially impair the validity or enforceability hereof;

(iii) The execution and delivery by such Selling Shareholder of this Agreement, such Selling Shareholder’s Deeds of Transfer and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement in connection with the sale of the Shares to be sold by such Selling Shareholder will not result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, or constitute a default under, or result in the imposition of any lien upon any property or assets of such Selling Shareholders pursuant to (A) any statute, any rule, regulation or order of any governmental agency or body or any court having jurisdiction over such Selling Shareholder or any of its properties, (B) any agreement or instrument to which such Selling Shareholder is a party or by which such Selling Shareholder is bound which is material to such Selling Shareholder or to which any of the properties of such Selling Shareholder is subject, or (C) the charter or by-laws of any Selling Shareholder that is a corporation or the constituent documents of any Selling Shareholder that is not a natural person or a corporation, except, in the case of clauses (A) and (B) above, where such breach, violation or default would not, individually or in the aggregate, materially adversely affect such Selling Shareholder’s ability to perform its obligations hereunder or materially impair the validity or enforceability hereof;

(iv)  (A) The Pricing Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, (B) the Registration Statement conforms, and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and (C)

 

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the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Prospectus do not and will not, as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, that the representations and warranties in this clause (iv) shall apply only to the extent that any statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus are based upon written information furnished to the Company by such Selling Shareholder specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described as such in Section 9(g);

(v) Such Selling Stockholder is not prompted by any material non-public information concerning the Company or any of its subsidiaries that is not disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus to sell its Shares pursuant to this Agreement.

(vi) Such Selling Shareholder is the record and beneficial owner of the Shares to be sold by it hereunder free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities and claims, and has full power and authority to sell its interest in the Shares, and, assuming that each Underwriter acquires its interest in the Shares it has purchased from such Selling Stockholder without notice of any adverse claim (within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”)), each Underwriter that has purchased such Shares on the First Time of Delivery or any additional Time of Delivery, as the case may be, by making payment therefor as provided herein, and that has had such Shares credited to the securities account or accounts of such Underwriter maintained with The Depository Trust Company or other securities intermediary will have acquired a security entitlement (within the meaning of Section 8-102(a)(17) of the UCC) to such Shares purchased by such Underwriter, and no action based on an adverse claim (within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the UCC) may be asserted against such Underwriter with respect to such Shares;

(vii) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by such Selling Shareholder. Such Selling Shareholder’s Power of Attorney, if applicable, has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by such Selling Shareholder and is a valid and binding agreement of such Selling Shareholder. Each applicable Deed of Transfer of such Selling Shareholder, at such Time of Delivery, will have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by such Selling Shareholder and will be a valid and binding agreement of such Selling Shareholder.

(viii) Except as disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between such Selling Shareholder and any person that would give rise to a valid claim against such Selling Shareholder or any Underwriter for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or other like payment in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares to be sole by such Selling Shareholder to the Underwriters.

(ix) Such Selling Shareholder has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action that is designed to or that has constituted or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares;

 

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(x) As of the Time of Delivery, such Selling Shareholder will not have any registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered for sale by the Company under the Initial Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement, other than those rights that have been disclosed in the Pricing Prospectus or have been waived; and

(xi) In order to document the Underwriters’ compliance with the reporting and withholding provisions of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 with respect to the transactions herein contemplated, such Selling Shareholder will deliver to you prior to or at the First Time of Delivery a properly completed and executed United States Treasury Department Form W-9 or W-8, as applicable (or other applicable forms or statements specified by Treasury Department regulations in lieu thereof).

2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (a) the Company and each of the Selling Shareholders agree, severally and not jointly, to sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company and each of the Selling Shareholders, at a purchase price per share of $[            ] , the number of Firm Shares (to be adjusted by you so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying the aggregate number of Firm Shares to be sold by the Company and each of the Selling Shareholders as set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule II hereto by a fraction, the numerator of which is the aggregate number of Firm Shares to be purchased by such Underwriter as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator of which is the aggregate number of Firm Shares to be purchased by all of the Underwriters from the Company and all of the Selling Shareholders hereunder and (b) in the event and to the extent that the Underwriters shall exercise the election to purchase Optional Shares as provided below, the Company and the Selling Shareholders, as and to the extent indicated in Schedule II hereto agree, severally and not jointly, to sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company and each of the Selling Shareholders, at the purchase price per share set forth in clause (a) of this Section 2, that portion of the number of Optional Shares as to which such election shall have been exercised (to be adjusted by you so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying such number of Optional Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares which such Underwriter is entitled to purchase as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares that all of the Underwriters are entitled to purchase hereunder.

The Company and the Selling Shareholders, as and to the extent indicated in Schedule II hereto, hereby grant, severally and not jointly, to the Underwriters the right to purchase at their election Optional Shares, at the purchase price per share set forth in the paragraph above, for the sole purpose of covering sales of shares in excess of the number of Firm Shares, provided that the purchase price per Optional Share shall be reduced by an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Firm Shares but not payable on the Optional Shares. Any such election to purchase Optional Shares shall be made in proportion to the maximum number of Optional Shares to be sold by the Company and all Selling Shareholders as set forth in Schedule II hereto initially with respect to the Optional Shares to be sold by the Company and then among the Selling Shareholders in proportion to the maximum number of Optional Shares to be sold by each Selling Shareholder as set forth in Schedule II hereto . Any such election to purchase Optional Shares may be exercised only by written notice from you to the Company and the Selling Shareholders, given within a period of 30 calendar days after the date of this Agreement and

 

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setting forth the aggregate number of Optional Shares to be purchased and the date on which such Optional Shares are to be delivered, as determined by you but in no event earlier than the First Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof) or, unless you and the Company and the Selling Shareholders otherwise agree in writing, earlier than two or later than ten business days after the date of such notice.

3. Upon the authorization by you of the release of the Firm Shares, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.

4.  (a) The Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, in book-entry form, and in such amounts and registered in such names as the Representatives may request upon at least forty-eight hours’ prior notice to the Company and the Selling Shareholders shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company and the Selling Shareholders to Goldman, Sachs & Co., through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same-day) funds to the accounts specified by the Company and the Selling Shareholders to Goldman, Sachs & Co. at least forty-eight hours in advance. The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be, with respect to the Firm Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on [            ], 2013 or such other time and date as the Representatives, the Company and the Selling Shareholders may agree upon in writing, and, with respect to the Optional Shares, 9:30 a.m., New York time, on the date specified by the Representatives in each written notice given by the Representatives of the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Optional Shares, or such other time and date as the Representatives, and the Company and the Selling Shareholders may agree upon in writing. Such time and date for delivery of the Firm Shares is herein called the “First Time of Delivery”, each such time and date for delivery of the Optional Shares, if not the First Time of Delivery, is herein called the “Second Time of Delivery”, and each such time and date for delivery is herein called a “Time of Delivery”.

(b) The documents to be delivered at each Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 8 hereof, including the cross receipt for the Shares and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 8(l) hereof will be delivered at the offices of Underwriters’ counsel: Latham & Watkins LLP, 885 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022 (the “Closing Location”), and the Shares will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at such Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at [4:00] p.m., New York City time, on the New York Business Day next preceding such Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 4, “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

5. The Company agrees with each of the Underwriters:

(a) To prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by you and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A(a)(3) under the Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus prior to the last Time of Delivery which shall be reasonably disapproved by you promptly after reasonable notice

 

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thereof; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and to furnish you with copies thereof; to file promptly all material required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act; to advise you, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus in respect of the Shares, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or other prospectus or suspending any such qualification, to promptly use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order;

(b) Promptly from time to time to take such action as you may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as you may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to (i) qualify as a foreign corporation, (ii) file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction, (iii) subject itself to taxation in any such jurisdiction if it is not otherwise so subject or (iv) make any change to its charter or bylaws or similar organizational documents;

(c) Prior to 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on the second Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement (or such later time as may be agreed to by the Company and the Representatives) and from time to time, to furnish the Underwriters with written and electronic copies of the Prospectus in New York City in such quantities as you may reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such same period to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, to notify you and upon your request to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many written and electronic copies as you may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and in case any Underwriter is required under the Act to deliver a prospectus (or in lieu thereof, the notice referred to in Rule 173(a) under the Act) in connection with sales of any of the Shares at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon your request but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many written and electronic copies as you may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;

(d) If required by the Act, to make generally available to its shareholders as soon as practicable (which may be satisfied by filing with the Commission’s EDGAR system), but in any event not later than sixteen months after the effective date of the Registration Statement (as

 

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defined in Rule 158(c) under the Act), an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);

(e) (i) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 180 days after the date of the Prospectus (the “Company Lock-Up Period”), not to (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the Commission a registration statement under the Act relating to, any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Shares, including but not limited to any options or warrants to purchase shares of Ordinary Shares or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Ordinary Shares or any such substantially similar securities, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing or (ii) enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Ordinary Shares or any such other securities, whether any such transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Ordinary Shares or such other securities, in cash or otherwise (other than the Shares to be sold hereunder or pursuant to employee stock option plans existing on, or upon the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date of this Agreement), without the prior written consent of Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“Goldman Sachs”); provided, however, that if (1) during the last 17 days of the Company Lock-Up Period, the Company releases earnings results or announces material news or a material event or (2) prior to the expiration of the Company Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 15-day period following the last day of the Company Lock-Up Period, then in each case the Company Lock-Up Period will be automatically extended until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the date of release of the earnings results or the announcement of the material news or material event, as applicable, unless Goldman Sachs waives, in writing, such extension; in the event of any announcement that gives rise to an extension of the Company Lock-Up Period or the Shareholder Lock-Up Period, the Company will provide Goldman Sachs and, in the case of any announcement that gives rise to an extension of the Shareholder Lock-Up, the Selling Shareholders with prior notice of such announcement;

(f) If Goldman Sachs, in its sole discretion, agree to release or waive the restrictions in lock-up letters pursuant to Section 1(b)(iv) or Section 8(j) hereof, in each case for an officer or director of the Company, and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Annex II hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver;

(g) During a period of two years from the effective date of the Registration Statement, to furnish to you copies of all reports or other communications (financial or other) furnished to stockholders, and to deliver to you as soon as they are furnished to or filed with the Commission or any national securities exchange on which any class of securities of the Company is listed, copies of any reports and financial statements provided that any report or financial statement furnished or filed with the Commission that is publicly available on the Commission’s EDGAR system shall be deemed to have been furnished to you at the time furnished to or filed with the Commission;

 

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(h) To use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the Pricing Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”;

(i) To use its best efforts to list for trading, subject to notice of issuance, the Shares on each of the Exchanges; and

(j) If the Company elects to rely upon Rule 462(b), the Company shall file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement, and the Company shall at the time of filing either pay to the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or give irrevocable instructions for the payment of such fee pursuant to Rule 3a(c) of the Commission’s Informal and Other Procedures (16 CFR 202.3a).

6.(a) The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act; each Selling Shareholder represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus; and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute a free writing prospectus; any such free writing prospectus the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Representatives is listed on Schedule III(a) hereto;

(b) The Company has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Act applicable to any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission or retention where required and legending; and the Company represents that it has satisfied and agrees that it will satisfy the conditions under Rule 433 under the Act to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any electronic road show; and

(c) The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then prevailing, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or other document which will correct such conflict, statement or omission; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein or by the Selling Shareholders expressly for use therein.

7. The Company and each of the Selling Shareholders covenant and agree with one another and with the several Underwriters that the Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incidental to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (a) the fees, disbursements and expenses of counsel to the Company and counsel to each of the Selling Shareholders and the Company’s accountants in connection with the offering; (b) all expenses in connection with the execution, issue, authentication and initial delivery of the

 

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Shares and the preparation and printing of this Agreement, the Shares, any preliminary prospectuses, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, any documents comprising any part of the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, all amendments and supplements thereto, and any other document relating to the issuance, offer, sale and delivery of the Shares; (c) the cost of qualifying the Shares for clearance and settlement through the facilities of DTC, Euroclear or any other domestic or international clearing agency; (d) the cost of any advertising approved by the Company in writing in connection with the issuance of the Shares; (e) any filing fees and other expenses (including the reasonable fees, disbursements and expenses of counsel) incurred in connection with qualification of the Shares for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representatives shall previously designate and to the extent applicable and the printing of memoranda relating thereto; (f) costs and expenses related to the review by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) of the Shares (including the reasonable fees, disbursements and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters relating to such review in an amount not to exceed $50,000 and (2) all filing fees); (g) fees and expenses incident to listing the Shares on the Exchanges; (h) fees and expenses in connection with the registration of the Shares under the Exchange Act; (i) expenses incurred in distributing any documents comprising any part of any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Disclosure Package, the Prospectus (including any amendments and supplements thereto) and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus to the Underwriters; and (j) all expenses and taxes incident to the sale, preparation and delivery of the Shares to be sold by the Selling Shareholders or the Company to the Underwriters hereunder (provided, that in connection with such sale and delivery of such Shares, the Representatives agree to pay New York State stock transfer tax, and the Selling Shareholders or the Company, as applicable, agree to reimburse the Representatives for any portion of such tax payment not rebated, provided that the Representatives have used commercially reasonable efforts to obtain such rebate); provided that the expenses of counsel to the Underwriters in clauses (e) and (f) shall not exceed $50,000. The Company will also pay or reimburse the Underwriters (to the extent incurred by them) for all travel expenses of the Company’s officers and employees and the Selling Shareholders’ officers and employees and any other expenses of the Company or the Selling Shareholders in connection with attending or hosting meetings with prospective purchasers of the Shares from the Underwriters or any “roadshow” in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this paragraph, the Company agrees to pay 50% of the cost relating to a chartered aircraft to be used by the Underwriters, the Company and the Selling Shareholders in connection with such meetings with prospective purchasers or roadshow. It is understood, however, that except as provided in this Section 7 and Sections 9 and 12, the Underwriters will pay all of their respective costs and expenses, including, without limitation, fees and disbursements of their counsel and transfer taxes payable on the resale of the Shares by them. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as between the Company and the Selling Shareholders, the provisions of this Section 7 shall not affect any agreement that the Company and the Selling Shareholders may have or make regarding the allocation of expenses solely between the Company and Selling Shareholders.

 

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8. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, as to the Shares to be delivered at each Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that (i) all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company and the Selling Shareholders herein that are qualified by materiality, “Material Adverse Effect” or words to similar effect are, at and as of such Time of Delivery, true and correct, (ii) all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company and the Selling Shareholders herein that are not so qualified are, at and as of such Time of Delivery, true and correct in all material respects and (iii) the Company and the Selling Shareholders shall have performed all of its and their obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed in all material respects, and the following additional conditions:

(a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; all material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 433; if the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 462(b) under the Act, the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have become effective by 10:00 p.m., Washington, D.C. time, on the date of this Agreement; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission no stop order suspending or preventing the use of the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; and all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to your reasonable satisfaction;

(b) (i) Latham & Watkins LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to you their written opinion letter and negative assurance letter and (ii) NautaDutilh, Netherlands counsel for the Underwriters, shall each have furnished to you their written opinion letter, in each case dated such Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to you, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they each may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;

(c) Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to you its written opinion and negative assurance letters, in substantially the forms agreed with counsel for the Representatives on the date hereof, dated such Time of Delivery;

(d) Stibbe N.V., Netherlands counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to you their written opinion, in substantially the form agreed with counsel for the Representatives on the date hereof, dated such Time of Delivery;

(e) Jeremy Leach, Vice President and Group General Counsel and Secretary for the Company, shall have furnished to you his written opinion letter, in substantially the form agreed with counsel for the Representatives on the date hereof, dated such Time of Delivery;

(f) The respective counsel for each of the Selling Shareholders, as indicated in Schedule II hereto, each shall have furnished to you its written opinion letter with respect to each of the Selling Shareholders for whom they are acting as counsel in substantially the form agreed with counsel for the Representatives on the date hereof, dated such Time of Delivery;

(g) On the date of the Prospectus upon the execution of this Agreement, at 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at each Time of Delivery, each of PWC France and PWC Canada shall have furnished to you a comfort letter, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to you, concerning the financial information with respect to the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries or the Predecessor, as applicable;

(h) Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Pricing Prospectus there shall not have been any material adverse change, or any development or

 

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event involving a prospective material adverse change, in the condition (financial or other), business, properties or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as one enterprise, the effect of which, in any such case, is in your judgment so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Pricing Prospectus;

(i) On or after the Applicable Time (i) no downgrading shall have occurred in the rating accorded the Company’s debt securities by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization”, as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, and (ii) no such organization shall have publicly announced that it has under surveillance or review, with possible negative implications, its rating of any of the Company’s debt securities;

(j) On or after the Applicable Time there shall not have occurred any of the following: (i) a suspension or material limitation in trading in securities generally on either of the Exchanges; (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on either of the Exchanges; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by either Federal or New York State authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v) in your judgment makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;

(k) The Shares to be sold at such Time of Delivery shall have been duly listed, subject to notice of issuance, on the Exchange;

(l) The Company shall have obtained and delivered to the Underwriters executed copies of an agreement from each stockholder, officer and director of the Company listed on Schedule IV hereto, in each case substantially to the effect set forth in Annex III hereto;

(m) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(c) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement;

(n) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you on the date of the Pricing Prospectus at a time prior to the execution of this Agreement and at such Time of Delivery, a certificate of the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, dated the date of delivery thereof, satisfactory to you as to certain preliminary and other financial information contained in the Pricing Prospectus and the Prospectus;

(o) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at such Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company herein at and as of such Time of Delivery, as to the performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such Time of Delivery, as to such other matters as you may reasonably request, and the Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished certificates as to the matters set forth in subsections (a), (h) and (i) of this Section 8;

 

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(p) Each Selling Shareholder shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to you at such Time of Delivery certificates signed by an officer or authorized signatory, satisfactory to you as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of such Selling Shareholder herein at and as of such Time of Delivery, as to the performance by such Selling Shareholder of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such Time of Delivery and as to such other matters as you may reasonably request; and

(q) Each Selling Shareholder shall have furnished to you a properly completed and executed United States Treasury Department Form W-9 or W-8, as applicable (or other applicable forms or statements specified by Treasury Department regulations in lieu thereof and satisfactory to you).

9. (a) The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its broker-dealer affiliates, directors, officers, employees and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each an “Indemnified Party”) against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending against any such loss, claim, damage, liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding (whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, and in connection with the enforcement of this provision with respect to any of the above as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described as such in Section 9(g) below.

(b) The Selling Shareholders, severally and not jointly, will indemnify and hold harmless each Indemnified Party, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any “issuer information” filed or required to be filed pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified

 

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Party in connection with investigating or defending against any such loss, claim, damage, liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding (whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, and in connection with the enforcement of this provision with respect to the above as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that each Selling Shareholder’s agreement to indemnify and hold harmless hereunder shall only apply insofar as any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished by such Selling Shareholder specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described as such in Section 9(g) below.

(c) Each Underwriter will, severally and not jointly, indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each Selling Shareholder, the directors and officers and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act and each Selling Shareholder (each, an “Underwriter Indemnified Party”) against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which such Underwriter Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Act the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein (it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described as such in Section 9(g) below); and will reimburse such Underwriter Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending against any such loss, claim, damage, liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding (whether or not such Underwriter Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, as such expenses are incurred.

(d) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this Section 9 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have under such subsection except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided further that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under such subsection. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified

 

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party, be counsel to the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. In any such proceeding, any indemnified party shall have the right to retain its own counsel, but the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (i) the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have mutually agreed to the contrary; (ii) the indemnifying party has failed within a reasonable time to retain counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party; (iii) the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party; or (iv) the named parties in any such proceeding (including any impleaded parties) include both the indemnifying party and the indemnified party and representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate due to actual or potential differing interests between them. It is understood and agreed that the indemnifying party shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceeding in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate firm (in addition to any local counsel) for all indemnified parties, and that all such fees and expenses shall be reimbursed as they are incurred. Any such separate firm for any Underwriter, its affiliates, directors, officers, employees and any control persons of such Underwriter shall be designated in writing by the Representatives and any such separate firm for the Company, its directors and officers and any control persons of the Company shall be designated in writing by the Company. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

(e) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 9 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a), (b), or (c) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Shareholders on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Shares. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (d) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to such amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company and the Selling Shareholders on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Selling Shareholders on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the Selling Shareholders bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by

 

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reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Selling Shareholders on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company, each of the Selling Shareholders and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this subsection (e) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (e). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (e), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations in this subsection (e) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.

(f) The obligations of the Company and the Selling Shareholders under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company and the Selling Shareholders may otherwise have; and the obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 9 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may otherwise have.

(g) It is understood and agreed that the only information in the Registration Statement, any Preliminary Prospectus, the Pricing Prospectus or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, furnished to the Company (i) by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein consists of the first, second, third and fourth paragraphs under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)—Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids”, in each case appearing under the caption “Underwriting” and (ii) by the Selling Shareholder expressly for use therein consists solely of the name and address of such Selling Shareholder and the number of Shares owned by such Selling Shareholder under the caption “Principal and Selling Shareholders”.

10. (a) If any Underwriter shall default in its obligation to purchase the Shares that it has agreed to purchase hereunder at a Time of Delivery, you may in your discretion arrange for you or another party or other parties to purchase such Shares on the terms contained herein. If within thirty-six hours after such default by any Underwriter you do not arrange for the purchase of such Shares, then the Company and the Selling Shareholders shall be entitled to a further period of thirty-six hours within which to procure another party or other parties satisfactory to you to purchase such Shares on such terms. In the event that, within the respective prescribed periods, you notify the Company and the Selling Shareholders that you have so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, or the Company or a Selling Shareholder notifies you that it has so arranged for the purchase of such Shares, you or the Company or the Selling Shareholders shall have the right to postpone such Time of Delivery for a period of not more than seven days, in order to effect whatever changes may thereby be made necessary in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, or in any other documents or arrangements, and

 

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the Company agrees to file promptly any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which in your opinion may thereby be made necessary. The term “Underwriter” as used in this Agreement shall include any person substituted under this Section with like effect as if such person had originally been a party to this Agreement with respect to such Shares.

(b) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you, the Company and the Selling Shareholders as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased does not exceed one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all the Shares to be purchased at such Time of Delivery, then the Company and the Selling Shareholders shall have the right to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder at such Time of Delivery and, in addition, to require each non-defaulting Underwriter to purchase its pro rata share (based on the number of Shares which such Underwriter agreed to purchase hereunder) of the Shares of such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters for which such arrangements have not been made; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.

(c) If, after giving effect to any arrangements for the purchase of the Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters by you, the Company and the Selling Shareholders as provided in subsection (a) above, the aggregate number of such Shares which remains unpurchased exceeds one-eleventh of the aggregate number of all of the Shares to be purchased at such Time of Delivery, or if the Company and the Selling Shareholders shall not exercise the right described in subsection (b) above to require non-defaulting Underwriters to purchase Shares of a defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters, then this Agreement (or, with respect to a Second Time of Delivery, the obligations of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company and the Selling Shareholders to sell the Optional Shares) shall thereupon terminate, without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter, the Company or the Selling Shareholders, except for the expenses to be borne by the Company, the Selling Shareholders and the Underwriters as provided in Section 7 hereof and the indemnity and contribution agreements in Section 9 hereof; but nothing herein shall relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.

11. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, the Selling Shareholders and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, or any of the Selling Shareholders, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company, or any controlling person of any Selling Shareholder, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.

12. If this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to Section 10 hereof, neither the Company nor the Selling Shareholders shall then be under any liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof; but if for any reason other than the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 10 hereof or the failure of a condition specified in clauses (i), (iii), (iv) or (v) of Section 8(j) any Shares are not delivered by or on behalf of the Company and the Selling Shareholders as provided herein, the Company and each of the Selling Shareholders, jointly and severally, will reimburse the Underwriters through you for all out-of-pocket expenses approved in writing by you, including fees and disbursements of counsel, reasonably incurred by the Underwriters in making preparations for the purchase, sale

 

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and delivery of the Shares not so delivered, but the Company and the Selling Shareholders shall then be under no further liability to any Underwriter except as provided in Sections 7 and 9 hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as between the Company and the Selling Shareholders, the provisions of this Section 12 shall not affect any agreement that the Company and the Selling Shareholders may have or make regarding the allocation of expenses solely between the Company and Selling Shareholders.

13. In all dealings hereunder, you shall act on behalf of each of the Underwriters, and the parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement on behalf of any Underwriter made or given by you jointly or by the Representatives on behalf of the Underwriters; and in all dealings with any Selling Shareholder hereunder, you and the Company shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement on behalf of such Selling Shareholder made or given by any or all of the Attorneys-in-Fact for such Selling Shareholder.

In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their respective clients, including the Company and the Selling Shareholders, which information may include the name and address of their respective clients, as well as other information that will allow the Underwriters to properly identify their respective clients.

All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and (A) if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to (i) Goldman, Sachs & Co. , 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, Attention: Registration Department; (ii) Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., 60 Wall Street, 4 th Floor, New York, New York 10005, Attention: Equity Capital Markets – Syndicate Desk, fax: (212) 797-9344, with a copy to: Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., 60 Wall Street, 36 th Floor, New York, New York 10005, Attention: General Counsel, fax: (212) 797-4564 and (iii) J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179, Attention Equity Syndicate Desk, fax: (212) 622-8359; (B) if to any Selling Shareholder shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to counsel for such Selling Shareholder at its address set forth in Schedule II hereto; (C) if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to the address of the Company set forth on the cover of the Registration Statement, Attention: Secretary, with a copy to: Andrew J. Nussbaum, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, 51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019, fax: (212) 403-2000; and (D) if to any shareholder that has delivered a lock-up letter described in Section 8(l) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail to his or her respective address provided in Schedule IV hereto or such other address as such stockholder provides in writing to the Company; provided, however, that any notice to an Underwriter pursuant to Section 9(d) hereof shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to such Underwriter at its address set forth in its Underwriters’ Questionnaire or telex constituting such Questionnaire, which address will be supplied to the Company or the Selling Shareholders by you on request; provided further that notices under subsection 5(e) shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, telex or facsimile transmission to you at: Goldman, Sachs & Co., 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, Attention: Control Room; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., 60 Wall Street, 4 th Floor, New York, New York 10005, Attention: Equity Capital Markets – Syndicate Desk, fax: (212) 797-9344, with a copy to: Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., 60 Wall Street, 36 th Floor, New York, New York 10005, Attention: General Counsel, fax: (212) 797-4564; and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179, Attention Equity Syndicate Desk, fax: (212) 622-8359. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.

 

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14. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company and the Selling Shareholders and, to the extent provided in Sections 9 and 11 hereof, the other Indemnified Parties and Underwriter Indemnified Parties, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.

15. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.

16. The Company and the Selling Shareholders acknowledge and agree that (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company and the Selling Shareholders, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or any Selling Shareholder, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company or any Selling Shareholder with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any Selling Shareholder on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company or any Selling Shareholder except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company and each Selling Shareholder has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Company and each Selling Shareholder agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company or any Selling Shareholder, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.

17. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company, the Selling Shareholders and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

18. This Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute relating to or arising out of this Agreement (“Claim”), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. Except as set forth below, no Claim may be commenced, prosecuted or continued in any court other than the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the adjudication of such matters, and the Company and each of the Selling Shareholders consents to the jurisdiction of such courts and personal service with respect thereto. The Company and each Selling Shareholder hereby consents to personal jurisdiction, service and venue in any court in which any Claim arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement is brought by any third party against any Underwriter or any indemnified party. The Company and each Selling Shareholder agrees that a final judgment in any such action, proceeding or counterclaim brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company or such Selling Shareholder, as the case may be, and may be enforced in any other courts to the jurisdiction of which the Company or such Selling Shareholder is or may be subject, by suit upon such judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Claim may be instituted by the Underwriters in any competent court in The Netherlands.

 

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19. The Company, each Selling Shareholder and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

20. The Company hereby irrevocably appoints the Corporation Service Company as its agent for service of process in any suit, action or proceeding with respect to any Claim and agrees that service of process in any such suit, action or proceeding may be made upon it at the office of such agent. Each Selling Shareholder hereby irrevocably appoints the persons set forth below such Selling Shareholder’s name in Schedule II hereto as its agent for service of process in any suit, action or proceeding with respect to any Claim and agrees that service of process in any such suit, action or proceeding may be made upon it at the office of such agent. The Company and each Selling Shareholder waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any other requirements of or objections to personal jurisdiction with respect thereto. The Company and each Selling Shareholder represents and warrants that such agent has agreed to act as its agent for service of process, and the Company and each Selling Shareholder agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents and instruments, that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect.

21. To the extent that the Company or any Selling Shareholder or any of their respective properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to, or have attributed to them, any right of immunity, on the grounds of sovereignty, from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from set-off or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any court, from service of process, from attachment upon or prior to judgment, or from attachment in aid of execution of judgment, or from execution of judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of any judgment, in any jurisdiction in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, with respect to their obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, the Company and each Selling Shareholder hereby irrevocably and unconditionally, to the extent permitted by applicable law, waives and agrees not to plead or claim any such immunity and consents to such relief and enforcement.

22. All payments by the Company or any Selling Shareholder to the Underwriters hereunder shall be made free and clear of, and without deduction or withholding for or on account of, any and all present and future stamp or other taxes, levies, imposts, duties, charges, fees, deductions or withholdings, now or hereinafter imposed, levied, collected, withheld or assessed by any jurisdiction in which the Company or such Selling Shareholder is organized, resident, doing business or has an office from which payment is made or deemed to be made, excluding any such tax imposed by reason of any Underwriter having some connection with the taxing jurisdiction other than its participation as an Underwriter hereunder (including, if applicable, any income or franchise tax on the overall net income of an Underwriter imposed by the United States or by the State of New York or any political subdivision of the United States or of the State of New York) (all such non-excluded taxes, “Foreign Taxes”). If the Company or any Selling Shareholder, as the case may be, is prevented by operation of law or otherwise from paying, causing to be paid or remitting that portion of amounts payable hereunder represented by Foreign Taxes withheld or deducted, then amounts payable under this Agreement shall, to the extent permitted by law, be increased to such amount as is necessary to yield and remit to such Underwriters an amount which, after deduction of all Foreign Taxes (including all Foreign Taxes payable on such increased payments) equals the amount that would have been payable if no Foreign Taxes applied.

 

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23. The Company and each Selling Shareholder agrees to indemnify the Underwriters against any loss incurred by the Underwriters as a result of any judgment or order being given or made against the Company or such Selling Shareholder, as the case may be, for any amount due hereunder and such judgment or order being expressed and paid in a currency (the “Judgment Currency”) other than United States dollars and as a result of any variation as between (i) the rate of exchange at which the United States dollar amount is converted into the Judgment Currency for the purpose of such judgment or order, and (ii) the rate of exchange in The City of New York at which such party on the date of payment of such judgment or order is able to purchase United States dollars with the amount of the Judgment Currency actually received by such party if such party had utilized such amount of Judgment Currency to purchase United States dollars as promptly as practicable upon such party’s receipt thereof. The foregoing indemnity shall constitute a separate and independent obligation of the Company, shall continue in full force and effect notwithstanding any such judgment or order as aforesaid. If the United States dollars so purchased are greater than the sum originally due to the Underwriters hereunder, the Underwriters agree to pay to the Company or such Selling Shareholder, as the case may be, an amount equal to the excess of the dollars so purchased over the sum originally due to the Underwriters hereunder. The term “rate of exchange” shall include any premiums and costs of exchange payable in connection with the purchase of, or conversion into, the relevant currency.

24. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.

25. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company and the Selling Shareholders are authorized to disclose to any persons the U.S. federal and state income tax treatment and tax structure of the potential transaction and all materials of any kind (including tax opinions and other tax analyses) provided to the Company and the Selling Shareholders relating to that treatment and structure, without the Underwriters imposing any limitation of any kind. For this purpose, “tax structure” is limited to any facts that may be relevant to that treatment.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us one for the Company and each of the Representatives plus one for each counsel and the Custodian counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement among each of the Underwriters, the Company and each of the Selling Shareholders. It is understood that your acceptance of this letter on behalf of each of the Underwriters is pursuant to the authority set forth in a form of Agreement among Underwriters, the form of which shall be submitted to the Company and the Selling Shareholders for examination, upon request, but without warranty on your part as to the authority of the signers thereof.

[Signature Pages Follow]

 

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Very truly yours,
CONSTELLIUM N.V.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

[Additional Signature Pages Follow]


APOLLO OMEGA (LUX) S.À. R.L.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title: Authorized Signatory

[Additional Signature Pages Follow]


AMI (LUXEMBOURG) S.À. R.L.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title: Authorized Signatory

[Additional Signature Pages Follow]


RIO TINTO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

[Additional Signature Pages Follow]


Accepted as of the date first written above:

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

 

By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

 

By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

By:

 

 

  Name:
  Title:

On their own behalf and as

representative on behalf of each

of the Underwriters


SCHEDULE I

 

Underwriter

   Total Number
of
Firm Shares
to be
Purchased
   Number of
Optional
Shares to be
Purchased if
Maximum Option
Exercised

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

     

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

     

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

     

Barclays Capital Inc.

     

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

     

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

     

BNP Paribas Securities Corp.

     

UBS Securities LLC

     

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

     

HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

     

SG Americas Securities, LLC

     

Lazard Capital Markets LLC

     

Apollo Global Securities, LLC

     

Moelis & Company LLC

     

Rothschild Inc.

     

Davenport & Company LLC

     

Total

     
  

 

  

 

 

2


SCHEDULE II

 

    

Total Number of

Firm Shares

to be Sold

  

Number of
Optional

Shares to be

Sold if

Maximum Option

Exercised

     
     
     
     

The Company

     

The Selling Shareholder(s):

     

Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à. r.l.(a)

     

AMI (Luxembourg) S.à. r.l.(b)

     

Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited(c)

     
  

 

  

 

Total

     
  

 

  

 

 

(a) Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à r.l. (société à responsabilité limitée), registered office: 44, Avenue J. F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Share capital: EUR 12,500, R.C.S. Luxembourg: B 153.031. This Selling Shareholder is represented by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, 51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019, fax: (212) 403-2000. Its agent for service of process is Corporation Services Company.
(b) AMI (Luxembourg) S.à r.l. (société à responsabilité limitée), registered office: 44, Avenue J. F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Share capital: EUR 12,500, R.C.S. Luxembourg: B 141.573. This Selling Shareholder is represented by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, 51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019, fax: (212) 403-2000. Its agent for service of process is Corporation Services Company.
(c) This Selling Shareholder is represented by Linklaters LLP, One Silk Street London EC2Y 8HQ. Its agent for service of process is Rio Tinto Services Inc.

 

3


SCHEDULE III

(a) Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses not included in the Pricing Disclosure Package

[None]

(b) Additional documents incorporated by reference

[None]

(c) Information other than the Pricing Prospectus that comprise the Pricing Disclosure Package

The initial public offering price per share for the Shares is $            

The number of Shares purchased by the Underwriters is             .

 

4


SCHEDULE IV

 

Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à.r.l   44, Avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1885,
Luxembourg
 
AMI (Luxembourg) S.à.r.l.   44, Avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1885,
Luxembourg
 
Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited   2 Eastbourne Terrace, London W2 6LG
United Kingdom
 
Directors:    
   Richard B. Evans    
   Pierre Vareille    
   Gareth N. Turner    
   Guy Maugis    
   Matthew H. Nord    
   Bret Clayton    
   Philippe Guillemot    
   Peter Oosthoek    
   Werner P. Paschke    
Officers:    
   Pierre Vareille    
   Didier Fontaine    
   Christophe Villemin    
   Laurent Musy    
   Paul Warton    
   Peter Basten    
   Marc Boone    
   Jeremy Leach    
   Nicolas Brun    
   Yves Merel    

 

5


SCHEDULE V

* Denotes that such subsidiary is a “Significant Subsidiary” under this Agreement

 

Subsidiary

  

Jurisdiction

Alcan International Network (Thailand) Co. Ltd.

Alcan International Network Gulf DMCC

Alcan International Network Handelsgesellschaft m.b.H. Austria

Alcan International Network México S.A. de C.V.

Alcan International Network Nederland B.V.

Alcan International Network Portugal

Alcan International Network S.A. Pty Ltd.

  

                                 Thailand

                                 Dubai

                                 Austria

                                 Mexico

                                 Netherlands

                                 Portugal

                                 South Africa

Constellium Aerospace *

Constellium Automotive Kamenice, s.r.o., v likvidaci

Constellium Automotive USA, LLC

Constellium Aviatube

Constellium China

Constellium CRV *

Constellium Deutschland GmbH *

Constellium Engley (Changchun) Automotive Structures Co Ltd.

Constellium Extrusion France Saint Florentin

Constellium Extrusions Burg GmbH

Constellium Extrusions Decin s.r.o. *

Constellium Extrusions Deutschland GmbH

Constellium Extrusions France

Constellium Extrusions Landau GmbH

Constellium Extrusions Levice s.r.o.

  

                                 France

                                 Czech Republic

                                 Delaware

                                 France

                                 China

                                 France

                                 Germany

                                 China

                                 France

                                 Germany

                                 Czech Republic

                                 Germany

                                 France

                                 Germany

                                 Slovak Republic

Constellium Finance

Constellium France *

  

                                 France

                                 France

Constellium France Holdco*

Constellium Germany Holdco GmbH & Co. KG (formerly known as Constellium Germany Holdco GmbH)*

Constellium Holdco II B.V. *

Constellium Italy S.p.A.

Constellium Japan KK

Constellium Property and Equipment Company, LLC

Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC *

Constellium Sabart

Constellium Singen GmbH *

Constellium South East Asia

Constellium Switzerland AG *

Constellium UK Limited

Constellium US Holdings I, LLC *

Constellium US Holdings II, LLC

Constellium Ussel

Constellium Valais SA *

Engineered Products International SAS

  

                                 France

                                 Germany

 

                                 Netherlands

                                 Italy

                                 Japan

                                 Delaware

                                 Delaware

                                 France

                                 Germany

                                 Singapore

                                 Switzerland

                                 United Kingdom

                                 Delaware

                                 Delaware

                                 France

                                 Switzerland

                                 France

Constellium Germany Verwaltungs GmbH                                     Germany

 

6


ANNEX I

[FORM OF PRESS RELEASE]

Constellium N.V.

[Date]

(“Constellium N.V.”) announced today that Goldman, Sachs & Co., lead joint book-running manager in the recent public sale of [            ] shares of the Company’s Class A Ordinary Shares, is [waiving] [releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to [            ] shares of the Company’s Class A Ordinary Shares held by [certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company. The [waiver] [release] will take effect on [            ], 2013, and the shares may be sold on or after such date.

This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.


ANNEX III

[FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT]

Constellium N.V.

Lock-Up Agreement

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

c/o Goldman, Sachs & Co.

200 West Street

New York, NY 10282-2198

Re: Constellium Holdco B.V. - Lock-Up Agreement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The undersigned understands that you, as representatives (the “Representatives”), propose to enter into an Underwriting Agreement (the “Agreement”) on behalf of the several Underwriters named in Schedule I to such agreement (collectively, the “Underwriters”), with Constellium Holdco B.V., a private company with limited liability incorporated in the Netherlands that will be renamed in connection with the public offering described herein as Constellium N.V., and converted to a public company with limited liability ( naamloze vennootschap ) incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands (the “Company”), and the shareholders of the Company named in Schedule II to such Agreement (collectively, the “Selling Shareholders”), providing for a public offering (the “Offering”) of the Class A Ordinary Shares, nominal value €0.02 per share, of the Company (the “Shares”) pursuant to the Registration Statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-188556) (the “Registration Statement”), to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

As an inducement for the Underwriters to enter into the Agreement and offer and sell the Shares, and of other good and valuable consideration the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees that, during the period specified in the following paragraph (the “Lock-Up Period”), the undersigned will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose of any Shares, or any options or warrants to purchase any Shares of the Company, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive Shares (including, without limitation, any Class B Ordinary Shares, nominal value €0.02 per share, of the Company), whether now owned or hereinafter acquired, owned directly by the undersigned (including holding as a custodian) or with respect to which the undersigned has beneficial ownership within the rules and regulations of the SEC (collectively the “Undersigned’s Shares”). The foregoing restriction is expressly agreed to preclude the undersigned from engaging in any hedging or other transaction which is designed to or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale or disposition of the Undersigned’s Shares even if such Shares would be disposed of by someone other than the undersigned. Such prohibited hedging or other transactions would include without limitation any short sale or any purchase, sale or grant of any right (including without limitation any put or call option) with respect to any of the Undersigned’s Shares or with respect to any security that includes, relates to, or derives any significant part of its value from such Shares. If the

 

AIII-1


undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, the undersigned further agrees that the foregoing provisions shall be equally applicable to any Company-directed Shares the undersigned may purchase in the Offering.

The initial Lock-Up Period will commence on the date of this Lock-Up Agreement and continue for 180 days after the date of the final prospectus pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement; provided, however, that if (1) during the last 17 days of the initial Lock-Up Period, the Company releases earnings results or announces material news or a material event or (2) prior to the expiration of the initial Lock-Up Period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results during the 15-day period following the last day of the initial Lock-Up Period, then in each case the Lock-Up Period will be automatically extended until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the date of release of the earnings results or the announcement of the material news or material event, as applicable, unless Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“Goldman Sachs”) waives, in writing, such extension.

If the undersigned is an officer or director of the Company, (i) Goldman Sachs agree that, at least three business days before the effective date of any release or waiver of the foregoing restrictions in connection with a transfer of Ordinary Shares, Goldman Sachs will notify the Company of the impending release or waiver, and (ii) the Company will agree in the Underwriting Agreement to announce the impending release or waiver by press release through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver. Any release or waiver granted by Goldman Sachs hereunder to any such officer or director shall only be effective two business days after the publication date of such press release. The provisions of this paragraph will not apply if (a) the release or waiver is effected solely to permit a transfer not for consideration and (b) the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the same terms described in this letter to the extent and for the duration that such terms remain in effect at the time of the transfer.

The undersigned hereby acknowledges that the Company has agreed in the Underwriting Agreement to provide written notice of any event that would result in an extension of the Lock-Up Period pursuant to the previous paragraph to the undersigned (in accordance with Section 13 of the Underwriting Agreement) and agrees that any such notice properly delivered will be deemed to have been given to, and received by, the undersigned. The undersigned hereby further agrees that, prior to engaging in any transaction or taking any other action that is subject to the terms of this Lock-Up Agreement during the period from the date of this Lock-Up Agreement to and including the 34th day following the expiration of the initial Lock-Up Period, it will give notice thereof to the Company and will not consummate such transaction or take any such action unless it has received written confirmation from the Company that the Lock-Up Period (as such may have been extended pursuant to the previous paragraph) has expired.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the undersigned may transfer the Undersigned’s Shares (i) as a bona fide gift or gifts, (ii) by will or intestacy, (iii) to any trust, partnership, limited liability company or other entity for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or the immediate family of the undersigned (for purposes of this Lock-Up Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, current or former marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin), (iv) to any immediate family member or other dependent, (v) as a distribution to limited partners, members or stockholders of the undersigned, (vi) to the undersigned’s affiliates or to any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by the undersigned, or, if the undersigned is an Apollo Fund (as defined in the Registration Statement), any investment fund or other entity directly or indirectly controlled or managed by Apollo Global Management, LLC or

 

AIII-2


any of its subsidiaries, (vii) to a nominee or custodian of a person or entity to whom a disposition or transfer would be permissible under clauses (i) through (vi) above, (viii) pursuant to an order of a court or regulatory agency, (ix) from an executive officer to the Company or its parent entities upon death, disability or termination of employment, in each case, of such executive officer, (x) in connection with transactions by any person other than the Company relating to Shares acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the Offering, (xi) in the case of Shares acquired by the undersigned in connection with the MEP (as defined in the Registration Statement), to the Company to pay taxes owed by the undersigned which are incurred in connection with the restructuring of the MEP in December 2012; or (xii) with the prior written consent of Goldman, Sachs; provided that in the case of each transfer or distribution pursuant to clauses (i) through (vii) and (ix) through (xi) above, (a) each donee, trustee, distributee or transferee, as the case may be, agrees to be bound by the restrictions set forth herein (it being understood that the execution of the Underwriting Agreement by the Company will satisfy the requirements of this clause (a) for purposes of clause (xi) above) and (b) no filing by any party (donor, donee, transferor or transferee) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, shall be required or voluntarily made in connection with such transfer or distribution. In addition, notwithstanding the foregoing, if the undersigned was a Principal Shareholder included under the caption “Principal and Selling Shareholders” in the Registration Statement, prior to the completion of the Offering, such Principal Shareholder may transfer the capital stock of the Company to any wholly-owned subsidiary of the Principal Shareholder; provided, however, that in any such case (other than with respect to clause (xi) above), it shall be a condition to the transfer that the transferee execute an agreement stating that the transferee is receiving and holding such capital stock subject to the provisions of this Lock-Up Agreement and there shall be no further transfer of such capital stock except in accordance with this Lock-Up Agreement; and provided further that any such transfer shall not involve a disposition for value.

The undersigned now has, and, except as contemplated by clauses (i) through (xii) above, for the duration of this Lock-Up Agreement will have, good and marketable title to the undersigned’s Shares, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, and claims whatsoever. The undersigned also agrees and consents to the entry of stop transfer instructions with the Company’s transfer agent and registrar against the transfer of the undersigned’s Shares except in compliance with the foregoing restrictions.

The restrictions described in this Lock-Up Agreement shall not apply to (i) the sale of the Undersigned’s Shares pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement or pursuant to the share purchase agreement in connection with the selling shareholder private sale (as defined in the Registration Statement) or (ii) the establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, provided that no transfers occur under such plan during the Lock-Up Period and no public announcement or filing shall be required or voluntarily made by any person in connection therewith. For the avoidance of doubt, the restrictions described in this Lock-Up Agreement shall apply to any Shares received by the undersigned in respect of Shares received pursuant to the Reserved Share Plan (as described in the Registration Statement) or the any equity incentive plan (including the MEP) described in the Registration Statement.

The undersigned understands that, if (i) the Underwriting Agreement (other than the provisions which survive termination under the terms thereof) shall terminate or be terminated prior to payment for the delivery of the Shares to be sold thereunder, (ii) the Registration Statement is withdrawn by the Company, (iii) the Company notifies Goldman, Sachs that it does not intend to proceed with the Offering, or (iv) the Offering is not consummated by May 31,

 

AIII-3


2013, the undersigned shall be released from all obligations under this Lock-Up Agreement and this Lock-Up Agreement shall be of no further effect. The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this Lock-Up Agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the offering. The undersigned further understands that this Lock-Up Agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns.

Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the foregoing shall not be deemed to restrict the undersigned from purchasing Shares or exercising options or warrants to purchase Shares during the Lock-Up Period, provided in all such cases that no sale, disposition or other transfer of the underlying Shares occurs during the Lock-Up Period (other than as provided herein).

This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be performed within the State of New York.

[signature page follows]

 

AIII-4


The undersigned understands that the Selling Shareholders, the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this Lock-Up Agreement in proceeding toward consummation of the Offering. The undersigned further understands that this Lock-Up Agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned’s heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns.

 

Very truly yours,

 

Exact Name of Shareholder

 

Authorized Signature

 

Title

 

AIII-5

Exhibit 3.1

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION OF CONSTELLIUM N.V.

 

1. DEFINITIONS

The following definitions shall apply in these articles of association:

Articles of Association ”: these articles of association.

Board ”: the board of directors of the Company.

Chairman ”: a member of the Board appointed as chairman.

Company ”: Constellium N.V.

Depositary receipt ”: depositary receipt for Shares.

Distributable Equity ”: means the part of the Company’s equity which exceeds the aggregate of the paid up and called up part of the share capital and the reserves which must be maintained pursuant to the laws of the Netherlands.

Executive Director ”: a member of the Board appointed as executive director.

General Meeting ”: the body consisting of the Persons with meeting rights, as well as, the meeting thereof as the case may be.

Group ”: has the meaning attributed thereto in section 2:24b of the Dutch Civil Code.

Group Company ”: a legal entity or company with which the Company is affiliated in a Group.

Non-Executive Director ”: a member of the Board appointed as non-executive director.

Ordinary Share Class A ”: means an ordinary share class A in the capital of the Company.

Ordinary Share Class B ”: means an ordinary share class B in the capital of the Company.

Ordinary Shares ”: means each Ordinary Share Class A and each Ordinary Share Class B.

Persons with meeting rights ”: (a) holders of Shares, (b) such persons with rights attributed to law to holders of depository receipts issued with the Company’s cooperation, and (c) such other persons referred to in article 27.2.

Preference Share ”: means a preference share class P1, preference share class P2, preference share class P3, preference share class P4 or preference share class P5 in the capital of the Company.

Preference Shares Distribution Amount ”: has the meaning attributed thereto in article 23.4.

Regulated Stock Exchange ”: a regulated market or a multilateral trading facility as referred to in section 1:1 of the Financial Supervision Act or a system comparable to a regulated market or multilateral trading facility from a State which is not a Member State.


Reserve Share Class B ”: has the meaning attributed thereto in article 23.1.

U.S. Register ”: means the sub-register of the register of shareholders kept by or on behalf of the Company in the United States of America.

Share ”: means a share in the capital of the Company. Unless the contrary is apparent, this shall include each Ordinary Share and each Preference Share as well as any Depositary receipts, if any.

Subsidiary ”: has the meaning attributed thereto in section 2:24a of the Dutch Civil Code.

 

2. NAME AND SEAT

 

2.1. The name of the Company is: Constellium N.V.

 

2.2. The Company has its seat in Amsterdam.

 

3. OBJECTS

The objects of the Company are:

 

   

to incorporate, to participate in, to finance, to collaborate with, to manage, to supervise businesses, companies and other enterprises and provide advice and other services;

 

   

to acquire, use and/or assign industrial and intellectual property rights and real property;

 

   

to finance and/or acquire businesses and companies;

 

   

to borrow, to lend and to raise funds, including through the issue of bonds, debt instruments or other securities or evidence of indebtedness as well as to enter into agreements in connection with the aforementioned activities;

 

   

to invest funds;

 

   

to provide guarantees and security for debts of legal persons or of other companies with which the Company is affiliated in a Group or for the debts of third parties;

 

   

to undertake all that which is connected to the foregoing or in furtherance thereof,

all in the widest sense of the words.

 

4. CAPITAL AND SHARES

 

4.1. The Company’s authorised capital amounts to eight million euro and ten cents (EUR 8,000,000.10) and is divided into the following share classes (whereby each Preference Share is regarded as a separate class of Shares):

 

   

three hundred ninety-eight million five hundred thousand (398,500,000) Ordinary Shares Class A;


   

one million five hundred thousand (1,500,000) Ordinary Shares Class B;

 

   

one (1) Preference Share Class P1;

 

   

one (1) Preference Share Class P2;

 

   

one (1) Preference Share Class P3;

 

   

one (1) Preference Share Class P4; and

 

   

one (1) Preference Share Class P5,

each with a nominal value of two euro cents (EUR 0.02).

 

4.2. The Shares shall be numbered in such a manner that they can be distinguished from each other at any time.

 

4.3. No share certificates shall be issued for the Shares.

 

4.4. A holder of Ordinary Shares Class B may request that all or part of its Ordinary Shares Class B will be converted into an equal number of Ordinary Shares Class A.

The conversion of Ordinary Shares Class B into Ordinary Shares Class A shall take place by resolution of the Board after receipt by the Board of a written notice, sent by registered mail by a holder of Ordinary Shares Class B.

The notice shall include a specification of the number of Ordinary Shares Class B that are to be converted into Ordinary Shares Class A and their respective numbers.

 

4.5. Immediately prior to such conversion, the Company will distribute, to the extent permitted under and with due observance of applicable law, the pro rata part of the Dividend Reserve B to the holder of the Ordinary Shares Class B.

 

4.6. The Board shall record each conversion in the register of shareholders and shall notify the trade register of the conversion within one week after the adoption of the resolution as referred to in article 4.4.

 

5. REGISTER OF SHAREHOLDERS

 

5.1. All Shares shall be registered and shall be available in the form of an entry in the register of shareholders.

 

5.2. With due observance of the applicable statutory provisions in respect of the Shares, a register of shareholders shall be kept by or on behalf of the Company, which register shall be regularly updated and, at the discretion of the Board, may, in whole or in part, be kept in more than one copy and at one more than one address. Part of the register of shareholders may be kept abroad, including in order to comply with applicable foreign statutory provisions or rules of the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext Paris and any other stock exchange where Shares are listed.

 

5.3. The form and contents of the register of shareholders shall be determined by the Board with due observance of the provisions of articles 5.2 and 5.5.


5.4. All entries and notes in the register shall be signed by one or more persons authorised to represent the Company.

 

5.5. Each shareholder’s name, address and such further information as required by law or considered appropriate by the Board, shall be recorded in the register of shareholders.

 

5.6. Upon his request, a shareholder shall be provided free of charge with written evidence of the contents of the register of shareholders with regard to the shares registered in his name, and the statement so issued may be validly signed on behalf of the Company by a person to be designated for that purpose by the Board. In order to comply with applicable foreign statutory provisions or rules of the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext Paris and any other stock exchange where Shares are listed, the Company may allow inspection of the register of shareholders by, or provide information included in the register of shareholders to, any applicable supervisory authority.

 

5.7. The provisions of articles 5.5 and 5.6 shall equally apply to persons who hold a pledge on or usufruct in a Share.

 

6. THE ISSUE OF SHARES

 

6.1. Shares shall be issued pursuant to a resolution, containing the price and further terms of issue, of (i) the General Meeting, or (ii) the Board if designated thereto by the General Meeting for a period permitted by law. Such designation of the Board by the General Meeting must provide for the number and class of shares which may be issued. Unless the Board is designated to issue Shares, a resolution to issue Shares may only be adopted upon a proposal of the Board.

The designation may be extended from time to time for a period permitted by law. Unless the designation provides otherwise, it cannot be revoked.

 

6.2. A resolution of the General Meeting to issue Shares or to designate the Board as referred to above, requires a prior or simultaneous approving resolution of each group of shareholders of the class whose rights are prejudiced by the issue.

 

6.3. Within eight (8) days after a resolution of the General Meeting to issue Shares or to designate the Board as the competent body to issue Shares, the full wording of the resolution shall be deposited at the office of the Dutch Trade Register.

 

6.4. Within eight (8) days after the end of each calendar quarter, an issue of Shares in such quarter shall be notified to the office of the Dutch Trade Register, stating the number of Shares and class issued.

 

6.5. The provisions of articles 6.1 up to and including 6.4 shall apply accordingly to granting rights to subscribe for Shares, but do not apply to the issue of Shares to persons exercising a previously acquired right to subscribe for Shares.

 

7. PRE-EMPTIVE RIGHTS

 

7.1. Without prejudice to the applicable legal provisions, upon the issue of Ordinary Shares, or rights to subscribe for Ordinary Shares, each holder of Ordinary Shares shall have a pre-emptive right in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of his Ordinary Shares, subject to the provisions of articles 7.2, 7.3 and 7.6.


7.2. Holders of Ordinary Shares shall not have a pre-emptive right on (i) Ordinary Shares which are issued against in-kind contributions, (ii) Ordinary Shares which are issued to employees of the Company or of a Group Company, or (iii) Preference Shares which are issued. Holders of Preference Shares shall have no pre-emptive rights on Ordinary Shares which are issued.

 

7.3. Prior to each issue of Ordinary Shares, the pre-emptive rights may be limited or excluded by the General Meeting. The pre-emptive right may also be limited or excluded by the Board, if designated thereto by the General Meeting, for a period permitted by law. The designation may be extended, from time to time, for a period permitted by law. Unless the designation provides otherwise, it cannot be revoked.

Unless the Board is designated to limit or to exclude the pre-emptive rights, a resolution to limit or exclude the pre-emptive right will be adopted at the proposal of the Board. If less than one-half of the Company’s issued capital is present or represented at the meeting, a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast shall be required for a resolution of the General Meeting to limit or exclude such pre-emptive right or to make such designation.

 

7.4. Within eight (8) days after each resolution of the General Meeting to designate the Board as the competent body to limit or exclude the pre-emptive right, the wording of the resolution involved shall be deposited at the office of the Dutch Trade Register.

 

7.5. The Company shall announce an issue with pre-emptive rights pursuant to article 7.1 and the time frame within which the pre-emptive rights may be exercised in the Government Gazette ( Staatscourant ) and in a nationally distributed newspaper, unless the announcement to all shareholders is made in writing and sent to their addresses, and furthermore in such other manner as may be required to comply with the rules of the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext Paris and any other stock exchange where Shares are listed.

Pre-emptive rights pursuant to article 7.1 may be exercised at least two weeks from the day of the announcement in the Government Gazette or, if the announcement is made in writing, at least two weeks from the day of the mailing of the announcement.

 

7.6. Holders of Ordinary Shares shall not have a pre-emptive right in respect of Ordinary Shares which are issued to a person exercising a previously acquired right to subscribe for Ordinary Shares.

 

8. PAYMENT FOR SHARES

 

8.1. The full nominal value of each Ordinary Share must be paid upon subscription, and, in addition, if the Ordinary Share is issued at a higher amount, the difference between such amounts. Preference Shares may be issued against partial payment, provided that at least one-fourth of the nominal value must be paid upon subscription.

 

8.2. Payment for a Share must be made in cash insofar as no in-kind contribution has been agreed upon. Payment in a currency other than Euro may only be made with the consent of the Company and with due observance of the provisions of section 2:93a of the Dutch Civil Code.

 

8.3. Non-cash contributions on shares are subject to the provisions of section 2:94b of the Dutch Civil Code.


9. OWN SHARES, RIGHT OF PLEDGE ON OWN SHARES

 

9.1. When issuing shares, the Company may not subscribe for Shares.

 

9.2. Any acquisition by the Company of Shares that are not fully paid-up shall be null and void.

 

9.3. The Company may acquire fully paid-up Shares for no consideration, or if:

 

  (a) the Distributable Equity is equal or greater than the purchase price; and

 

  (b) the aggregate nominal value of the Shares to be acquired, and of the Shares already held, by the Company and its Subsidiaries, and of the Shares over which the Company has a right of pledge, does not exceed one-half of the Company’s issued capital.

 

9.4. The calculation set out in article 9.3(a), shall be made on the basis of the amount of equity appearing from the last adopted balance sheet less (i) the aggregate acquisition price of the Shares, (ii) the loans granted in accordance with section 2:98c paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code and (iii) any distributions of profits or at the expense of reserves to others which have become due by the Company and its Subsidiaries after the balance sheet date.

An acquisition in accordance with article 9.3 shall not be permitted if more than six (6) months have lapsed since the end of a financial year without the annual accounts having been adopted.

 

9.5. The Board shall require the authorisation of the General Meeting for an acquisition of Shares for a consideration.

Any authorisation shall be valid for a maximum of eighteen months.

The General Meeting shall determine in the authorisation the number of Shares that may be acquired, how they may be acquired and the applicable price range.

The authorisation referred to in this article 9.5 is not required to the extent the Company acquires its Shares in order to transfer such Shares to employees of the Company or of a Group Company pursuant to an employee incentive scheme, provided that such Shares are quoted on the official list of any stock exchange.

 

9.6. The Company may be a pledgee of its Shares in accordance with the limitations pursuant to applicable law.

 

9.7. No voting rights may be exercised in the General Meeting for any Share held by the Company or a Subsidiary. However, pledgees and usufructuaries of Shares owned by the Company or a Subsidiary are not excluded from exercising voting rights if the right of pledge or the usufruct was created before the Share was owned by the Company or such Subsidiary. The Company or a Subsidiary may not exercise voting rights for a Share pledged to it or for which it holds a right of usufruct. Shares on which, in accordance with applicable law no vote may be cast, shall not be taken into account in determining the extent to which the shareholders vote are present or represented, or the extent to which the share capital is provided or represented.


9.8. The acquisition of Shares by a Subsidiary shall be subject to the provisions of section 2:98d of the Dutch Civil Code.

 

9.9. The foregoing provisions of this article 9 shall not apply to Shares which the Company acquires by universal succession of title.

 

10. REDUCTION OF CAPITAL

 

10.1. Upon the proposal of the Board, the General Meeting may resolve to reduce the Company’s issued capital in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements. Such resolution must designate the Shares to which the resolution pertains and must describe the implementation of the resolution.

A partial repayment or waiver of the obligation to pay up the Shares must be effected on a pro-rata basis in respect of all Shares of the same class involved.

The General Meeting may resolve to cancel, with repayment in cash, all Preference Shares, irrespective of the identity of the holder, without prejudice to article 10.2, subject to the provisions of article 10.3.

 

10.2. A reduction of the Company’s issued capital may be effected:

 

  (a) by cancellation of Shares held by the Company or for which the Company holds the Depositary receipts; or

 

  (b) by reducing the nominal value of Shares, to be effected by an amendment of the Articles of Association; or

 

  (c) by cancellation of Preference Shares with repayment in cash.

 

10.3. If all issued Preference Shares are cancelled, the following shall be paid on each Preference Share:

 

  (a) as repayment: an amount in cash equal to the nominal amount paid on that Preference Share; and

 

  (b) as a distribution at the expense of the Distributable Equity, any unpaid part of the Preference Shares Distribution Amount with due observance of article 23.4.

 

10.4. If less than one-half of the Company’s issued capital is present or represented at the meeting, a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast shall be required for a resolution of the General Meeting to reduce the Company’s issued capital.

 

10.5. A reduction of the nominal value of Shares without repayment must be effected in proportion to all Shares of the same class. This principle may be deviated from with the consent of all shareholders of the particular class concerned.

 

10.6. The notice convening the General Meeting at which a proposal to reduce the Company’s issued capital will be made, shall describe the purpose of the capital reduction and the manner in which it is to be achieved.

 

10.7. A reduction of the Company’s issued capital shall furthermore be subject to the provisions of sections 2:99 and 2:100 of the Dutch Civil Code.


11. TRANSFER OF SHARES

 

11.1. For as long as Shares are admitted to the official listing on a Regulated Stock Exchange, the transfer of a Share (but not depository receipts issued therefor) and the creation or transfer of a limited right thereon shall require a private deed to that effect and, except in the event the Company is party to that legal act, an acknowledgement in writing by the Company of the transfer. The acknowledgement shall be given in the private deed, or by a dated statement embodying such acknowledgement on the private deed or on a copy or extract thereof duly authenticated by a civil-law notary or by the transferor. Serving of such private deed, copy or extract on the Company shall be deemed to be an acknowledgement.

 

11.2. If the Shares are no longer admitted to an official listing of a Regulated Stock Exchange, a transfer of a Share (but not depository receipts issued therefor) and the creation or transfer of a limited right shall, inter alia, require a notarial deed to that effect.

 

11.3. The acknowledgement of transfer by the Company shall be signed by one or more persons authorised to represent the Company.

 

11.4. The provisions of articles 11.1 and 11.2 shall apply correspondingly to the allotment of Shares in the event of partition of any community of property.

 

12. RESTRICTION ON THE TRANSFER OF PREFERENCE SHARES

 

12.1. Each transfer of Preference Shares requires the approval of the Board.

The transfer must be effected within three months after approval has been granted.

 

12.2. The approval shall be applied for by means of a letter directed to the Company, setting out the number of Preference Shares for which a decision is sought and the name of the person to whom the applicant wishes to make the transfer.

 

12.3. Approval shall be deemed to have been granted if no decision on the application for approval has been made within one month.

Approval shall also be deemed to have been granted if the Board fails to inform the applicant of one or more interested parties which are willing and able to purchase all Preference Shares to which the application pertains at the same time as denying the requested approval.

 

12.4. The price to be paid for the Preference Shares with respect to which a request has been made shall be determined by mutual agreement of the applicant and the Board.

If they fail to reach agreement, the price shall be established by the registered accountant as referred to in article 22.5.

 

12.5. The applicant is authorised to withdraw within one month after being informed of the price.

 

12.6. The Company may only be designated as an interested party with the applicant’s approval.


12.7. If, within one month after being informed of the definite price, the applicant has not withdrawn the request to transfer, the Preference Shares, to which the application pertained, must be transferred to the interested party or parties against payment within one month after the aforementioned period lapses.

If the seller is in default of its obligation to transfer the Preference Shares within this period, the Company shall be irrevocably authorised to proceed to deliver the Preference Shares, subject to the obligation to pay the purchase price to the seller.

 

12.8. If a legal person which holds Preference Shares, is dissolved or, if a holder of Preference Shares is declared bankrupt or has been granted suspension of payments, or if there is a transfer of Preference Shares under universal title, the holder of Preference Shares, or its successors in title is/are obligated to transfer the Preference Shares to one or more persons designated by the Board in accordance with the provisions of this article 12.

If the Board is in default of its obligation to designate one or more persons, who are willing and able to purchase all Preference Shares the holder or his successor(s) in title is permitted to keep these Preference Shares.

In the event of non-compliance with this obligation within three months after the obligation has arisen, the Company shall be irrevocably authorised to effect the transfer, provided that it involves all Preference Shares of such holder of Preference Shares, on behalf of the holder of the Preference Shares in default, or its successor(s) in title, in accordance with the provisions of this article 12.

 

13. JOINT HOLDING OF SHARES

If one or more Shares are jointly held by two or more persons, such persons may jointly exercise the rights attaching to those Shares, provided that these persons shall be represented for that purposes by one from their midst or by a third party authorised by them for that purpose by a written power of attorney. The Board may determine whether or not, subject to certain conditions, an exemption from the condition set forth in the previous sentence applies.

 

14. PLEDGE OF SHARES AND USUFRUCT ON SHARES

 

14.1. The provisions of article 11 shall apply accordingly to the creation or transfer of a pledge or a usufruct on Shares.

 

14.2. Upon the creation of a right of pledge or usufruct on a Share, the voting rights attached to such Share may not be assigned to the pledgee or usufructuary. The pledgee or usufructuary shall not have the rights conferred by the laws of the Netherlands upon holders of Depositary Receipts issued with a Company’s cooperation.

 

15. THE BOARD; APPOINTMENT, SUSPENSION AND DISMISSAL

 

15.1. The management of the Company shall be conducted by the Board.

 

15.2. The Board shall consist of, and its duties shall be allocated to, one or more Executive Directors and three or more Non-Executive Directors. Only natural persons can be Non-Executive Directors.


15.3. The General Meeting appoints members of the Board from a binding nomination to be drawn up by the Board in accordance with section 2:133 of the Dutch Civil Code. The resolution of the General Meeting specifies whether a member of the Board is appointed as Executive Director or a Non-Executive Director.

If the nomination has not been made or has not been made in due time, this shall be stated in the convocation and the General Meeting shall be free to appoint a member of the Board at its discretion.

For such resolution of the General Meeting appointing a member of the Board which is not pursuant to a binding nomination drawn up by the Board, a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast, representing at least half of the issued capital shall be required.

 

15.4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the General Meeting may at all times overrule the binding nature of a nomination provided that such resolution of the General Meeting requires a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast, representing at least half of the issued capital. In that event the Board may draw up a new binding nomination to be submitted to a subsequent General Meeting.

Should such second nomination also be deprived of its binding character in the manner provided for in this article 15.4, the General Meeting shall be free to appoint, provided that a resolution of the General Meeting to appoint shall require a majority of two thirds of the votes cast, representing at least half of the issued capital.

 

15.5. At a General Meeting, votes in respect of the appointment of a member of the Board can only be cast for a candidate or candidates named in the agenda of the meeting or explanatory notes thereto.

 

15.6. Members of the Board may be suspended or dismissed by the General Meeting at any time. A resolution of the General Meeting to suspend or dismiss a member of the Board pursuant to a proposal by the Board shall be passed with an absolute majority of the votes cast.

A resolution of the General Meeting to suspend or dismiss a member of the Board other than pursuant to a proposal by the Board shall require a majority of two thirds of the votes cast, representing at least half of the issued capital.

 

15.7. Executive Directors may be suspended by the Board at any time.

 

15.8. The Company shall have a policy governing the remuneration of the Board.

The policy will be adopted by the General Meeting upon the proposal of the Board.

 

15.9. The remuneration of the Executive Directors will be determined by the Board with due observance of the policy referred to in article 15.8. Executive Directors shall not participate in the decision-making concerning the adoption of the remuneration of Executive Directors.

The remuneration of the Non-Executive Directors will be determined by the General Meeting with due observance of the policy referred to in article 15.8.

Proposals concerning plans or arrangements in the form of Shares or rights to subscribe for Shares for members of the Board shall be submitted by the Board to the General


Meeting for its approval. Such proposals must, at a minimum, state the number of shares or share options that may be granted to the Board and the criteria that apply to the granting of such Shares or rights to subscribe for Shares or the alteration of such arrangements.

 

16. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, SECRETARY

 

16.1. The Board may appoint an Executive Director as Chief Executive Officer for such period as the Board may decide. In addition, the Board may grant other titles to an Executive Director.

 

16.2. The Board shall appoint a Non-Executive Director to be Chairman of the Board for such a period as the Board may decide.

 

16.3. The Board may appoint one or more of the Non-Executive Directors as vice-chairman of the Board for such a period as the Board may decide. If the Chairman is absent or unwilling to take the chair, a vice-chairman shall be entrusted with such duties of the Chairman entrusted to him by the Board.

 

16.4. The Board may appoint a Secretary from outside its members. The Secretary may be removed from office at any time by the Board.

 

17. POWERS; ALLOCATION OF DUTIES AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

 

17.1. With due observance of the limitations set out in the Articles of Association and subject to the allocation of duties referred to in article 17.5, the Board is charged with the management of the Company.

 

17.2. The Board shall adopt resolutions by an absolute majority of the total number of votes cast.

Blank votes shall be considered null and void, unless article 17.4 second sentence applies.

 

17.3. At meetings of the Board, each member of the Board shall be entitled to cast one vote.

 

17.4. In addition to the relevant provisions of the Articles of Association, the Board may adopt internal rules regulating its decision making process and working methods, including rules in the event of conflicts of interest.

The internal rules can furthermore provide that one or more members of the Board are duly authorised to resolve on matters which belong to their respective range of duties.

 

17.5. The Board may adopt an internal allocation of duties for each member of the Board individually, provided that (i) the day to day management of the Company shall be entrusted to the Executive Directors and (ii) the duty to supervise the performance of the Executive Directors cannot be taken away from the Non-Executive Directors.

The internal allocation of duties can be implemented in the rules as referred to in article 17.4.

 

17.6. Without prejudice to its own responsibility, the Board is authorised to appoint persons with authority to represent the Company and, by granting of a power of attorney, conferring such titles and powers as shall be determined by the Board.

 

17.7.

The Board may establish such committees as it may deem necessary, which committees may consist of one or more members of the Board. The Board appoints the members of


  each committee, provided that (i) an Executive Director shall not be a member of the audit committee, the remuneration committee or the nomination and governance committee and (ii) a Non-Executive Director shall not be a member of the executive committee, if any.

The Board determines the tasks of each committee, and may at any time change the task and composition of each committee.

 

17.8. The Executive Directors shall timely provide the Non-Executive Directors with all information required for the exercise of their duties.

 

17.9. Without prejudice to the provisions above, decisions of the Board involving a major change in the Company’s identity or character are subject to the approval of the General Meeting, including, but not limited to:

 

  (a) the transfer of the enterprise or practically the whole enterprise to third parties;

 

  (b) to enter or to terminate longstanding joint ventures of the Company or a Subsidiary with another legal entity or company or as fully liable partner in a limited partnership or a general partnership if this joint venture or termination of such a joint venture is of a major significance to the Company;

 

  (c) to acquire or dispose of a participation in the capital of the Company worth at least one third of the amount of the assets according to the balance sheet with explanatory notes thereto, or if the Company prepares a consolidated balance sheet according to such consolidated balance sheet with explanatory notes, according to the last adopted annual account of the Company, by the Company or a Subsidiary.

 

17.10. Failure to obtain the approval defined in article 17.9 shall not affect the authority of the Board or the members of the Board to represent the Company.

 

18. CONFLICT OF INTEREST

 

18.1. A member of the Board shall not participate in the discussions and decision-making of the Board on a subject or transaction in relation to which he/she has a direct or indirect personal conflict of interest within the meaning of statutory law of the Netherlands.

 

18.2. If it has been determined that a member of the Board has a direct or indirect personal conflict of interest within the meaning of statutory law of the Netherlands such member is deemed to be prevented from acting as referred to in article 19.

 

18.3. Notwithstanding the provisions in article 19, if all members of the Board have a conflict of interest as referred to in article 18.2, such resolution shall be adopted by the Board.

 

19. VACANCY OR PREVENTED TO ACT

 

19.1. If a seat on the Board is vacant or one or more members of the Board are absent or prevented from acting as referred to in section 2:134 paragraph 4 of the Dutch Civil Code, the remaining members of the Board or the sole remaining member of the Board shall be entrusted with the management of the Company.


19.2. If a member of the Board is prevented from acting pursuant to article 18.2, and only if not all members of the Board have a conflict of interest, such member of the Board is authorised to temporarily designate an entrusted independent individual to replace him in the decision-making for the matter at hand.

 

19.3. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 18.3, if all the members of the Board are absent or prevented from acting, the management of the Company shall be temporarily entrusted to one or more persons designated for that purpose by the General Meeting.

 

20. REPRESENTATION

 

20.1. The Company shall be represented by the Board.

In addition, the authority to represent the Company is vested in the Chief Executive Officer solely, as well as in two Executive Directors acting jointly.

 

20.2. The Board is authorised to engage in legal transactions in which special obligations are imposed on the Company, relating to the subscription for Shares or legal transactions that concern contributions on Shares other than in cash as referred to in section 2:94 of the Dutch Civil Code, without the prior approval of the General Meeting.

 

21. INDEMNIFICATION MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

 

21.1. The members and former members of the Board shall be reimbursed by the Company for:

 

  (a) reasonable cost of conducting a defence against claims, including claims by the Company, based on acts or failures to act in the exercise of their duties or any other duties currently or previously performed by them at the Company’s request; and

 

  (b) any damages payable by them as a result of an act or failure to act in the exercise of their duties or any other duties currently or previously performed by them at the Company’s request.

 

21.2. There shall be no entitlement to indemnity as referred to in this article 21:

 

  (a) if and to the extent the laws of the Netherlands would not permit such indemnification;

 

  (b) if and to the extent a competent court has established in a final and conclusive decision that the act or failure to act of the current or former member of the Board may be characterized as wilful ( opzettelijk ), intentionally reckless ( bewust roekeloos ) or seriously culpable ( ernstig verwijtbaar ), unless the laws of the Netherlands provide otherwise or this would, in view of the circumstances of the case, be unacceptable according to standards of reasonableness and fairness; or

 

  (c) if and to the extent the costs, damages or fines payable by the current or former member of the Board are covered by any liability insurance and the insurer has paid out the costs, damages or fines.

 

21.3.

Except if the claim is instituted by the Company itself, the relevant current or former member of the Board shall follow the Company’s instructions relating to the manner of his or her defence and consult with the Company in advance about the manner of such


  defence. The person concerned shall not: (i) acknowledge any personal liability, (ii) waive any defence, or (iii) agree on a settlement, without the Company’s prior written consent.

 

21.4. The Company may take out liability insurance for the benefit of current or former members of the Board.

 

21.5. The Board may, by agreement or otherwise, give further implementation to the indemnity.

 

22. FINANCIAL YEAR, ANNUAL ACCOUNTS, ANNUAL REPORT

 

22.1. The Company’s financial year shall be concurrent with the calendar year.

 

22.2. The Board shall prepare the annual accounts within the period set under or pursuant to the law. The Board shall also, within the period mentioned above, prepare an annual report.

 

22.3. The annual accounts shall consist of a balance sheet, a profit and loss account and explanatory notes.

 

22.4. The annual accounts shall be signed by all members of the Board or, if the signature of one or more of them is lacking, this fact and the reason therefore shall be indicated.

 

22.5. The General Meeting shall instruct a registered accountant or a firm of registered accountants, as defined in section 2:393 paragraph 1 of the Dutch Civil Code, to audit the annual accounts and the annual report by the Board, to report thereon, and to issue an auditor’s certificate with respect thereto.

If the General Meeting fails to issue such instructions, the Board shall be authorised to do so.

The Company shall ensure that the annual accounts and, insofar as required, the annual report and the information to be added by virtue of the laws of the Netherlands are kept at its office as from the day on which notice of the annual General Meeting is given in which the annual accounts and the annual report shall be discussed and in which the adoption of the annual accounts shall be resolved upon. Persons with meeting rights may inspect the documents at that place and obtain a copy free of charge.

If these documents are amended, this obligation shall also extend to the amended documents.

 

22.6. The annual accounts shall be adopted by the General Meeting.

 

22.7. At the General Meeting at which it is resolved to adopt the annual accounts, any proposals concerning release of the Directors from liability for the exercise of their duties, insofar as the exercise of their duties is reflected in the annual accounts or otherwise disclosed to the General Meeting prior to the adoption of the annual accounts, shall be brought up separately for discussion at such General Meeting or at a subsequent General Meeting.

 

23. ALLOCATIONS OF PROFIT

 

23.1. In addition to any other reserves, the Company shall maintain a profit reserve for the Ordinary Shares Class B to which only the holders of Ordinary Shares Class B shall be entitled (“ Reserve Share Class B ”).


23.2. The Company may make distributions to the shareholders and other persons entitled to the distributable profits only to the extent of the Distributable Equity.

 

23.3. Distribution of profit may be effected after the adoption of the annual accounts which show that such distribution is permitted.

 

23.4. To the charge of the profit as this appears from the adopted profit and loss accounts, first and with due observance of article 23.2, a preferred distribution of:

 

   

forty seven fifty nine hundredth percent (47.59%) of the profits is paid on the Preference Share Class P1;

 

   

thirty six sixty three hundredth percent (36.63%) of the profits is paid on the Preference Share Class P2;

 

   

nine thirty nine hundredth percent (9.39%) of the profits is paid on the Preference Share Class P3;

 

   

six seven hundredth percent (6.07%) of the profits is paid on the Preference Share Class P4; and

 

   

thirty two hundredth percent (0.32%) of the profits is paid on the Preference Share Class P5,

until an aggregate amount of one hundred forty-six million nine hundred and sixty thousand six hundred and sixty euros and eighty-eight cents (EUR 146,960,660.88) has been paid on the Preference Shares (the “ Preference Shares Distribution Amount ”)

If, in a financial year, no profit is made or the profits are insufficient to allow the distribution provided for in the preceding sentence, the deficit shall be paid at the expense of the profits earned in following financial years or, if possible, at the expense of any freely distributable reserve of the Company.

After the aggregate Preference Shares Distribution Amount has been paid in full, the profit entitlement and the entitlement to the reserves of the Preference Shares will be equal to the Ordinary Shares A.

The Company will repurchase the Preference Shares, with due observance of applicable law, after the aggregate Preference Shares Distribution Amount has been paid in full.

 

23.5. The Board shall determine which part of the profits shall be reserved after application of article 23.4.

 

23.6. The allocation of profits remaining after application of articles 23.4 and 23.5 shall be determined by the General Meeting, provided that the pro rata part of the remaining profits that accrue to the Ordinary Shares B (in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of the Ordinary Shares) will be added to the Reserve Share Class B.

 

23.7. The Board may make interim distributions, to holders of Shares of a specific class or to all shareholders, only to the extent that the requirements set forth in article 23.2 are satisfied as apparent from an (interim) financial statement drawn up in accordance with the law.

 

23.8.

As soon as Distributable Equity is available, the Board may, and in due observance of limitations prescribed by law will, make an interim distribution in the amount of the Preference Shares Distribution Amount, or any such part of the amount of the Preference


  Shares Distribution Amount that is available, on the Preference Shares at the expense of any reserve of the Company or profit made in the course of a financial year, in observance of article 23.4.

The Board will not make any other interim distributions and will not propose to make any other distribution at the expense of any reserve of the Company as referred to in article 23.8 until the full amount of the Preference Shares Distribution Amount has been paid on the Preference Shares.

 

23.9. The Board may resolve to make a distribution at the expense of the Reserve Shares Class B.

The General Meeting may resolve to make distributions at the expense of any other reserve of the Company, provided that (i) such resolution can only be adopted at the proposal of the Board and (ii) the pro rata part of the distribution that accrues to the Ordinary Shares B (in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of the Ordinary Shares) will be added to the Reserve Share Class B.

 

23.10. Distributions on Shares payable in cash shall be paid in Euro, unless the Board determines that payment shall be made in another currency.

 

23.11. Any distribution on Shares may be paid in kind instead of in cash, provided that this will at all times require the approval of the Board.

 

23.12. Dividend, interim dividend or distribution shall be paid within thirty days of adoption at the place and in the manner indicated by the Board.

If a dividend, interim dividend or distribution is declared, the persons entitled thereto shall be those who are holders of Shares at a record date to be determined by the Board for that purpose; this may not be a date which is before the date on which the dividend, interim dividend or other distribution was declared.

Any claim that a shareholder may have to a distribution shall lapse after five years, to be computed from the day on which such a distribution becomes payable.

 

23.13. No distributions shall be made on Shares held by the Company, unless these Shares have been pledged or a usufruct has been created in these Shares and the authority to collect distributions or the right to receive distributions, respectively, accrues to the pledgee or the usufructuary, respectively. For the computation of distributions the Shares, on which no distributions shall be made pursuant to this article 23.13 shall not be taken into account.

 

24. GENERAL MEETINGS; ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS, EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS, CONVOCATION

 

24.1. Annually, a General Meeting shall be held within six months of the end of the financial year.

 

24.2. General meetings will be held in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague or Haarlemmermeer (Schiphol).

 

24.3. General Meetings shall be convened by the Board in accordance with applicable law.

 

24.4. Other General Meetings shall be held as often as the Board deems this necessary or upon the written request of those entitled to attend meetings, representing at least one-tenth of the issued capital, to the Board setting out in detail the matters to be considered.

 

24.5. An item proposed by one or more shareholders having the right thereto according to the next sentence, will be included in the convocation or announced in the same manner, provided the Company receives such substantiated request or a proposal for a resolution no later than the sixtieth day prior to the day of the meeting.


Consideration may be requested by one or more holders of Shares representing jointly at least the percentage of the issued capital or the amount as prescribed in section 2:114a of the Dutch Civil Code.

The requirement of a written request is met if the request is electronically recorded.

 

25. GENERAL MEETINGS; CHAIRMAN

 

25.1. The General Meetings will be presided over by the Chairman or, in his absence by the vice-chairman of the Board, if both are absent; the General Meeting shall appoint the chairman. Until that moment, a member of the Board appointed for that purpose by the Board shall act as chairman of the meeting.

 

25.2. The chairman of the meeting shall appoint a secretary for the meeting.

 

25.3. The chairman shall decide on all disputes with regard to voting, admitting people and, in general the procedure at the meeting, insofar as this is not provided for by law or the Articles of Association.

 

26. MINUTES; RECORDING OF SHAREHOLDERS’ RESOLUTIONS

 

26.1. The secretary of a General Meeting shall keep minutes of the proceedings at the meeting. The minutes shall be adopted by the chairman and the secretary of the meeting and shall be signed by them as evidence thereof.

 

26.2. The chairman of the meeting or those who convened the meeting may determine that a notarial record must be prepared of the proceedings at the meeting. The notarial record shall be co-signed by the chairman of the meeting.

 

27. GENERAL MEETINGS; ENTITLEMENT TO ATTEND GENERAL MEETINGS

 

27.1. Persons with meeting rights are entitled, in person or through an attorney authorised in writing for the specific meeting, to attend the General Meeting, to address the meeting and, in so far they have such right, to vote.

 

27.2. For the application of article 27.1, Persons with meeting rights are considered those persons who (i) on a date determined by the Board in accordance with applicable law (the “ record date ”) have those rights and (ii) are as such registered in
(a) register(s) determined by the Board, irrespective of who is holder of the Shares at the time of the General Meeting.

 

27.3. The convocation notice for the meeting shall state the record date and the manner in which the persons entitled to attend the General Meeting may register and exercise their rights.

 

27.4. In order for a Person with meeting rights to be admitted to a General Meeting, that person must give prior written or electronic notice to the Company of his intention to attend that General Meeting in advance of such General Meeting, within a period determined by the Board. Also, at the request of or on behalf of the chairman of the General Meeting, each person who wishes to exercise the right to vote and to attend the General Meeting must sign the attendance list.


27.5. The members of the Board shall have the right to attend the General Meeting.

In these meetings they shall have an advisory vote.

 

27.6. The chairman of the meeting shall decide on the admittance of other persons to the meeting.

 

27.7. If so determined by the Board and announced at the time of convening the meeting, each holder of Shares has the right to attend the General Meeting by electronic means either in person or represented by a person holding a written proxy, to address that meeting and to exercise his voting right, provided that the use of the electronic means by this shareholder enables the identification of the shareholder and enables the shareholder to directly take note of the discussions at that General Meeting and participate in the deliberations of that General Meeting. The previous sentence shall also apply to others who are entitled to attend the General Meeting pursuant to article 27.2.

 

27.8. For the application of article 27.7 the requirement to have a written proxy is met in case the proxy is laid down via electronic means.

 

27.9. If so determined by the Board and announced at the time that the General Meeting is convened, votes can be cast prior to the General Meeting by electronic means, but such votes cannot be cast prior to the record date.

 

27.10. The Board is authorised to adopt regulations regarding the use of electronic means. If the Board used its authority to adopt such regulations these shall be made available at the time the General Meeting is convened.

 

28. GENERAL MEETINGS; VOTING RIGHTS

 

28.1. Each Share shall confer the right to cast one vote.

Insofar as the law or the Articles of Association do not provide otherwise, all resolutions of the General Meeting shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes cast, without a quorum being required.

 

28.2. The chairman of the meeting determines the method of voting, which includes oral, written or electronic voting.

The chairman may determine that the voting will be done by acclamation in which case notes will be made of abstentions and negative votes if requested.

In the event of the election of persons, anyone entitled to vote may demand that voting shall take place by written ballot.

Voting by written ballot shall take place by means of sealed, unsigned ballot papers.

Votes cast by electronic means or letter preceding the General Meeting will be similarly disposed with votes cast during the General Meeting if the Board prescribes so and this is announced with the convocation.

 

28.3. If there is a tie in voting the issue shall be decided by drawing lots, if it involves a proposal in an election of persons. If it concerns matters, the proposal shall be rejected in the event the votes tie. Blank votes shall be considered null and void.


29. MEETINGS OF HOLDERS OF SHARES OF A CERTAIN CLASS

 

29.1. Meetings of holders of shares of a certain class will be convened as often as this might be necessary in the opinion of the Board.

 

29.2. Convocation will be effected by means of a registered letter, directed to the address of each shareholder of such class according to the shareholders’ register. The provision of articles 24, 25, 26, 27.1, 27.7, 27.8 and 28 apply accordingly, this with the exceptions that (i) the convocation shall be effected no later than the eighth day preceding the meeting and (ii) the articles 24.4 and 24.5 shall not apply.

 

29.3. Holders of shares of a certain class may also adopt resolutions without convening a meeting, provided that such shareholders entitled to vote approve the resolution in writing (including all forms of transmission of written material, either by electronic means or otherwise) unanimously.

 

30. AMENDMENTS OF THE ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION, MERGER, DEMERGER, DISSOLUTION AND LIQUIDATION

 

30.1. Without prejudice to sections 2:331 and 2:334ff of the Dutch Civil Code, the General Meeting may only upon a proposal by the Board resolve to amend the Articles of Association, to conclude a legal merger ( juridische fusie ) or a demerger ( splitsing ), or to dissolve the Company.

Any proposal by the Board to amend the Articles of Association, whereby the rights of the holders of a certain class of Preference Shares will be changed, requires the prior approval of the meeting of holders of such class of Preference Shares.

 

30.2. The proposal shall be available at the offices of the Company from the day of the convocation to the General Meeting until the close of such General Meeting for inspection by Persons with meeting rights; copies of the proposal shall be made available free of charge to Persons with meeting rights, upon request.

 

30.3. Upon dissolution, the liquidation of the Company shall be effected by the Board, unless the General Meeting has designated one or more other liquidators.

 

30.4. From the balance remaining after payment of the debts of the dissolved Company shall be paid on each Preference Share insofar as possible:

 

  (a) an amount equal to the nominal value of a Preference Share;

 

  (b) any unpaid part of the Preference Shares Distribution Amount with due observance of article 23.4.

 

30.5. The balance remaining after application of article 30.4 shall be transferred to the holders of Ordinary Shares in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of the Ordinary Shares held by each.

 

30.6. During the liquidation, the Articles of Association shall remain in force as much as possible.

Exhibit 4.1

 

LOGO

    

 

CLIFFORD CHANCE

PARTNERSCHAFTSGESELLSCHAFT

  

  

 

 

PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

OMEGA MANAGEMENT GMBH & CO. KG

(EFFECTIVE AS OF CONVERSION OF

CONSTELLIUM HOLDCO BV TO CONSTELLIUM NV)

 

 

CLIFFORD CHANCE PARTNERSCHAFTSGESELLSCHAFT VON RECHTSANWÄLTEN, WIRTSCHAFTSPRÜFERN,

STEUERBERATERN UND SOLICITORS • SITZ: FRANKFURT AM MAIN • AG FRANKFURT AM MAIN PR 1000


CONTENTS

 

Clause    Page  

1.

  Definitions      - 2 -   

2.

  Name and Registered Office      - 11 -   

3.

  Purpose of the Partnership      - 11 -   

4.

  Partnership Capital / Partners      - 13 -   

5.

  Investments in TopCo – Allocation of Shares      - 14 -   

6.

  Partner’s Accounts      - 15 -   

7.

  Ordinary Class B Shares and Vesting      - 18 -   

8.

  Transfer of Partnership Interests, Default Call Option      - 20 -   

9.

  Management and Representation      - 23 -   

10.

  Resolutions of the Partnership, Partners Meetings      - 24 -   

11.

  Annual Financial Statement and Appropriation of Results      - 26 -   

12.

  General Partner’s Authority and Partnership’s Shareholders’ Rights in TopCo      - 28 -   

13.

  Pre-emptive Rights to New Shares or Interests in TopCo      - 28 -   

14.

  Compulsory Transfer of Limited Partnership Interests, Call Options      - 29 -   

15.

  Restrictive Covenants      - 32 -   

16.

  Compensation      - 32 -   

17.

  Duration/Termination      - 35 -   

18.

  Succession Upon Death      - 36 -   

19.

  Duty to maintain Confidentiality      - 37 -   

20.

  Power of Attorney for Dealings with the Commercial Registry      - 37 -   

21.

  Publications      - 37 -   

22.

  Partial Invalidity and Amendments to this Partnership Agreement      - 37 -   

23.

  Arbitration, Jurisdiction      - 38 -   

 

- 1 -


PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

 

1. DEFINITIONS

 

1.1 In this Agreement the following words and expressions shall have the following meanings:

 

  A-Shares    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.2
  Additional Shares    has the meaning given to it in Section 13.3
  Affiliates    when used with reference to a specified person (excluding, however, any individual), shall mean any person that directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries owns or controls, is owned or controlled by or is under common control or ownership with the specified person. For such purposes, the term “ control ” (including the terms “ controlling ”, “ controlled by ” and “ under common control with ”) shall mean the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of a majority of voting securities, by contract or otherwise
  Approved Sale    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.3
  Arbitration Agreement    has the meaning given to it in Section 23.1
  B1-Shares    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.2
  B2-Shares    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.2
  Bad Leaver    has the meaning given to it in Section 14.1.1
  Business Day    shall mean any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or an official (federal) public holiday in Amsterdam, Frankfurt am Main, London, New York or Paris and on which banks in Amsterdam, Frankfurt am Main, London, New York and Paris are open for the transaction of commercial business
  Call Option    shall mean collectively the Leaver Call Option and the Default Call Option
  Capital Account I    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.1
  Capital Account II    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.1
  Capital Account III    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.1
  Capital Accounts    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.1

 

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  Catch-Up Year    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.2.2
  Cause    shall mean:
     the Manager’s or Related Manager’s commission of a criminal offence which can be sanctioned by imprisonment;
     dismissal, removal or non-renewal for Gross Negligence or Wilful Misconduct;
     breach by the Manager or Related Manager of or failure to perform his/her obligations under any agreement entered into between the Manager or Related Manager and any member of the Group and/or by-laws, or breach by the Manager or Related Manager of any legal duty to any member of the Group, or failure by the Manager or Related Manager to follow the lawful instructions of the board of directors or (other than the Manager or Related Manager who is the CEO) CEO of TopCo or its primary operating subsidiaries, or any failure by the Manager or Related Manager to cooperate in any audit or investigation of any member of the Group, in each case after written notice of the breach or of the failure that has not been remedied within 14 days from the date of receipt of notice by the Manager or Related Manager (to the extent remedy is reasonably possible)
  Change of Control    shall mean
     (i) one person (or a group of persons acting together) acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding A- Shares of TopCo, or 50% or more of each class of the issued and outstanding shares of HoldCo, or
     (ii) the sale or other divestment of more than 80% (in terms of value) of the consolidated assets of TopCo or HoldCo and either of their direct and indirect subsidiaries in a transaction where the net proceeds are to be distributed to the holders of equity in TopCo,
     other than in each case of (i) and (ii) any such acquisition by (a) Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à r.l. with registered office at 7, Val Ste Croix, L-1371 Luxembourg, (b) Rio Tinto International Holdings Ltd. with its registered office at 2 Eastbourne Terrace, London, W2 6LG, United and (c) Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement, with registered office at 56 rue de Lille, 75007 Paris, France, in each case (a) to (c) or any of its Affiliates

 

- 3 -


  Conversion    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.1
  Cost    shall mean the total amount of cash invested by a Manager and any relevant Investment Vehicle for Securities attributable to his/her Limited Partner’s Equity Stake, disregarding any accrued, but unpaid interest, profit or dividends, but including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Liable Capital Contribution
  Current Account    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.1
  Dealing Restrictions    has the meaning given to it in Section 5.2
  Default Call Option    has the meaning given to it in Section 8.6
  Dividend Capital Account    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.1
  EBITDA    shall mean, for any period, Net Income of TopCo and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis,
     plus (a) the sum of (in each case without duplication and to the extent the respective amounts described in subclauses (i) through (iv) of this clause (a) reduced such Net Income for the period for which EBITDA is being determined):
     (i)    provision for taxes based on income, profits or capital of HoldCo and its subsidiaries;
     (ii)    gross interest expense of TopCo and its subsidiaries, including the applicable portion of any payments or accruals with respect to capitalized lease obligations and net payments and receipts (if any) pursuant to interest rate hedging arrangements;
     (iii)    depreciation, amortization and accretion expenses of TopCo and its subsidiaries; and
     (iv)    any other non cash charges, including non-cash impairment charges or asset write-offs and non-cash compensation charges or expenses resulting from stock, equity option and related grants;
     minus (b) the sum of (without duplication and to the extent the amounts described in this clause (b) increased such Net Income for the period for which EBITDA is being determined);
     (i)    non cash items increasing Net Income; and

 

- 4 -


     (ii) gross interest income of TopCo and its subsidiaries;
     and excluding moving average impact;
     provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, the cost and expenses incurred by TopCo in connection with the initial public offering of Ordinary Class A Shares of TopCo shall not be deducted from EBITDA.
  EBITDA Target    shall mean the relevant EBITDA target(s) set out in Section 7.2.2 in respect of Tranche B and Tranche C Vesting
  EBITDA Adjustment Ratio    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.2.3
  Effective Investment Date    shall mean the effective date of a Manager’s first acquisition of a Partnership Interest or parts thereof, as the same was specified in the MEP SPA or other contract pursuant to which he acquired such interest
  Entitled Limited Partners    has the meaning given to it in Section 5.3
  Entitlement    has the meaning given to it in Section 13.3
  Fair Market Value    has the meaning given to it in Section 16.4
  Fixed Capital    has the meaning given to it in Section 4.3
  General Partner    has the meaning given to it in Section 4.1
  Good Leaver    has the meaning given to it in Section 14.1.2
  Good Reason    shall mean voluntary resignation by the Manager after any of the following actions are taken by TopCo or any member of the Group without the Manager’s consent: (i) a material reduction in the Manager’s base salary (but not including any diminution related to a broader compensation reduction that is not limited to any particular employee or executive), or (ii) a material reduction in the Manager’s duties or responsibilities, provided, however, that none of the events described in the foregoing sections (i) or (ii) shall constitute Good Reason unless (i) the Manager has notified TopCo in writing describing the events which constitute Good Reason within thirty (30) days following the initial existence of the condition, (ii) TopCo fails to cure such events within thirty (30) days after its receipt of such written notice and (iii) the Manager actually terminates employment within thirty (30) days following the end of such cure period

 

- 5 -


  Gross Negligence    shall mean:
     for those Managers or Related Managers whose employment contract is governed by French law, “ faute grave ’’ as this notion is determined by the labor division of the French Cour de cassation ;
     for those Managers or Related Managers whose employment contract is not governed by French law, a departure from the normal standard of conduct of a professional man which could be regarded by those familiar with the circumstances (e.g. professionals with similar experience and working in the same industry) as a wrongdoing regarding the ordinary care or knowledge that a professional man of ordinary skill would display
  Group    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.5
  HGB    shall mean German Commercial Code ( Handelsgesetzbuch )
  HoldCo    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.3
  Investment Vehicle    shall mean any corporate body, partnership, trust, association or other person which holds Partnership Interests, directly or indirectly, on behalf of one or more Managers
  KG Interest T [ Related Manager’s individualized number to be included ]    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.12
  KG Interest T List    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.12
  Leaver    shall mean any Bad Leaver or Good Leaver
  Leaver Call Option    has the meaning given to it in Section 14.3
  Liable Capital Contribution    has the meaning given to it in Section 4.2
  Limited Partner(s)    has the meaning given to it in Section 4.3
  Limited Partner’s Equity Stake    has the meaning given to it in Section 4.3
  Liquidity Event    shall mean any sale, buyback, return or reduction of capital, on repayment or retirement of Securities, whether on a capitalization, refinancing or otherwise
  Loss Carryover Account    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.1

 

- 6 -


  LTM EBITDA    shall be EBITDA for the last twelve completed calendar months
  Managers    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.5
  Managing Limited Partners    has the meaning given to it in Section 9.1
  Measurement Date    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.2.17.2.2
  Measurement Year    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.2.2
  MEP Board    shall mean the advisory board of the General Partner from time to time
  MEP SPA    shall mean, with respect to each Limited Partner, the partnership interest sale and transfer agreements or partnership interest sale and contribution agreement as well as any agreement on the acquisition of an additional contribution, as the case may be, with which a Manager or an Investment Vehicle acquires a partnership interest or parts thereof in the Partnership
  Net Income    shall mean, with respect to any period, the consolidated net income (loss) of TopCo and its subsidiaries determined in accordance with IFRS for such period; provided that:
     (a)    any net after-tax extraordinary, non-recurring or unusual gains or losses or income, expenses or charges (less all fees and expenses relating thereto), including, without limitation, any relating to (i) severance, relocation, plant shutdowns, curtailments and other restructuring activities; (ii) new product lines; (iii) modifications to pension and post-retirement employee benefit plans and excess pension charges; (iv) acquisition integration costs, facilities opening costs, project start-up costs, business optimization costs, signing retention or completion bonuses; or (v) any equity offering, acquisition, disposition, recapitalization or issuance, repayment, incurrence, refinancing, amendment or modification of indebtedness (in each case, whether or not successful); in each case shall be excluded;
     (b)    any net after-tax income or loss from disposed, abandoned, transferred, closed or discontinued operations shall be excluded;
     (c)    any net after-tax income or loss (less all fees and expenses or charges relating thereto) attributable to the early extinguishment of (i) indebtedness or (ii) obligations under swap agreements or other derivative instruments shall be excluded;

 

- 7 -


     (d)   Net Income for such period shall not include the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles during such period; and
     (e)   unrealized gains or losses relating to hedging transactions and other non-cash gains, losses, income and expenses resulting from fair value accounting shall be excluded
  New Issue    has the meaning given to it in Section 13.1
  Option Completion Date    shall mean the date on which transfer of ownership of the relevant Partnership Interest (or part thereof) passes to the purchaser following exercise of a Call Option
  Ordinary Class A Share    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.3
  Ordinary Class B Share    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.3
  Partners    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.9
  Partnership    has the meaning given to it in Section 2.1
  Partnership Interest    shall mean all rights of a Partner in the Partnership including without limitation each Partner’s limited partnership interest, rights to the accounts set forth in Section 4 and including any rights under Sections 11.5 and 11.8
  Pooling Investment Vehicle    has the meaning given to it in Section 4.4
  Preference Share    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.3
  Preference Share Account    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.6
  Proportional Interest    has the meaning given to it in Section 11.4
  Proportional Interest A    has the meaning given to it in Section 13.1
  Related Manager    shall mean the Manager in relation to whom a Limited Partner is an Investment Vehicle as indicated Annex A
  Reserve Account    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.1
  Restricted Period    shall mean the period of 18 months commencing on the Trigger Date pursuant to

Section 15.2

  Retiree    has the meaning given to it in Section 14.1.2(b)

 

- 8 -


  Securities    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.2
  Sub-Accounts    has the meaning given to it in Section 6.12
  Subscription Payment    has the meaning given to it in Section 13.4
  Successor Entity    has the meaning given to it in Section 17.2
  Terminating Partner    has the meaning given to it in Section 17.7
  Territory    has the meaning given to it in Section 15.1.1
  TopCo    has the meaning given to it in Section 3.1
  TopCo Articles    shall mean TopCo’s articles of association (as amended from time to time)
  TopCo Shares    Shall mean the shares issued by TopCo from time to time, including the Ordinary Class A Shares and Ordinary Class B Shares as well as the Preference Share
  Tranche A Vesting    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.2.1
  Tranche B Vesting    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.2.2
  Tranche C Vesting    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.2.2
  Transfer Price    has the meaning given to it in Section 16.7
  Trigger Date    shall mean, as to any Manager, subject to Sections 15.2 and 17.5, the earliest of the date on which (i) notice of the Manager’s resignation, termination or dismissal is given, (ii) the Manager retires or otherwise ceases to work for the Group on a full time basis, (iii) the Manager’s employment or service contract expires without renewal, (iv) the Manager’s power of disposal or legal, beneficial or economic ownership is lost, or (v) the Manager dies or becomes permanently disabled; provided that, in the case of a Default Call Option, the Trigger Date shall mean the date on which Warehouse becomes aware of the fact that a Default Call Option is capable of acceptance
  Un-Vestable Ordinary Class B Shares    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.3
  Value Out    shall mean all cash or cash equivalents, securities, debt instruments, notes or other consideration received by or payable or due to a Manager up to and including the Trigger Date in connection with his/her Partnership Interest, including but not limited to: (i) interest, dividends and profit withdrawals and (ii) proceeds of sale, retirement or repayment of any Securities or any part of the Partnership Interest, in all the foregoing cases under (i) or (ii) whether or not on a Liquidity Event

 

- 9 -


  Vest    (including “Vested”, “Vesting” and similar terms) shall mean an Ordinary Class B Share qualifying to be converted into an Ordinary Class A Share and in respect of which the Partnership is entitled to request a Conversion in accordance with Section 7.2
  Vesting Tranche    has the meaning given to it in Section 7.2
  Warehouse    has the meaning given to it in Section 4.5
  Wilful Misconduct    shall mean:
     for those Managers or Related Managers whose employment contract is governed by French law, “ faute lourde ’’ as this notion is defined by the labor division of the French Cour de cassation ;
     for those Managers or Related Managers whose employment contract is not governed by French law, any act which is deliberate, causes material harm or material damage to the Group, and was not done with the reasonable belief that such act was in the best interests of the Group

 

1.2 In this Agreement:

 

  1.2.1 where certain expressions used in this Agreement are followed by the German translation of such expression in brackets, the German wording shall prevail;

 

  1.2.2 a reference to a company or other legal entity shall be construed so as to include any legal entity or entities into which such company may be merged by means of a statutory merger or into which it may be split up or demerged, by means of a statutory split-up or demerger;

 

  1.2.3 a reference to a “ person ” includes a reference to an individual, body corporate, and any other legal entity and includes such person’s legal representatives, successors and permitted assigns;

 

  1.2.4 the term “ subsidiary ” of a person shall mean a legal entity which that company is able to direct or control, immediately or through one or more subsidiaries through:

 

  (a) the exercise of more than half of the votes at a general meeting of shareholders;

 

  (b) the appointment of more than half of the members of the management board (or local law equivalent); or

 

- 10 -


  (c) the appointment of more than half of the members of the supervisory board, if any,

and the term “ parent ” of a company means a legal entity of which that company is a subsidiary within that meaning;

 

  1.2.5 reference to the singular includes a reference to the plural and vice versa;

 

  1.2.6 reference to the masculine includes a reference to the feminine and neuter and vice versa;

 

  1.2.7 a reference to using best endeavours includes exercising all relevant voting rights and other legal powers of control;

 

  1.2.8 a reference to “ includes ” or “ including ” or any equivalent expression means “including but without limiting the generality of the foregoing”.

 

1.3 A reference to a Recital, Annex or Section means a recital, annex or section to or of this Agreement.

 

2. NAME AND REGISTERED OFFICE

 

2.1 The name of the partnership (“ Partnership ”) is

Omega Management GmbH & Co. KG.

 

2.2 The Partnership has its seat in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

 

3. PURPOSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP

 

3.1 The purpose of the Partnership is the acquisition, ownership, management of, and disposition over shares, and other interests in or instruments issued by Constellium Holdco N.V., a Dutch public limited liability company ) incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands, whose registered office is at Tupolevlaan 41-61, 1119 NW Schiphol-Rijk, The Netherlands, registered with the Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce in Amsterdam ( Kamer van Koophandel ) under number 34393663 (“ TopCo ”) as well as option or other rights over or in respect of such shares, interests or instruments.

 

3.2 Prior to the steps described in Section 3.3 below, the Partnership held the following shares in Constellium HoldCo B.V., the legal predecessor of TopCo:

 

   

167,697 A-Shares with a nominal amount of EUR 0.01 (one Euro cent) each (the “ A-Shares ”);

 

   

38,192 B1-Shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.01 (one Euro cent) each (the “ B1-Shares ”); and

 

   

53,492 B2-Shares with a nominal amount of EUR 0.01 (one Euro cent) (the “ B2-Shares ”).

 

- 11 -


3.3 On 16 May 2013, TopCo’s articles of association have been amended, whereby the nominal value of each share was increased from EUR 0.01 to EUR 0.02. The balance between the amount of the issued capital prior and after the amendment of the articles of association has been debited to the distributable reserves. TopCo also issued a new class of shares, namely preference shares, and issued a preference share class P4 to the Partnership (the “ Preference Share ”). Subsequently, TopCo issued, pro rata to its shareholders (including the Partnership), additional A-Shares, B1-Shares and B2- Shares out of its distributable reserves as follows (which amounts take into account that TopCo has repurchased, also on 16 May 2013, a certain amount of TopCo Shares which were previously held by the Partnership):

 

   

3,444,714 A shares;

 

   

812,811 B1 shares; and

 

   

910,697 B2 shares.

Pursuant to the conversion of TopCo into the legal form of a NV on or about 21 May 2013, all A-Shares are converted on a one-to-one ratio into ordinary shares class A (the “ Ordinary Class A Shares ”), all B1-Shares are converted on a one-to-one ratio into Ordinary Class A Shares, and all B2-Shares are converted on a one-to-one ratio into ordinary shares class B (the “ Ordinary Class B Shares ”). Following the Conversion and after the share capital increase, the Partnership holds:

 

   

4,463,414 Ordinary Class A Shares; and

 

   

964,189 Ordinary Class B Shares.

For the purposes of allocating the Ordinary Class A Shares and Ordinary Class B Shares to each of the Limited Partners as set out in Section 5 below, the following shall apply:

 

   

For each A-Share previously allocated to a Limited Partner, a number of 23.8 Ordinary Class A Shares are now allocated;

 

   

For each B1-Share previously allocated to a Limited Partner, a number of 23.8 Ordinary Class A Shares are now allocated; and

 

   

For each B2-Share previously allocated to a Limited Partner, a number of 23.8 Ordinary Class B Shares are now allocated.

 

3.4 TopCo holds all shares in Constellium Holdco II B.V., a Dutch private company with limited liability ( besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) , incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands, whose registered office is at Amsteldijk 166, 1079LH Amsterdam, The Netherland, registered with the Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce in Amsterdam ( Kamer van Koophandel, afjeling Handelsregister ) under number 34393946 (“ HoldCo ”). HoldCo is the top holding company of various entities comprising the Alcan Engineered Alumnium Products business unit which HoldCo acquired on 4 January 2011.

 

- 12 -


3.5 The Partnership serves as the vehicle for members of management of TopCo and its controlled Affiliates from time to time (the “ Group ”) identified as Managers by the MEP Board and who invest (directly or through Investment Vehicle(s)) in the Partnership (“ Managers ”) to participate in the growth and success of the Group.

 

3.6 The Partnership’s sole purpose is to manage its own assets ( Vermögensverwaltung ). It is not entitled to become active in any trade or business ( keine gewerbliche Tätigkeit ). Each of the Managers and/or Investment Vehicles holds through the Partnership ( Gesamthandsvermögen ) a share in the assets of the Partnership (consisting principally of the Securities) pro rata to his/her/its Proportional Interest.

 

3.7 The Partnership shall be entitled to engage in any activities that directly or indirectly serve its purpose. The Partnership shall be entitled to dispose of any Securities only in accordance with the provisions of this Partnership Agreement.

 

4. PARTNERSHIP CAPITAL / PARTNERS

 

4.1 The general partner ( Komplementärin ) of the Partnership is Omega MEP GmbH, registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main under number HRB 89488 with a nominal capital of EUR 25,000 (the “ General Partner ”). The General Partner shall hold no interest in the Partnership’s assets and shall not be obliged to make any partnership contribution.

 

4.2 Each of the Limited Partners other than Warehouse and other than any Pooling Investment Vehicle participates in the Partnership with a liable capital contribution ( Hafteinlage ) of EUR 100 which is registered in the commercial register (the “ Liable Capital Contribution ”), which shall be posted to Capital Account I. Any Pooling Investment Vehicle and Warehouse may hold higher amounts of Liable Capital Contribution, which shall also be posted to Capital Account I.

 

4.3 The Partnership capital ( Festkapital ) shall be equal at all times to the nominal value of the Securities held by the Partnership plus any premium or equivalent in respect thereof (“ Fixed Capital ”) and the Fixed Capital shall be increased or decreased accordingly in the event of an acquisition, disposal or otherwise increase or decrease of Securities. Each Limited Partner participates in the Fixed Capital in an amount equal to the Securities the Partnership holds in his/her/its regard pursuant to the relevant MEP SPA(s) and any related or ancillary documentation (the “ Limited Partner’s Equity Stake ”). The Fixed Capital shall not constitute liable capital and shall therefore not be recorded in the commercial register as such.

 

4.4 Subject to the transfer of interests in the Partnership in accordance with Section 8 hereof, the limited partners ( Kommanditisten ) (the “ Limited Partners ” or a “ Limited Partner ”) of the Partnership shall be those registered in the commercial register of the Partnership as limited partner and as specified with respect to Managers in Annex A to this Partnership Agreement, as updated from time to time. The Partnership can have Investment Vehicles holding a Partnership Interest directly or indirectly on behalf of more than one Related Manager (the “ Pooling Investment Vehicle ”).

 

4.5 One of the Limited Partners is Stichting Management Omega with its seat in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, registered with the Kamer van Koophandel under 51885247 (“ Warehouse ”) which is the sole shareholder of the General Partner.Warehouse may acquire Partnership Interests from Managers in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Partnership Agreement.

 

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4.6 The Managing Limited Partners shall maintain an updated version of Annex A to reflect changes in the composition of the Partnership. The updated version of Annex A of all Limited Partners shall set forth their personal details (name, address and e-mail) and their respective interests (Limited Partner’s Equity Stake) in the Partnership. Each Limited Partner shall provide its personal details to the Managing Limited Partners and shall update the information as appropriate without undue delay. Each Limited Partner shall individually be responsible for any delays in contacting that Limited Partner if such delay occurs because the up to date personal details were not notified to the Managing Limited Partners in time.  

 

5. INVESTMENTS IN TOPCO – ALLOCATION OF SHARES

 

5.1 Each Limited Partner participates economically indirectly in such numbers of Ordinary Class A Shares and Ordinary Class B Shares as equal the number of Ordinary Class A Shares and Ordinary Class B Shares held by the Partnership which correspond, applying the principles described in Section 3.3 above, to those A-Shares, B1-Shares and B2-Shares that were previously attributable to each of the Limited Partners according to the partners accounts kept by the Partnership and also as can be taken from their MEP SPA(s) after taking into account the conversions of B2-Shares to B1-Shares approved by the MEP Board Resolutions for Limited Partners which resulted in the conversion of the following total amounts of B2-Shares into B1-Shares:

 

   

on 28 February 2012: 4,027 class B2-Shares;

 

   

on 22 May 2012: 9,639 class B2-Shares; and

 

   

on 13 March 2013: 24,526 class B2-Shares, and

subject to any further redemption of Ordinary Class B Shares and issue of Ordinary Class A Shares pursuant to the terms of this Partnership Agreement.

 

5.2 The Partners acknowledge and agree that, the following shall apply to any Ordinary Class A Shares which are listed, subject always to any applicable securities law or other restrictions and after expiry of any applicable underwriters lock-up or similar obligations (the “ Dealing Restrictions ”):

 

  5.2.1 each Limited Partner (or in the case of a Pooling Investment Vehicle the Related Manager) who is not a Leaver may, by written request addressed to the General Partner, withdraw from the Partnership or request the Partnership to sell on or through the New York Stock Exchange or any other applicable public securities market or as otherwise may be permissible under and in accordance with applicable law and regulations, as well as any applicable policies of TopCo from time to time, an amount of Ordinary Class A Shares that is less than or equal to the amount of Ordinary Class A Shares the nominal value of which are credited to such Limited Partner’s Capital Account II or, as the case may be, in the event of a Pooling Investment Vehicle that part of such stake attributable to the Relevant Manager, provided that a LimitedPartner or Relevant Manager, as the case may be, may make no more than four such requests in any calendar year;

 

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  5.2.2 if the Partnership, represented by the General Partner, receives a qualifying written notification from a Limited Partner or Relevant Manager to sell a certain amount of Ordinary Class A Shares (in total not exceeding the amount of Ordinary Class A Shares the nominal value of which is credited on Capital Account II of such Limited Partner or, as the case may be, that part of such stake attributable to the Relevant Manager), it shall, without undue delay (subject to the Dealing Restrictions and any other legal restrictions) use reasonable commercial efforts to sell those shares accordingly;

 

  5.2.3 nothing in this Partnership Agreement shall require the Partnership to implement a sale which would require the Partnership or TopCo or any Affiliate to issue any prospectus, registration statement or similar document or filing. Neither the Partnership nor any of its representatives shall have any obligation with respect to, or be liable for, the share price achievable or achieved upon such sale and transfer; and

 

  5.2.4 an amount equal to the nominal value of the Ordinary Class A Shares sold upon request of the Limited Partners or Relevant Partner pursuant to this Section 5.2 shall be transferred from Capital Account II to Capital Account II L of such Limited Partner, together with the proceeds received from the sale of Ordinary Class A Shares, which shall also be credited to the Capital Account II L of the Limited Partner that requested the sale and the Limited Partner shall be entitled to withdraw such amount, net of any taxes or other costs related to the sale and transfer, provided that Section 11.8 shall apply mutatis mutandis to any such withdrawal.

 

5.3 The Partners and Managers acknowledge and agree that:

 

  5.3.1 only those Limited Partners in respect of which a “Yes” is included in the last column of Annex A (headed “Preference Entitlement”) shall economically benefit in and be entitled to any payments received by the Partnership with respect to its shareholding in the Preference Share whether dividend, repayment of premium or capital or otherwise (the “ Entitled Limited Partners ”);

 

  5.3.2 as between themselves, the Entitled Limited Partners shall participate (net of any applicable costs and taxes) in any such payments pro rata to their respective Limited Partner’s Equity Stakes; and

 

  5.3.3 no Partner which is not an Entitled Limited Partner shall be entitled, directly or indirectly, to receive or benefit from any payment or other benefit, right or claim attaching to, deriving from or in connection with the Preference Share.

 

6. PARTNER’S ACCOUNTS

 

6.1

For each Limited Partner, the Partnership shall maintain a Capital Account I (“ Capital Account I ”), a Capital Account II (“ Capital Account II ”), a Capital Account II L, (“ Capital Account II L ”), a Capital Account III (“ Capital Account III ”),

 

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  a Dividend Capital Account (“ Dividend Capital Account ”) (Capital Accounts I, II, II L and III and the Dividend Capital Account collectively the “ Capital Accounts ”), a Current Account ( Verrechnungskonto , “ Current Account ”), a Reserve Account ( Rücklagenkonto , “ Reserve Account ”) and a Loss Carryover Account ( Verlustvortragskonto , “ Loss Carryover Account ”).

 

6.2 On Capital Account I: the liable capital registered in the commercial register for each Limited Partner in the amounts agreed to in Section 4.2 shall be posted.

 

6.3 On Capital Account II: the nominal value of the Ordinary Class A Shares equal to (i) in case of Managers or their Investment Vehicles, the Ordinary Class A Shares attributable to his/her/its Limited Partner’s Equity Stake or (ii) in the case of Warehouse, the Ordinary Class A Shares held by the Partnership but not attributable to any Limited Partner’s Equity Stake shall be posted. If the Partnership, at the request of a Limited Partner and as approved by the General Partner pursuant to 5.2, sells all or a part of Ordinary Class A Shares attributable to that Limited Partner’s Equity Stake (the “ Approved Sale ”), an amount equal to the nominal amount of Ordinary Class A Shares sold as well as any amounts received by the Partnership as consideration for such Approved Sale net of any taxes or other costs related thereto shall be posted on that Limited Partner’s Capital Account II L.

 

6.4 On Capital Account III: the nominal value of the Ordinary Class B Shares equal to (i) in the case of Managers or their Investment Vehicles, the Ordinary Class B Shares attributable to his/her/its Limited Partner’s Equity Stake or (ii) in the case of Warehouse, those Ordinary Class B Shares held by the Partnership but not attributable to any Limited Partner’s Equity Stake shall be posted.

 

6.5 On the Dividend Capital Account: any dividend or other distribution received by the Partnership on Ordinary Class A Shares or Ordinary Class B Shares shall be posted net of any taxes or other costs related thereto, upon receipt by the Partnership of any such dividend or other distribution, in each case in an amount equal to (i) in the case of Managers or their Investment Vehicles, the amount of dividend or distribution attributable to his/her/its Limited Partner’s Equity Stake or (ii) in the case of Warehouse, such amount of dividend or distribution received by the Partnership for the amount of Ordinary Class A Shares and/or Ordinary Class B Shares held by the Partnership but not attributable to any Limited Partner’s Equity Stake.

 

6.6 The Partnership shall maintain one collective account for all Entitled Limited Partners on which the nominal amount of the Preference Share (and any premium or equivalent in respect thereof) shall be posted (the “ Preference Share Account ”).

 

6.7 All Capital Accounts and the Preference Share Account shall be maintained as fixed, non-interest-bearing accounts. Withdrawals from the Capital Accounts shall be permissible only if expressly provided for in this Partnership Agreement with the prior written approval of the General Partner and Managing Limited Partners or upon dissolution of the Partnership.

 

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6.8 Subject in each case to, and only upon, the prior written approval of the General Partner and the Managing Limited Partners:

 

  6.8.1 Warehouse may at any time withdraw from each of (i) Capital Account II, Capital Account III all or a portion of those Securities or the purchase price received by the Partnership upon sale of such Securities and/or (ii) from Dividend Capital Account all or a portion of dividends paid and posted on such account, in each case in respect of Securities which are not attributed to another Limited Partner’s Equity Stake, in particular due to Warehouse having acquired such limited partnership interest representing these rights following exercise of a Call Option; and

 

  6.8.2 each Limited Partner may at any time withdraw from Capital Account II and the Dividend Capital Account all or a portion of those Securities or the purchase price received by the Partnership upon sale of such Securities or from dividends paid and posted on such account, if any.

For the avoidance of doubt, a Partners’ resolution shall not be required with respect to any such withdrawal and no such withdrawal may result in any such account having a negative balance.

 

6.9 On the Current Account: any profits of the Partnership eligible for withdrawal which are not required to be posted to another account under this Partnership Agreement, in particular including, for the Entitled Limited Partners, any payments received by the Partnership deriving from or arising in connection with its shareholding in the Preference Share (in each case limited to the amount attributed to the relevant Entitled Limited Partner pursuant to Section 5.3 and net of any taxes or other costs related thereto), any sums withdrawn, interest, Partners’ loans and other payments between each Limited Partner and the Partnership shall be posted. The Current Accounts shall not bear interest, provided that any negative balance on the Current Accounts shall bear interest at a rate of 9% (nine percent) per annum. For the purpose of any dealings between the General Partner and the Limited Partners (the “ Partners ”) inter se , such interest shall be deemed to constitute proceeds of the Partnership. The Partners shall only be entitled to withdraw any positive balance of their Current Accounts in accordance with Section 11.8 hereof.

 

6.10 On the Reserve Account: any profits which may not be withdrawn, and any further contributions made by the Limited Partners in accordance with a resolution of the Partnership, or otherwise with the approval of the General Partner, shall be posted. These accounts shall neither bear interest, nor constitute liabilities of the Partnership and shall not, in the event of liquidation of the Partnership, form the basis of a claim for repayment by the respective Limited Partner, but shall only be taken into account when calculating the Cost for such Limited Partner.

 

6.11 On the Loss Carryover Accounts: the pro rata shares of the Limited Partners in any losses of the Partnership shall be posted. The Loss Carryover Accounts shall bear no interest. The Loss Carryover Accounts shall not constitute liabilities of the Limited Partners. However, in the event that the Partnership is liquidated, the debit balances on these accounts shall be settled with priority, provided that this shall not give rise to any obligation of the Limited Partners to make further capital contributions.

 

6.12

For each of the Pooling Investment Vehicle’s accounts (namely Capital Account I, Capital Account II, Capital Account III, Dividend Capital Account, Current Account, Reserve Account and Loss Carry-Over Account), the Partnership shall maintain

 

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  additional sub-accounts for each Pooling Investment Vehicle’s ultimate Related Manager on which the individual allocation for each of the Related Managers is booked (the “ Sub-Accounts ”). The Sub-Accounts of the Pooling Investment Vehicle shall each be titled by adding “T” and for each of the Related Managers a specific individualized sequential number (starting from “1”) as set out and as attributed to each of the Related Managers in a list to be maintained by the Managing Limited Partners (the “ KG Interest T List ”). All Sub-Accounts kept by the Partnership for a specific Related Manager of a Pooling Investment Vehicle are together referred to as the “ KG Interest T [ Related Manager’s individualized number to be included ] ” so that, for example, the Sub-Accounts for the Related Manager to whom the number “1” as his individual number has been allocated, will be titled “T-1 Capital Account I, T-1 Capital Account II, T-1 Capital Account II L, T-1 Capital Account III, T-1 Dividend Capital Account, T-1 Current Account, T-1 Reserve Account, and T-1 Loss Carry- Over Account” and they will together be referred to as the “KG Interest T-1”.

 

6.13 The Partnership shall maintain a Current Account for the General Partner.

 

7. ORDINARY CLASS B SHARES AND VESTING

 

7.1 In accordance with and when permitted under TopCo’s Articles the Partnership as holder of the Ordinary Class B Share is entitled to unilaterally request TopCo to convert an Ordinary Class B Share into one Ordinary Class A Share, such conversion taking place in a manner such that the share shall continue to exist, but shall be re- designated and classified as an Ordinary Class A Share under TopCo’s Articles (“ Conversion ”).

 

7.2 The Partnership shall request and agree to the Conversion for a Manager of 1/15 (“ Vesting Tranche ”) of the number of Ordinary Class B Shares attributable to his/her Limited Partner’s Equity Stake (provided that for Related Manager of a Pooling Investment Vehicle, the following shall be deemed to refer to the allocation according to the relevant Sub-Accounts) as follows, provided the Manager has not become a Leaver at the relevant date:

 

  7.2.1 on each of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth anniversaries of the Effective Investment Date for such Manager (“ Tranche A Vesting ”), provided that in the event of any additional investments made by such Manager after that Effective Investment Date, the respective portion of the amount of additional investments shall also Vest at the anniversaries of the Effective Investment Date, with the first Vesting to occur on the first (catch-up) anniversary of the Effective Investment Date after any such additional investment.

 

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  7.2.2 without undue delay after TopCo’s audited annual accounts have been adopted by TopCo’s shareholders (“ Measurement Date ”) for each of 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (“ Measurement Year ”), if the EBITDA Target has been attained as of 31 December of the relevant Measurement Year (derived from the audited annual accounts of HoldCo and its subsidiaries), subject to adjustment determined by the MEP Board pursuant to Section 7.2.3 of (“ Tranche B Vesting ”):

 

Measurement Year

   EBITDA Target  

2013

   EUR   191,000,000   

2014

   EUR 213,000,000   

2015

   EUR 234,000,000   

2016

   EUR 257,600,000   

2017

   EUR 280,100,000   

and, with respect to an additional Vesting Tranche, if the following EBITDA Targets, subject to adjustment determined by the MEP Board pursuant to Section 7.2.3 are attained for a Measurement Year (“ Tranche C Vesting ”)

 

Measurement Year

   EBITDA Target  

2013

   EUR   225,000,000   

2014

   EUR 250,000,000   

2015

   EUR 275,000,000   

2016

   EUR 303,000,000   

2017

   EUR 329,500,000   

and in both cases of Tranche B Vesting and Tranche C Vesting, provided that (A) any Vesting Tranche which fails to Vest because the applicable EBITDA Target has not been attained in a Measurement Year will Vest as of the Measurement Date of the following Measurement Year (“ Catch-Up Year ”) if the aggregate of the EBITDA Targets for the Measurement Year and the Catch-Up Year are attained, and (B) if the EBITDA for any Measurement Year exceeds the EBITDA Target for the Measurement Year which immediately follows that Measurement Year the Vesting Tranche scheduled to Vest in the following Measurement Year shall instead Vest as of the Measurement Date of the earlier Measurement Year; for the avoidance of doubt, it is understood and agreed that, applying these principles, Tranche B and Tranche C Vesting for the Measurement Year 2013 has already been effected in March 2013 on the basis of TopCo’s audited annual accounts for the fiscal year 2012.

 

  7.2.3 The EBITDA Targets for Tranche B and Tranche C Vesting shall be based upon the business of TopCo and its subsidiaries existing at the effective date of this Partnership Agreement and shall be subject to adjustment, as determined by the MEP Board, to account for the impact of certain transactions, including, but not limited to, any business acquisition, divestiture or capital project not in the ordinary course and not contemplated when setting the EBITDA Targets. As to acquisitions and divestitures, the MEP Board shall make such adjustment by (i) dividing the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (as adjusted in a manner consistent with computation of EBITDA) of the acquired or divested business for the trailing 12 months through the end of the calendar quarter immediately preceding the date of the acquisition or divestiture by the EBITDA for such period

 

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  (“ EBITDA Adjustment Ratio ”) and then (ii) multiplying either (A) the sum of 1 plus the EBITDA Adjustment Ratio in the case of an acquisition or (B) 1 minus the EBITDA Adjustment Ratio in the case of a divestiture, by the EBITDA Target for the calendar year of the acquisition or divestiture, pro rated as necessary for the number of days in the calendar year of the acquisition or divestiture, and for every calendar year thereafter through 2017 provided that such adjustment shall be revised by the MEP Board as necessary to account for more than one acquisition or divestiture during the applicable one-year period.

 

  7.2.4 The Tranche B and Tranche C Vesting shall be applied to the total number of the Ordinary Class B Shares attributable to the Limited Partner’s Equity Stake which is attributable to a Manager on 31 December of the relevant year, unless the Manager has become a Leaver at that date.

 

7.3 Upon a Change of Control, the Partnership shall request and agree to the Conversion of

 

  7.3.1 all Vesting Tranches subject to the Tranche A Vesting, if not yet done so;

 

  7.3.2 any Vesting Tranche subject to the Tranche B Vesting and Tranche C Vesting for which the Measurement Year has not ended if LTM EBITDA through the end of the calendar quarter immediately preceding the Change of Control equals or exceeds the applicable (Tranche B and/or Tranche C) Vesting EBITDA Target.

 

7.4 If any B2-Shares are no longer capable of Vesting, because the EBITDA Targets pursuant to Tranche B Vesting and/or Tranche C Vesting have not been attained in the applicable Catch-Up Year (the “ Un-Vestable Ordinary Class B Shares ”), then at the election of the MEP Board and without undue delay after the Measurement Date for the relevant Catch-Up Year either (i) the Partnership shall request and agree to the repurchase by TopCo of the Un-Vestable Ordinary Class B Shares, in which case, following repurchase, the corresponding amount of the nominal amount of Un- Vestable Ordinary Class B Shares shall be booked off the relevant Capital Account III (and any sub-account as applicable), thereby reducing the total Partnership Interest accordingly, or (ii) a part of the Managers’ (or ultimate Related Manager’s) Partnership Interest consisting of such amount of the nominal amount of Un-Vestable Ordinary Class B Shares shall be transferred to Warehouse with the respective amounts being booked from the relevant Capital Account III (and any sub-account as applicable) to the Capital Account III of Warehouse, in each case without consideration.

 

8. TRANSFER OF PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS, DEFAULT CALL OPTION

 

8.1 The Partnership has been formed for certain Managers of the Group to serve as the vehicle for the Managers to participate in the growth and success of the Group. Other than Warehouse and the Managing Limited Partners, each Limited Partner of the Partnership is or will be either a Manager of the Group himself or an Investment Vehicle. No shares or other interest in an Investment Vehicle shall be disposed, transferred, pledged or encumbered by a Related Manager without the prior written consent of the General Partner.

 

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8.2 The Partners do not expect to admit any additional Limited Partners to the Partnership other than

 

  8.2.1 following a transfer of a Limited Partnership Interest by Warehouse to a Pooling Investment Vehicle, an Affiliate of Warehouse or otherwise to another entity which, with the consent of the MEP Board, assumes the role of Warehouse; or

 

  8.2.2 by way of a transfer of an existing Partnership Interest (or part thereof) by a Manager or an Investment Vehicle to a permitted (other) Investment Vehicle

in each case in accordance with this Partnership Agreement. All references in this Partnership Agreement to Limited Partners shall include any person who becomes a Limited Partner pursuant to this Section 8.2 or otherwise with effect from the date of that person’s admission to the Partnership.

 

8.3 Subject to Section 8.4, any transfer of a Partnership Interest or parts thereof shall require the prior written consent of the General Partner to be valid. The Partners already now hereby declare their consent to any such transfer or Partnership Interest approved by the General Partner and acknowledge that the General Partner may withhold its consent to the transfer unless:

 

  8.3.1 the prospective new Limited Partner falls within Section 8.2;

 

  8.3.2 in the event that the prospective new Limited Partner is an Investment Vehicle, the transfer of the Partnership Interest is to be made for estate planning purposes for no consideration to such Investment Vehicle as is acceptable to the General Partner and the holding of such interests through the Investment Vehicle would not trigger a Default Call Option under Section 8.6;

 

  8.3.3 the prospective new Limited Partner and, where the Limited Partner is an Investment Vehicle (including a Pooling Investment Vehicle and any other (Pooling) Investment Vehicle), the ultimate Related Manager, have acceded to this Partnership Agreement and any ancillary or other documentation specified by the MEP Board, whereby the General Partner shall have power of attorney, for the avoidance of doubt with the authority to grant sub-power of attorney and under release of the restrictions of section 181 of the German Civil Code, to accept such accession on behalf of all other Parties; and

 

  8.3.4 the prospective new Limited Partner and, where the Limited Partner is an Investment Vehicle (including a Pooling Investment Vehicle and any other (Pooling) Investment Vehicle), the ultimate Related Manager, have become a party to the Arbitration Agreement.

 

8.4 The Partners acknowledge that under Sections 7.3, 8.6 and 14 of this Partnership Agreement, Warehouse has received from each Limited Partner options to acquire all or part of its Partnership Interest. The transfer of a Partnership Interest (or part thereof) by any Limited Partner to Warehouse in performance of the obligations stipulated herein shall not require the consent of the General Partner.

 

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8.5 No Limited Partner other than Warehouse shall be entitled to create, allow to come into being or permit to subsist any assignment, charge, pledge or other encumbrance or any interest in or right or claim to his Partnership Interest or any sub-participation therein, or to otherwise agree to any legal arrangements making the exercise of his rights as a Limited Partner subject to approval by a third party (or enter into any agreement or undertaking to do so) without the prior written consent of the General Partners.

 

8.6 Warehouse shall be entitled to acquire the entire Partnership Interest held by a Manager, as well as any part held by any relevant Investment Vehicle in the circumstances specified below and, accordingly, each Manager and Investment Vehicle hereby irrevocably offers to sell and transfer on the terms of this Section 8.6 and Sections 14 and 16 hereof its entire Partnership Interest to Warehouse or such person as it may nominate (“ Default Call Option ”); Warehouse or such person as it may nominate may accept this offer by giving notice in writing to each such Manager and Investment Vehicle. The Default Call Option may be accepted in the following circumstances:

 

  8.6.1 insolvency, composition, bankruptcy (including any statutory procedures requiring the making of a declaration as to his/her assets) or similar proceedings in any jurisdiction are initiated (or declined for lack of assets) against the Manager or any relevant Investment Vehicle or any resolution is passed or order or declaration made for the winding up, liquidation or cessation of the relevant Investment Vehicle, as the case may be; or

 

  8.6.2 the creation of any pledge, lien or encumbrance over (unless the same is terminated or released within four weeks of its creation) or any enforcement or equivalent proceedings being initiated against the Partnership Interest held by the Manager or any relevant Investment Vehicle, as the case may be; or

 

  8.6.3 the relevant Manager ceasing to either (i) control, or (ii) be economic owner or beneficiary of at least 75% (seventy five percent) of, the relevant Investment Vehicle (other than a Pooling Investment Vehicle as an Investment Vehicle); or

 

  8.6.4 on a Manager’s divorce if either the Partnership Interest or the interest in any Investment Vehicle held by that Manager is or becomes subject to claims raised in connection with the divorce;

 

  8.6.5 breach of the Manager’s obligations under this Partnership Agreement, in particular these on transfer of Partnership Interests and those in Section 8.5 or

 

  8.6.6 in the event no further amounts are booked on a Limited Partner’s Capital Accounts II and III (or, in the event of a Pooling Investment Vehicles, on the relevant sub-accounts of the Related Manager) due to either a withdrawal of shares which was debited to such accounts or due to one or more Approved Sales of such Limited Partner or Related Manager.

 

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9. MANAGEMENT AND REPRESENTATION

 

9.1 The Partnership shall at all times be managed by two or more managing Limited Partners ( geschäftsführender Kommanditisten ) who are members of the MEP Board (“ Managing Limited Partners ”). Jeremy Leach and Bertrand Tournay are the Managing Limited Partners as at the effective date of this Partnership Agreement. Subject to Section 9.2, further Managing Limited Partners may be appointed and the appointment of Managing Limited Partners may be rescinded by way of a resolution of the MEP Board. The appointment of any further Managing Limited Partner shall become effective when accpted by the new appointee in writing vis-à-vis the General Partner or a Managing Limited Partner (if any). The revocation of the appointment shall become effective when notified in writing by the General Partner or a Managing Limited Partner (if any) to the relevant Managing Limited Partner.

 

9.2 Each Managing Limited Partner is entitled to resign at his discretion. The resignation shall be in writing and shall become effective when received by one other Managing Limited Partner (if any) or the General Partner, provided that, if the resignation would otherwise result in the Partnership not having at least one natural person appointed as a Managing Limited Partner, the resignation shall become effective only upon a new Managing Limited Partner, who is a natural person, being properly appointed to replace the resigning Managing Limited Partner. The right to resign for cause with immediate effect shall remain unaffected. A Managing Limited Partner’s appointment as Managing Limited Partner terminates automatically as of the time he/she ceases to be a Limited Partner. If the number of Managing Limited Partners falls below two for any reason, the General Partner shall appoint one or two Managing Limited Partner(s) (as necessary to re-establish two Managing Limited Partners). Such appointments shall become effective if and when the new appointee(s) accept(s) the appointment in writing vis-à-vis the General Partner or the other Managing Limited Partner (if any).

 

9.3 The Managing Limited Partners shall manage the affairs of the Partnership in accordance with this Partnership Agreement and jointly at their discretion and in accordance with the law and the Partnership’s contractual commitments. Save as otherwise provided in this Partnership Agreement, the General Partner is excluded from managing the Partnership’s affairs.

 

9.4 The Managing Limited Partners are authorised to represent the Partnership vis-à-vis third parties ( Handlungsvollmacht ). If the Partnership has only one Managing Limited Partner, the Managing Limited Partner is authorised to represent the Partnership alone. If two or more Managing Limited Partners have been appointed, two Managing Limited Partners are authorised to represent the Partnership jointly.

 

9.5 Without prejudice to Section 9.4, the General Partner shall be entitled to represent the Partnership vis-à-vis third parties ( Vertretungsbefugnis ).

 

9.6 The General Partner and the Managing Limited Partners are each exempt from the restrictions of sec. 181 of the German Civil Code (BGB) as regards any dealings with or involving the Partnership.

 

9.7

The General Partner and the Managing Limited Partners shall be entitled to immediate reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them for representing or managing the Partnership. Moreover, irrespective of the annual result of the

 

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  Partnership, the General Partner shall be paid a sum equivalent to five per cent (5%) p.a. of its share capital as compensation for the liability assumed by it. The Managing Limited Partners shall not be entitled to any compensation for the services to be rendered hereunder.

 

10. RESOLUTIONS OF THE PARTNERSHIP, PARTNERS MEETINGS

 

10.1 Unless provided otherwise in this Partnership Agreement, the Partners shall pass resolutions ( Gesellschafterbeschlüsse ) as provided for under applicable law or this Partnership Agreement and in particular on the following issues:

 

  10.1.1 adoption of the annual accounts and appropriation of the annual result;

 

  10.1.2 discharge of the General Partner and the Managing Limited Partners;

 

  10.1.3 amendment of this Partnership Agreement; and

 

  10.1.4 dissolution of the Partnership.

 

10.2 Each EUR 1 of the amount recorded in the Capital Accounts II and III shall entitle the respective Partner to one vote. If Warehouse has no amounts recorded in the Capital Accounts II or III, it shall nevertheless have one vote. Each of the General Partner and the Managing Limited Partners have one vote. Unless a higher majority is imposed by mandatory law or this Partnership Agreement, resolutions of the Partnership shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the resolution.

 

10.3 Any resolution which would result in an appropriation of profits to Limited Partners other than in accordance with this Partnership Agreement shall require (i) a majority of more than 95% of the votes of all Limited Partners entitled to be cast on the resolution plus (ii) all votes of the Managing Limited Partners plus (iii) the vote of the General Partner.

 

10.4 Amendments to this Partnership Agreement shall be valid when adopted as follows:

 

  10.4.1 Amendments to this Partnership Agreement which can reasonably be expected to have a negative impact on the Limited Partners’ financial interest in the Partnership in light of its purpose, in particular amendments to Sections 3 to 8, 14 to 16 and 17.5 as well as this Section 10.4 shall be adopted by (i) a simple majority of the votes of all Limited Partners entitled to be cast on the resolution or, if required by mandatory law, a higher majority, plus (ii) the majority of the votes of the Managing Limited Partners, plus (iii) the vote of the General Partner;

 

  10.4.2 Amendments to this Partnership Agreement without an impact on the Limited Partners’ financial interest in the Partnership, in particular amendments to sections other than those referred to in Section 10.4.1 shall be adopted by (i) the votes of the Limited Partner who is the CEO of the Group or, if none, the most senior executive of the Group from time to time, plus (ii) the majority of the votes of the Managing Limited Partners, plus (iii) the vote of the General Partner.

 

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10.5 Partnership resolutions may be passed by way of a written procedure as set forth in Section 10.6 or in a formal partners meeting as set forth in Section 10.7.

 

10.6 The Partners expect that most business will be conducted and most resolutions will be adopted by written resolution. A written resolution shall have been validly adopted by the Partnership if:

 

  10.6.1 a Managing Limited Partner issues a request for a written vote on a proposed resolution;

 

  10.6.2 such request is delivered ( zugegangen ) to each Partner in writing (including transmission by telefax or email) to the address in the most recent version of the list referred to in Section 4.6 above;

 

  10.6.3 the request sets forth the resolution proposed to be adopted and requires each Partner to vote on this resolution in writing, such vote to be received by one of the Managing Limited Partners within a specified time (unless the Partners unanimously agree otherwise in respect of a specific resolution, such time to be no shorter than ten Business Days from the date on which the requests have been mailed or otherwise transmitted to all Partners, provided that the Managing Limited Partners are entitled to shorten this period to two Business Days);

 

  10.6.4 either no notice of opposition or notice of opposition from Limited Partners representing less than 5% (five per cent) (calculated by reference to the total votes available for Limited Partners under Section 10.2) against the adoption of a resolution by way of a written resolution has been received by the Managing Limited Partners; and

 

  10.6.5 of those Partners who have responded to the request in time, the necessary majority voted in favour of the proposed resolution.

Each Managing Limited Partner, the General Partner, as well as Partners acting jointly and representing more than 25% (twenty five percent) of the total available votes of all Limited Partners under Section 10 .2 above, shall be entitled to propose a written resolution to be adopted in the process outlined in this Section 10 .6. The proposal for a written resolution is to be submitted in writing to any of the Managing Limited Partners. Such Managing Limited Partners shall inform the other Managing Limited Partners (if any) of the request and shall without undue delay issue the Partners a request for a vote to the Partners on such proposed written resolution in accordance with this Section 10.6. The Managing Limited Partners shall inform the Partners of the outcome of any written procedure conducted in accordance with this Section 10 .6 without undue delay and at the latest within two weeks after the resolution has been adopted or rejected, as the case may be. Any Partner challenging the validity of the written resolution may do so only within four weeks after being informed of the outcome of a written approval process by initiating an arbitration procedure, in accordance with the Arbitration Agreement, for the purpose of having the resolution declared invalid. Any defects in respect of the written resolution (including the applicable majority) which are not properly challenged within this period are deemed cured.

 

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10.7 Each Managing Limited Partner, the General Partner, as well as Partners acting jointly and representing more than 25% (twenty five percent) of the total available votes under Section 10.6 above, shall be entitled to require the Managing Limited Partners to call a Partners meeting ( Gesellschafterversammlung ). Such request shall be made in writing, setting forth the proposed agenda of the Partners meeting and shall be addressed to one of the Managing Limited Partners. Such Managing Limited Partner shall inform the other Managing Limited Partners (if any) of the request and shall without undue delay call a Partners meeting. Partners meetings shall be held at the Partnership’s registered office or any other place that is acceptable to all Partners. A Partners meeting shall be called in writing (including transmission by letter, fax or email) and with a notice period of ten Business Days (not counting the day the invitation to the meeting is mailed or otherwise transmitted to all Partners and the day of the meeting). The Partners meetings shall be chaired by the oldest Managing Limited Partner present. The chairperson shall determine whether sufficient votes are represented at the meeting to adopt Partnership resolutions and shall decide on the method by which votes are to be taken, unless the Partners meeting decides otherwise. At a Partners meeting, each Partner shall be entitled to be accompanied by one legal, financial or tax adviser who is subject to a professional duty to maintain confidentiality. The chairperson shall inform all Partners of the outcome of the Partners meeting without undue delay and at the latest two weeks after the meeting. Any Partner challenging the validity of a resolution adopted at the Partners meeting may do so only within four weeks after being informed thereof by initiating an arbitration procedure, in accordance with the Arbitration Agreement, for the purpose of the resolution being declared invalid. Any defects in respect of the Partners meeting or the resolutions adopted therein (including the applicable majority) which are not properly challenged within this period are deemed cured.

 

10.8 Each fiscal year, no later than two months after the final preparation and, if applicable, audit of the annual financial statements of the previous fiscal year either a written procedure in accordance with Section 10.6 shall be conducted or a partners meeting shall be held. The resolutions to be adopted or the agenda for the partners meeting to be held shall in all cases include the items referred to in Sections 10.1.1 through 10.1.2 above.

 

11. ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND APPROPRIATION OF RESULTS

 

11.1 The business year of the Partnership shall be the calendar year.

 

11.2 Annual statements of accounts shall be drawn up by the Managing Limited Partners within the first 120 days after the end of the relevant business year and in compliance with the statutory balance-sheet format and valuation provisions, taking into due consideration the provisions of tax law relating to the assessment of profits. If prescribed by law or required under a resolution of the Partners with the approval of the General Partner, the annual statement of accounts shall be submitted to the Partnership’s auditor for a formal audit, in which case the Managing Limited Partners, subject to the prior approval of the General Partner, shall appoint such auditor.

 

11.3 The Managing Limited Partners shall submit the annual statement of accounts and the auditor’s examination report (if any) to the Partners promptly after receipt of these documents.

 

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11.4 The Limited Partners shall participate in the Partnership’s residual profits and losses (after the bookings of dividends or other amounts required to be made pursuant to Section 6.1 to 6.8 and 6.12 above which bookings shall be made and profits allocated directly to the individual Limited Partner’s accounts set out in Section 6.1 to 6.8 and 6.12 and any withdrawals in accordance with Section 5.2.4) in proportion to their share-related interest in the Partnership, provided however, that the amounts booked to each Limited Partner’s Dividend Capital Accounts in accordance with Section 6.1 to 6.8 and 6.12 above shall be disregarded for the purposes of the determination and allocation of those profits and losses and that only the resulting amount (after making such booking under Section 6 above) shall be booked in accordance with Sections 6.9 to 6.11 above. Such proportional interest is to be determined on the basis of their respective balances on the Capital Account II and Capital Account III (expressed as a percentage the “ Proportional Interest ”). The Partners shall not be required to make any additional capital contributions, even if the Partnership is liquidated. This shall not affect the provisions of § 171 para. 1 HGB.

 

11.5 Any residual annual surplus (profit) as set out in Section 11.4 shall, unless otherwise provided for herein or unless otherwise resolved by the Partners, be credited to each Partner’s Current Account. Any annual loss shall be covered by the liquidation of reserves (if any). If the reserves are not sufficient to cover the entire annual loss incurred, the balance of such loss shall be booked to the Loss Carry Forward Accounts. Any future annual surplus shall then be used to balance the Loss Carry Forward Accounts only after which will any remaining surplus be credited to the respective Partner’s Current Account.

 

11.6 The Partners, other than the Managing Limited Partners, shall not participate in the preparation of the accounts. The rights of the Limited Partners under sec. 166 para. 1 and 3 HGB remain unaffected. The Managing Limited Partners may require those Limited Partners who want to exercise these rights to jointly instruct one legal, financial or tax adviser who is subject to a professional duty to maintain confidentiality. In this case, the Partnership shall comply with its obligations under sec. 166 HGB vis-à-vis the adviser acting on behalf of the Limited Partners.

 

11.7 The Partnership shall provide to each Partner such information and such documents as the Partner may require to comply with its obligations to file proper tax returns and to respond to enquiries of appropriate tax authorities.

 

11.8 Withdrawals of funds by the Partners from the Partnership shall only be permissible, subject to the terms of this Partnership Agreement and up to the amount of any credit balance on their Capital Account II, Capital Account II L, the Current Accounts and/or on the Dividend Capital Account, if any and only to the extent the Partnership has sufficient cash funds available. Subject to the ability of the Partnership to pay out the entire balance of all Current Accounts each Partner shall be entitled to withdraw funds from its Current Account at any time and funds from its Dividend Capital Account only if amounts have been credited to such account. Such request shall be made in writing addressed to one of the Managing Limited Partners and the General Partner. If the Partnership has insufficient funds available to pay each Limited Partner’s Current Account balance or Dividend Capital Account balance in full, the Partnership shall distribute to each Partner who so requires a pro-rated amount of the available funds reflecting such Limited Partner’s Proportional Interest in the Partnership. The Managing Limited Partners shall arrange for the transfer of funds so withdrawn to a bank account of the withdrawing Partner without undue delay and at the withdrawing Partner’s cost.

 

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12. GENERAL PARTNER’S AUTHORITY AND PARTNERSHIP’S SHAREHOLDERS’ RIGHTS IN TOPCO

 

12.1 The General Partner shall have full power and authority to act on behalf of and represent the Partnership, and with the power to exclusively bind the Partnership thereby in all respects, without requiring the prior approval by way of a Partners resolution.

 

12.2 The General Partner shall require the prior approval of the MEP Board before exercising the Partnership’s voting rights in TopCo in any respect, or granting any waiver, consent or approval with regard to its rights in, over or in connection with shares in or other securities issued by TopCo and shall exercise, or refrain from exercising all such voting or shareholder rights as directed by the MEP Board from time to time.

 

13. PRE-EMPTIVE RIGHTS TO NEW SHARES OR INTERESTS IN TOPCO

 

13.1 Under circumstances set out in the TopCo Articles and as provided for under statutory law, the Partnership may be entitled to exercise pre-emptive rights in connection with an increase of the issued share capital of TopCo (the “ New Issue ”).

 

13.2 Upon receipt of a notification from TopCo of a New Issue, the General Partner shall

 

  13.2.1 inform each Limited Partner of the proposed New Issue,

 

  13.2.2 provide each Limited Partner with the offering memorandum or other information received by the Partnership in connection with the proposed New Issue and in particular inform the Limited Partners about the proposed subscription price for the TopCo Shares to be issued, and

 

  13.2.3 inform the Limited Partners about the procedural steps such Limited Partner will have to comply with if such Limited Partner wishes to indirectly participate in the New Issue.

 

13.3 Each Limited Partner shall be entitled to participate in the New Issue pro rata to the amount of Ordinary Class A Shares which are attributed to such Limited Partner, expressed as a percentage to the total amount of Ordinary Class A Shares issued to the Partnership (the “ Proportional Interest A ”). The maximum number of TopCo Shares in respect to which a Limited Partner may indirectly participate in the New Issue is hereinafter referred to as “ Entitlement ”. Each Limited Partner’s Entitlement shall be computed as follows:

total number of TopCo Shares which the Partnership (as a whole) is entitled to subscribe to in the New Issue

times

the Limited Partner’s Proportional Interest A.

 

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The number of TopCo Shares in respect of which such partner actually exercises its Entitlement which a Limited Partner acquires are hereinafter referred to as the “ Additional Shares ”.

 

13.4 The Partnership, as represented by the General Partner, shall use reasonable efforts to comply with the instructions of a Limited Partner to subscribe to the Additional Shares if such instructions are received in time to permit the Partnership to participate in the New Issue and if such instructions are accompanied by payment to the Partnership of the amount due to TopCo for the subscription to the Additional Shares (the amount payable for the Additional Shares being the “ Subscription Payment ”). If the subscription by the Partnership fails after receipt of the Subscription Payment, the Partnership shall return the same to the relevant Limited Partner. The Partnership shall only subscribe to the New Issue in the amount corresponding to the amount for which the Limited Partners have exercised their Entitlement pursuant to the provisions of this Clause 13. No Limited Partner shall be entitled to subscribe for or cause the Partnership to subscribe for TopCo Shares in the New Issue which relate to another Limited Partner’s Entitlement if such Entitlement has not been exercised.

 

13.5 The Limited Partners’ contributions used to fund the nominal amount of the Subscription Payments shall be credited to each Limited Partner’s Capital Account II (resulting in an adjustment of the Proportional Interest and the Proportional Interest A). Payments made by Limited Partners to fund the share premium payable upon subscription shall be credited to the Limited Partner’s Reserve Account.

 

13.6 The provisions of this Clause 13 shall apply correspondingly to the issuance by TopCo of other TopCo Securities other than TopCo Shares (whether together with TopCo Shares or in a separate issue) in respect of which the Partnership is entitled to exercise its pre-emptive rights. Should TopCo as a condition for the subscription to new TopCo Shares require the subscriber to also subscribe to a proportional number of any other form of TopCo Securities other than TopCo Shares, a Limited Partner may instruct the Partnership to exercise the subscription rights only in a manner consistent with the requirements imposed by TopCo. Payments effected by a Limited Partner for any TopCo Securities pursuant to this Sections 13.613.6other than TopCo Shares shall be booked on the partnership accounts as appropriate given the nature of such TopCo Securities.

 

14. COMPULSORY TRANSFER OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS, CALL OPTIONS

 

14.1 For the purposes of this Partnership Agreement:

 

  14.1.1 a “ Bad Leaver ” is a Manager who:

 

  (a) resigns or terminates his/her service agreement without Good Reason (other than a Retiree);

 

  (b) is dismissed or removed from office by a member of the Group for Cause; or

 

  (c)

violates any of the restrictive covenants set forth in Section 15.1 or in his/her MEP SPA or ancillary documentation or, with respect to

 

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  Related Managers of a Pooling Investment Vehicle, violates any of his obligations under the articles of a Pooling Investment Vehicle, his subscription declaration or acquisition agreement upon his investment in a Pooling Investment Vehicle or the terms of a shareholders agreement entered into with respect to his or her shareholding in a Pooling Investment Vehicle.

 

  14.1.2 a “ Good Leaver ” is a Manager who:

 

  (a) dies;

 

  (b) terminates employment after reaching retirement age as laid down in the governmental pension regulation or private pension arrangement applicable to such Manager, whichever is earlier (or, where there is no applicable pension regulation arrangement, age 62) with at last three years of employment with the Group (a “ Retiree ”);

 

  (c) becomes permanently disabled as defined under the statutory local social security regulations applicable to such Manager;

 

  (d) has his/her business unit disposed of to a third party who is not a member of the Group, provided that the Manager does not continue to be employed by an affiliate of TopCo following such transfer;

 

  (e) has his/her employment terminated for reasons other than Cause;

 

  (f) is qualified as a Good Leaver by the MEP Board acting in its entire discretion on a case-by-case basis and without creating any precedent; or

 

  (g) voluntarily resigns for Good Reason.

 

14.2 If a Manager becomes a Good Leaver or Bad Leaver, then any Investment Vehicle holding, directly or indirectly, any Partnership Interest constituting parts of or deriving from the Partnership Interest originally allocated to such Manager shall be deemed to be, and shall for all purposes of this Partnership Agreement be treated as, a Good Leaver or Bad Leaver accordingly, provided that, with respect to a Pooling Investment Vehicle, this only applies to the Related Manager’s KG Interest T as shown on the relevant Sub-Accounts.

 

14.3

If a Manager becomes a Leaver, Warehouse shall be entitled to acquire the entire Partnership Interest (or any part thereof) of such Manager (or, as the case may be, all or that part of a Limited Partnership Interest held by a Limited Partner representing the ultimate Related Manager’s interest in the Partnership) and his or her permitted Investment Vehicles (if any), including the liability amount ( Hafteinlage ) and all rights to the Capital Accounts or other accounts on the terms of these Sections 14 and 16 below with immediate effect. By acceding to this Partnership Agreement, each such Manager and any permitted Investment Vehicle grants Warehouse the right to so acquire the Leaver’s entire Partnership Interest (or, as the case may be, the part thereof attributable to the ultimate Related Manager) in such circumstances and, accordingly, each Manager and Investment Vehicle hereby irrevocably offers to sell and transfer

 

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  on the terms of these Sections 14 and 16 below all or any part of its Partnership Interest to Warehouse or such person as it may nominate; Warehouse or such person as it may nominate may accept this offer by giving notice in writing to each such Manager and Investment Vehicle within the period specified in Section 14.5 below (“ Leaver Call Option ”).

 

14.4 Warehouse may transfer any Leaver Call Option right to another person nominated by it in its discretion.

 

14.5 The Call Options shall expire 180 days after the relevant Trigger Date.

 

14.6 For the avoidance of doubt the Call Options shall extend to include all other claims against or securities in TopCo (if any) owned, subscribed by or attributable to the Leaver, even if they do not constitute Securities for the purpose of this Partnership Agreement.

 

14.7 All voting and other rights in respect of the relevant Partnership Interest are suspended and neither the Manager, any permitted Investment Vehicle or the Partnership shall or shall be entitled to exercise them with effect as of the Trigger Date in the case of a Call Option. Each Manager and Investment Vehicle undertakes not to exercise, or permit to be exercised, any votes attaching to the Partnership Interest held by it after the applicable date referred to above. For the avoidance of doubt, following exercise of the Call Option and transfer of the Partnership Interest to Warehouse or its nominee, the voting rights will then again be capable of being exercised by Warehouse or its nominee as the case may be upon the transfer to Warehouse becoming effective.

 

14.8 Following exercise of a Call Option, the Partnership shall, without undue delay upon instruction of Warehouse, subject to any Dealing Restrictions:

 

  14.8.1 sell and transfer on or through the New York Stock Exchange or any other applicable public securities market or as otherwise may be permissible under and in accordance with applicable law and regulations, as well as an applicable policies of TopCo from time to time an amount of Ordinary ClassA Shares which is equal to the amount of Ordinary Class A Shares attributable to the respective Limited Partner’s Partnership Interest or the part attributable to the Leaver as the case may be; and

 

  14.8.2 use commercially reasonable efforts to agree with TopCo the sale and transfer of all relevant Ordinary Class B Shares to TopCo and their subsequent cancellation by TopCo.

 

14.9 If the Call Option is exercised in a situation in which a Manager is a Bad Leaver, the Manager shall be obliged, upon notice by the General Partner, to withdraw the Ordinary Class A Shares attributable to the Bad Leaver’s Limited Partnership Interest so that, upon transfer of the Limited Partnership Interest to Warehouse, no more Ordinary Class A Shares will be attributable to the respective Bad Leaver’s Limited Partnership Interest.

 

14.10 Section 5.2 shall apply mutatis mutandis to any sale and transfer under Section 14.8.

 

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15. RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

 

15.1 Without prejudice to any other non-compete and non-solicitation undertakings the Managers may have entered into, for so long as he/she (or his/her Investment Vehicle) holds any direct or indirect interest in TopCo or the Partnership and for the Restricted Period, a Manager shall not without the prior consent of the MEP Board:

 

  15.1.1 carry on or be engaged in or concerned with or interested in, either alone or jointly, with, through or on behalf of any person, directly or indirectly, in any activities in the territory in which any member of the Group is active or has been active within the previous twelve months (“ Territory ”), which competes with all or any part of the Group’s business;

 

  15.1.2 own, support, finance or hold any economic interest in, either alone or jointly, with, through or on behalf of any person, directly or indirectly, any interest in any company, business or other person which competes with all or any part of the Group’s business in the Territory, provided that a Manager or his/her Investment Vehicle may hold up to 5% of a class of securities of a company listed on a recognised stock exchange;

 

  15.1.3 be or exercise any function as manager, legal representative, director, employee, officer or consultant in or for any company, business or other person which competes with all or any part of the Group’s business in the Territory; or

 

  15.1.4 directly or indirectly (including through any intermediary), solicit or take the initiative to contract with a view to the engagement or employment by any legal entity, any employee, officer or manager of the Group, provided that this shall not prohibit a manager who has become a Leaver from employing any such person who applies for employment in response to a general public advertisement or recruitment campaign.

 

15.2 In case of a breach of Section 15.1, the Manager shall be considered a Bad Leaver pursuant to Section 14.1.1 (c), provided that the Manager shall first be given written notice of such breach and shall be given a period of fifteen Business Days from delivery of such notice to cure the breach. For these purposes the “Trigger Date” shall be the date on which the fifteen Business Days period referred to above expires or, if earlier, the date of the Manager’s refusal.

 

15.3 Each of the Managers undertakes, on request of Warehouse, in his or her agreement by which the Partnership Interest is sold and transferred to Warehouse or such person it may have nominated following the exercise of a Leaver Call Option, to restate and confirm the obligation contained in Section 15.1 for the remainder of the Restricted Period.

 

16. COMPENSATION

 

16.1 The purchase price payable under a Leaver Call Option depends on whether the Leaver is a Good Leaver or a Bad Leaver and shall be determined as set out in Sections 16.2 and 16.3 below.

 

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16.2 In the case of a Good Leaver, the purchase price payable under a Leaver Call Option is:

 

  16.2.1 in respect of that portion of the Partnership Interest represented by the Leaver’s Capital Account II (i.e. representing the Ordinary Class A Shares), the Fair Market Value;

plus

 

  16.2.2 in respect of that portion of the Partnership Interest represented by the Leaver’s Capital Account II (i.e. representing the Ordinary Class B Shares), the lower of (i) Fair Market Value and (ii) Cost;

minus

 

  16.2.3 any negative balance on a Capital Account or other account of the Partnership comprised in the Partnership Interest;

minus

 

  16.2.4 all Value Out, except to the extent a Liquidity Event which gave rise to all or part of the Value Out has already been reflected in the calculation of Fair Market Value,

but the purchase price shall not be less than zero.

 

  16.3 In the case of a Bad Leaver, the purchase price payable under a Leaver Call Option (following a withdrawal of the Limited Partner’s Ordinary Class A Shares as set out in Section 14.9) is:

 

  16.3.1 the lower of:

 

  (a) Cost of the Partnership Interest;

or

 

  (b) the Fair Market Value of the Partnership Interest;

minus

 

  16.3.2 any negative balance on capital or other account of the Partnership comprised in the Partnership Interest;

minus

 

  16.3.3 all Value Out,

but the purchase price shall not be less than zero.

 

16.4 The “ Fair Market Value ” of a Leaver’s Partnership Interest or a part thereof shall:

 

  16.4.1 with respect to that portion of the Partnership Interest representing the Ordinary Class A Shares, be equal to the net proceeds which the Partnership receives upon completion of the sale of that amount of Ordinary Class A Shares pursuant to Section 14 .8; and

 

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  16.4.2 with respect to that portion of the Partnership Interest representing the Ordinary Class B Shares be established by the MEP Board in good faith on the basis of the relevant share price of Ordinary Class A Shares and any price agreed with TopCo for the Ordinary Class B Shares, but taking into account other factors the MEP Board deems relevant in its sole discretion and provided that the restrictions contained in this Partnership Agreement regarding, in particular, the Vesting of Ordinary Class B Shares and any dividends accrued, but unpaid in respect of Ordinary Class B Shares, shall be taken into account in such valuation.

 

16.5 The purchase price payable under a Default Call Option shall be calculated as under a Leaver Call Option for a Bad Leaver.

 

16.6 The purchase price calculated pursuant to Sections 16.2 to 16.5 shall be reduced by the amount of claims which any member of the Group may have against the Leaver for any reason, including, without limitation thereto, any damage claim a member of the Group might have against the Leaver for an infringement of the Leaver’s duties after he became a Leaver and/or after he ceased to hold any direct or indirect interest in TopCo.

 

16.7 The purchase price under a Call Option (the “ Transfer Price ”) is due and payable as follows:

 

  16.7.1 that part of the purchase price relating to the portion of the Partnership Interest representing the Ordinary Class A Shares shall be due and payable within 15 Business Days following the later of (i) sale and transfer of the corresponding amount of Ordinary Class A Shares by the Partnership and (ii) receipt by Warehouse of the proceeds from such sale; and

 

  16.7.2 that part of the purchase price relating to the portion of the Partnership Interest representing the Ordinary Class B Shares shall be due and payable within 15 Business Days following the later of (i) completion of the transfer of the relevant Partnership Interest and (ii) receipt by the Partnership of the proceeds from the sale of the Ordinary Class B Shares to TopCo,

in each case, unless either such a cash payment would result in a violation of applicable laws, be restricted or constitute an event of default under the loan agreements of any members of the Group or Warehouse does not have funds to make such payment. In any such case payment of the Transfer Price shall be made by issuance of a promissory note from the purchaser which shall bear interest at a rate of 6% p.a. from the date on which such payment would otherwise be due pursuant to the terms of this Partnership Agreement up to, but not including, the date on which payment is made to the relevant Manager and which shall become due as to all or a portion of the principal and accrued interest either as soon as repayment would not result in a violation of applicable laws, be so restricted or constitute an event of default (with accrued interest being paid first, then principal) or when Warehouse has sufficient funds to make such payment.

 

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16.8 The MEP Board may require from each Manager and any Investment Vehicle that he/she/it pledges to TopCo (or any person nominated by it) his/her/its shares in his/her/its Investment Vehicle and/or, as the case may be, his/her/its Limited Partnership Interest to secure his/her/its obligations under this Partnership Agreement.

 

16.9 For the purposes of Sections 14 and 16 hereof:

 

  16.9.1 all references to the Leaver’s Partnership Interest or amounts booked on the Leaver’s Capital Accounts shall, with respect to a Related Manager of a Pooling Investment Vehicle being a Leaver, be understood as reference to the KG Interest T, respectively the Sub-Accounts maintained for such Related Manager and the Leaver Call Option shall refer to only that part of a Pooling Investment Vehicle’s Partnership Interest as is represented by the Sub- Accounts maintained for the respective Related Manager;

 

  16.9.2 all references to Partnership Interest and Securities are references to those interests in the Partnership held by or attributable to the Leaver at the Trigger Date, disregarding for the determination of Cost any such interest that may already have been sold, repurchased, repaid or otherwise transferred prior to the Trigger Date in connection with a Liquidity Event or otherwise; and

 

  16.9.3 on any Liquidity Event, unless otherwise specifically determined by the MEP Board in connection therewith, all Value Out which is payable or attributable to the Partnership shall be deemed and construed to be applied (and the relevant Securities shall be retired) in the following order:

 

  (a) firstly to settlement of all costs and liabilities of the Partnership;

 

  (b) then to settlement of any negative balances on Capital Accounts or other accounts of the Partnership; and

 

  (c) the remainder to Partnership Interest of the Limited Partners pro rata to their Proportional Interest.

 

17. DURATION/TERMINATION

 

17.1 The Partnership is established for an indefinite period.

 

17.2 The Partnership shall dissolve six months after the Partnership has ceased to hold any Securities in TopCo unless:

 

  (i) the Partners shall vote for the continuation of the Partnership with a 95% majority of votes entitled to be cast by the Limited Partners plus the vote of the General Partner; or

 

  (ii) the Partnership in the course of a corporate reorganisation for tax or other reasons exchanges its TopCo Securities (directly or indirectly) into, inter alia , an equity interest in another entity and such other entity continues to operate the same business as previously conducted by TopCo and its Affiliates (a “ Successor Entity ”). In this case, each reference to TopCo in this Partnership Agreement shall be replaced by a reference to the Successor Entity.

 

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17.3 Prior to the dissolution of the Partnership in accordance with Section 17.2 and while the Partnership holds any Securities (in TopCo or a Successor Entity), the Partnership can be dissolved only by a resolution (i) with a majority of 95% of the votes entitled to be cast by the Limited Partners, (ii) plus the votes of the General Partner and plus (iii) the majority of the votes of the Managing Limited Partners. Such majority shall also be required to amend the forgoing sentence. Should the Partnership cease to own Securities, the Partners may, prior to the expiry of the six months period referred to in Section 17.2, resolve to dissolve the Partnership by resolution (i) with a majority of 75% of the votes entitled to be cast by the Limited Partners plus (ii) the vote of the General Partner and plus (iii) the majority of the votes of the Managing Limited Partners.

 

17.4 A partner may terminate the Partnership only for cause as defined in sec. 133 HGB. The right to force a termination in accordance with sec. 133 HGB is excluded and replaced by a right to terminate. Such right to terminate is to be exercised in writing and only after the requirements set forth in Section 17.5 have been complied with.

 

17.5 Prior to being entitled to terminate the Partnership for cause, each Limited Partner (other than Warehouse) is required to offer to sell its Partnership Interest to Warehouse in writing on the terms and conditions provided for a sale and transfer of the Partnership Interest upon the Limited Partner or its Related Manager becoming a Good Leaver provided that the Transfer Price in this case shall be 80% of the Transfer Price payable to a Good Leaver, and provided further, that in this case the “Trigger Date” shall be the date as of which such Limited Partner would, but for this provision, be entitled to terminate the Partnership Agreement. Warehouse shall be entitled to accept this offer within a period of twenty (20) Business Days after the price for such sale has been determined in accordance with Section 16.2. If Warehouse accepts the offer, the offering Limited Partner shall be required to transfer its Partnership Interest to Warehouse on the applicable terms and conditions, including those set out in Section 16.6, and the offering Limited Partner shall not be entitled to terminate the Partnership.

 

17.6 Warehouse and the General Partner shall not be required to offer their Partnership Interest before exercising a right to terminate the Partnership for cause. The termination by Warehouse or the General Partner shall become effective only if it has not been rescinded within twenty (20) Business Days after Warehouse or the General Partner, as the case may be, exercised its termination right in writing.

 

17.7 Should a Limited Partner terminate the Partnership (such Partner a “ Terminating Partner ”), the Terminating Partner shall cease to be a Partner of the Partnership upon the termination becoming effective. Any compensation payable following a due termination shall be payable in accordance with Section 17.5.

 

17.8 Should the Partnership dissolve, the Partnership shall be liquidated. Unless otherwise resolved by the Partnership, the Managing Limited Partners shall be the liquidators.

 

18. SUCCESSION UPON DEATH

Upon the death of a Partner who is a natural person, the Partnership shall be continued with the heirs, legatees, or statutory heirs of such Partner, as the case may be, until Warehouse acquires the Partnership Interest of the deceased by exercising one of its Call Options.

 

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19. DUTY TO MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY

Each Partner and each Manager shall maintain confidentiality towards third parties with respect to any confidential matters he/it gains knowledge of in his/its capacity as a Partner or ultimate Related Managers and/or in connection with any work for the Partnership or the Group, including in particular, but not limited to, information concerning balance sheets or any deliberations or resolutions of the Partners. This duty to maintain confidentiality shall continue to apply after a Partner’s withdrawal or the withdrawal of the relevant Investment Vehicle from the Partnership. It shall not affect the right of the Partners or ultimate Related Managers to submit their balance sheets or other information to banks and to fulfil their statutory obligations regarding disclosure. Furthermore, each Partner and ultimate Related Manager shall be entitled to disclose such confidential matters to members of the legal, tax or financial consultation professions subject to a professional duty to maintain secrecy if and to the extent that the disclosure of such information is in the legitimate interest of the Partner or ultimate Related Manager concerned. Other exceptions from the duty to maintain confidentiality may be authorised by the Managing Limited Partners in individual cases. In addition, Warehouse and the General Partner shall be entitled to disclose any matter to any of their Affiliates.

 

20. POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR DEALINGS WITH THE COMMERCIAL REGISTRY

Each Limited Partner shall grant a notarially certified power of attorney to the General Partner authorizing the latter to represent it towards the commercial registry with respect to any matter concerning the Partnership.

 

21. PUBLICATIONS

Notices of the Partnership shall be published in the electronic Bundesanzeiger (electronic Federal Gazette) to the extent that such publication is required by law.

 

22. PARTIAL INVALIDITY AND AMENDMENTS TO THIS PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

 

22.1 Should any provision of this Partnership Agreement, or any provision that may be included in this Partnership Agreement in the future, or any part of any such provision, be or become ineffective or impossible to implement, or should this Partnership Agreement prove to have a contractual gap, this shall not adversely affect the validity of the other provisions hereof. Any such provision that may prove to be ineffective or impossible to implement, or any contractual gap that may be contained herein, shall be replaced or filled by such reasonable provision which is acceptable in legal terms and which comes as close as possible to what the parties intended to agree on or, judging by the purpose and the essence of this Partnership Agreement, would have agreed on had they considered the relevant issue.

 

22.2 If any provision hereof is ineffective or impossible to implement due to the quantity or extent of any contractual performance, or the time within which such performance is to be rendered (i.e. a deadline set in the form of a specific date or period of time), the parties shall be deemed to have agreed on such quantity, extent or time that is acceptable in legal terms and that comes as close as possible to the original provision.

 

- 37 -


22.3 All arrangements concerning the contractual relationship between the Partners or between the Partners and the Partnership shall only be binding if made in writing unless the law requires that they be recorded by a notary. This shall also apply to any waiver of this requirement of written form.

 

22.4 This Partnership Agreement contains all agreements reached between the Parties. There are no side agreements.

 

23. ARBITRATION, JURISDICTION

 

23.1 Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Partnership Agreement (including such on the validity of this Section 23), which cannot be settled amicably shall be finally settled by arbitration in accordance with the separate arbitration agreement concluded between the General Partner and the Limited Partners in the form attached hereto as Annex B (the “ Arbitration Agreement ”).

 

23.2 The place of exclusive jurisdiction for all judicial acts relating to arbitration proceedings in accordance with section 1062 para 1 no 1 to 4 Civil Procedure Code ( Zivilprozessordnung ) as well as for all disputes between the parties that are not arbitrable and for which there is no other exclusive place of jurisdiction is Frankfurt/Main.

 

23.3 This Partnership Agreement is governed by German law.

 

- 38 -

Exhibit 5.1

 

Constellium N.V.

Tupolevlaan 41-61

1119 NW Schiphol-Rijk

The Netherlands

  

Stibbe N.V.

Advocaten en notarissen

Strawinskylaan 2001

P.O. Box 75640

1070 AP Amsterdam

The Netherlands

T +31 20 546 0 606

F +31 20 546 0 123

 

www.stibbe.com

 

Date

21 May 2013

Constellium N.V. – SEC Exhibit 5.1 opinion letter

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

(1) We have acted as counsel as to matters of Netherlands law to Constellium N.V. (the “ Company ”) in connection with the offering (the “ Offering ”) (i) by the Company of 11,111,111 Class A ordinary shares with a nominal value of € 0.02 in its capital (the “ Primary Shares ”), (ii) by Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à r.l. (“ Apollo ”) and Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited (“ RTIHL ” and together with Apollo, the “ Selling Shareholders ”) of 11,111,111 Class A ordinary shares with a nominal value of € 0.02 in the capital of the Company (the “ Secondary Shares ”), and (iii) by the Selling Shareholders of up to 3,333,333 Class A ordinary shares with a nominal value of € 0.02 in the capital of the Company (the “ Over-Allotment Shares ”) to be sold pursuant to an underwriting agreement among the underwriters named in schedule I thereto (the “ Underwriters ”), the Company and the Selling Shareholders (the “ Underwriting Agreement ”).

This opinion is furnished to you in order to be filed as an exhibit to the form F-1 registration statement relating to the Offering filed by you with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Registration Statement ”).

 

(2) For the purpose of this opinion, we have exclusively examined and relied upon photocopies or copies received by fax or by electronic means, or originals if so expressly stated, of the following documents:

 

  (a) the Registration Statement;

 

  (b) the Underwriting Agreement;

 

  (c) the deed of incorporation of the Company dated 14 May 2010 and the Company’s articles of association ( statuten ) as lastly amended on 21 May 2013 pursuant to the Deed of Conversion (as defined below), which according to the extract from the Commercial Register referred to in paragraph (2)(d) below are the articles of association of the Company as currently in force;

 

 

The practice is conducted by Stibbe N.V. (registered with the Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce under number 34198700). The general conditions of Stibbe N.V. are applicable and include a clause on limitation of liability. The general conditions have been deposited with the Amsterdam District Court and are available on request and free of charge. They can also be found at www.stibbe.com .


  (d) an on-line extract from the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce in Amsterdam relating to the Company dated the date hereof;

 

  (e) the shareholders register of the Company;

 

  (f) written resolutions of the board of the Company adopted on 16 May 2013 approving, inter alia , the issuance of shares pursuant to the Deed of Issuance (as defined below) (the “ Issue Resolution I ”);

 

  (g) written resolutions of the general meeting of shareholders of the Company with reference “ Shareholders resolution I ” dated May 2013 approving, inter alia , the issuance of shares to, among others, the Selling Shareholders in accordance with the Deed of Issuance;

 

  (h) minutes of the general meeting of shareholders of the Company with reference “General Meeting resolution II” dated 16 May 2013 regarding, inter alia , the conversion from the private company with limited liability ( besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid ) Constellium Holdco B.V. into a public limited company ( naamloze vennootschap ) and renaming the Company Constellium N.V.;

 

  (i) a copy of the deed of issue of shares in the capital of the Company executed before P.H.N. Quist, civil law notary in Amsterdam, on 16 May 2013 between, among others, the Company and the Selling Shareholders with reference MM/6009345/10521934 in connection with, inter alia , the issuance of (i) 40,777,082 Class A ordinary shares with a nominal value of € 0.02 in the capital of the Company to Apollo and (ii) 31,389,272 Class A ordinary shares with a nominal value of € 0.02 in the capital of the Company to RTIHL (the “ Deed of Issuance ”);

 

  (j) a certificate dated 17 May 2013 of the chief financial officer of the Company confirming that the reserves of the Company were sufficient as at the date of the Deed of Issuance to make the payment on the shares as set out in and in accordance with the Deed of Issuance, including on the Secondary Shares and the Secondary Over-Allotment Shares;

 

  (k) a copy of the deed of conversion and amendment of the Company’s articles of association executed before P.H.N. Quist, civil law notary in Amsterdam, on 2013 with reference MM/6009345/10527252 (by which deed, inter alia , Constellium Holdco B.V. will be converted from a private company with limited liability ( besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid ) into a public limited company ( naamloze vennootschap ) and renamed Constellium N.V.) (the “ Deed of Conversion ”); and

 

  (l) draft minutes with reference “ General Meeting resolution III ” of the general meeting of shareholders of the Company, inter alia , containing resolutions regarding the contemplated issue of the Primary Shares to the Underwriters (the “ Issue Resolution II ”).

 

(2)


The resolutions listed in paragraphs (2)(f), (g) and (h) are hereinafter collectively also referred to as the “ Resolutions ”.

 

(3) In rendering this opinion we have assumed:

 

  (a) the legal capacity of natural persons, the genuineness of all signatures on, and the authenticity and completeness of all documents submitted to us as copies of drafts, originals or execution copies and the exact conformity to the originals of all documents submitted to us as photocopies or copies transmitted by facsimile or by electronic means and that all documents were at their date, and have through the date hereof remained, accurate and in full force and effect without modification;

 

  (b) that the Issue Resolution II will be executed substantially in the form of the draft reviewed by us for the purpose of this opinion;

 

  (c) that the information set forth in the on-line extract from the Commercial Register referred to in paragraph (2)(d) above is complete and accurate on the date hereof and consistent with the information contained in the files kept by the Commercial Register with respect to the Company;

 

  (d) that the information set forth in the shareholders register of the Company is complete and accurate on the date hereof; and

 

  (e) that the Resolutions have not been annulled, revoked or rescinded and are in full force and effect as at the date hereof and that the executed Issue Resolution II has not been annulled, revoked or rescinded and is in full force and effect as at the date of the payment of the Primary Shares.

 

(4) We have not investigated the laws of any jurisdiction other than the Netherlands. This opinion is limited to matters of the laws of the Netherlands as they presently stand and as they are interpreted in case law of the courts of the Netherlands and in administrative rulings, in each case published in printed form as at the date of this opinion. We do not express any opinion with respect to any public international law or on the rules of or promulgated under any treaty or by any treaty organisation, other than any EC law provisions having direct effect. We express no opinion about matters of taxation.

 

(5) Based upon and subject to the foregoing and to the further qualifications, limitations and exceptions set forth herein, and subject to any factual matters not disclosed to us and inconsistent with the information revealed by the documents reviewed by us in the course of our examination referred to above we are as at the date hereof of the following opinion:

 

  (a) the Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing under the laws of the Netherlands as a public limited company ( naamloze vennootschap );

 

(3)


  (b) the Secondary Shares, and the Over-Allotment Shares are validly issued and fully paid and will be non-assessable; and

 

  (c) upon valid execution of the Issue Resolution II and upon payment in full of the Primary Shares in accordance with the provisions of the articles of association of the Company and the Underwriting Agreement, the Primary Shares are validly issued and fully paid and will be non-assessable.

 

(6) The term “non-assessable” as used in this opinion means that a holder of a share will not by reason of merely being such a holder, be subject to assessment or calls by the Company or its creditors for further payment on such share.

 

(7) As to matters of fact, we have relied upon oral and written representations and certificates or comparable documents of responsible officers and representatives of the Company.

 

(8) In this opinion, Netherlands legal concepts are expressed in English terms and not in their original Dutch terms. The concepts concerned may not be identical to the concepts described by the same English terms as they exist under the laws of other jurisdictions. In the event of a conflict or inconsistency, the relevant concept shall be deemed to refer only to the Netherlands legal concepts described by the English terms.

 

(9) We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the SEC as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to our firm under the heading “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Yours faithfully,

Stibbe N.V.

 

/s/ Hans Witteveen    /s/ Derk Lemstra
Hans Witteveen    Derk Lemstra

 

(4)

Exhibit 10.12

CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED

PORTIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT AND THE SCHEDULES HERETO MARKED BY

*** HAVE BEEN OMITTED PURSUANT TO A REQUEST FOR CONFIDENTIAL

TREATMENT FILED SEPARATELY WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

METAL SUPPLY AGREEMENT

Between

ENGINEERED PRODUCTS SWITZERLAND AG

(as Purchaser)

and

RIO TINTO ALCAN INC.

(as Supplier)

for the Supply of Sheet Ingot in Europe

Dated as of 4 January, 2011


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

1.      DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION      2   
2.      SALE OF METAL      13   
3.      FAILURE TO PURCHASE/FAILURE TO SUPPLY      32   
4.      FORCE MAJEURE      33   
5.      HARDSHIP      35   
6.      ASSIGNMENT      40   
7.      TERM AND TERMINATION      42   
8.      REMEDIES FOR BREACH      42   
9.      [INTENTIONALLY DELETED]      44   
10.      DISPUTE RESOLUTION      45   
11.      MISCELLANEOUS      47   

SCHEDULES

 

1      Additional Upcharges and Discounts
2      Alloy Adjustments
3      Financing Costs
4      Logistics Costs
5      Alloys and Applicable Quality Upcharges
6      Specifications
7      [Intentionally Deleted]
8      Credit Requirements
9      Dunkerque Improvement Process
10      Consignment Stock
11      Premium Calculation
12      Specifications for Isal Size Formats
13      Alloys Not Subject to Discontinuance without Purchaser Consent
14      Parent Company Guarantee

 

i


METAL SUPPLY AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT is entered into as of 4 January, 2011.

 

BETWEEN:      ENGINEERED PRODUCTS SWITZERLAND AG , a corporation organized under the laws of Switzerland (the “ Purchaser ”).
AND:      RIO TINTO ALCAN INC. , a corporation organized under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “ Supplier ”).

RECITALS:

WHEREAS , the Supplier wishes to supply and the Purchaser wishes to purchase Metal subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, commencing on 4 January, 2011 (the “ Effective Date ”).

NOW THEREFORE , in consideration of the mutual agreements, covenants and other provisions set forth in this Agreement, the Parties hereby agree as follows:

 

1. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION

 

1.1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement, the following terms and expressions and variations thereof shall, unless another meaning is clearly required in the context, have the meanings specified or referred to in this Section 1.1:

3104 Alloy ” means 3104 can body stock.

3104 Surplus Inventory ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.8(b).

Additional Upcharge ” means those additional costs to be charged to the Purchaser as part of the Contract Price as set forth in Schedule 1 .

Affected Party ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.1.

Affiliate ” of any Person means any other Person that, directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with such first Person as of the date on which or at any time during the period for when such determination is being made. For the purposes of this definition, “ control ” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or other interests, by contract or otherwise; and the terms “ controlling ” and “ controlled ” have meanings correlative to the foregoing.

Agreement ” means this Metal Supply Agreement, including the Preamble and all of the Schedules hereto, as amended from time to time in accordance with the requirements of Section 11.9.

 

2


Alloy Adjustment ” means the upward or downward adjustment, as the case may be, to the Contract Price to reflect fluctuations in the cost of certain alloy elements as per the Specifications and determined in accordance with the formula set forth in Schedule 2 .

Annual Base Quantity ” means:

 

  (a) in respect of the 2011 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal;

 

  (b) in respect of the 2012 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal;

 

  (c) in respect of the 2013 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal;

 

  (d) in respect of the 2014 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal plus, if elected by the Purchaser pursuant to Section 2.5(a), the Safety Net Volume for the 2014 Contract Year;

 

  (e) in respect of the 2015 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal plus, if elected by the Purchaser pursuant to Section 2.5(a), the Safety Net Volume for the 2015 Contract Year;

 

  (f) in respect of the 2016 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal;

 

  (g) in respect of the 2017 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal;

 

  (h) in respect of the 2018 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal;

 

  (i) in respect of the 2019 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal; and

 

  (j) in respect of the 2020 Contract Year, *** Tonnes of Metal.

Annual Total Forecast Amount ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4(a).

Applicable Law ” means any applicable law, rule or regulation of any Governmental Authority or any outstanding order, judgment, injunction, ruling or decree by any Governmental Authority.

Bill of Lading Date ” means the date indicated on the bill of lading representing Metal cargo to be shipped pursuant to this Agreement.

Business Concern ” means any corporation, company, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, unincorporated association or any other form of association.

Business Day ” means any day excluding (i) Saturday, Sunday and any other day which, in the City of Paris, France, Zurich, Switzerland or Frankfurt, Germany is a legal holiday, or (ii) a day on which banks are authorized by Applicable Law to close in the City of Paris, France, Zurich, Switzerland or Frankfurt, Germany.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
     Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 

3


CIF ” and “ CIP ” mean, to the extent not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, CIF and CIP as defined in Incoterms 2000.

Commercially Reasonable Endeavours ” means the endeavours that a reasonable and prudent Person desirous of achieving a business result would use in similar circumstances to ensure that such result is achieved as expeditiously as possible in the context of commercial relations of the type contemplated in this Agreement, provided, however, that an obligation to use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours does not require the Person subject to that obligation to assume any material obligations or pay any material amounts to a Third Party.

Confidential Information ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.14(a).

Confirmed Order ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.7(g).

Consent ” means any approval, consent, ratification, waiver or other authorization.

Contract Price ” means, for each Tonne of Metal sold and purchased hereunder in any calendar month, the price per Tonne of Metal determined in accordance with the following formula:

 

  (a) the LME Aluminium Price;

 

  (b) plus the EC Duty Paid Premium;

 

  (c) plus the Standard Sheet Ingot Premium (as the case may be and, for the avoidance of doubt, not with respect to any Safety Net Volume);

 

  (d) plus the Safety Net Volume Premium (as the case may be and, for the avoidance of doubt, only with respect to any Safety Net Volume);

 

  (e) plus the Quality Upcharge, as the case may be;

 

  (f) plus or minus the Alloy Adjustment, as the case may be;

 

  (g) plus the Additional Upcharge, as the case may be;

 

  (h) plus the Product under Development Upcharge, as the case may be;

 

  (i) plus the Trial Product Upcharge, as the case may be;

 

  (j) plus the New Tooling Upcharge, as the case may be;

 

  (k) plus the Logistics Cost, as the case may be;

 

  (l) plus the Financing Cost, as the case may be;

 

  (m) less any applicable discounts (including the Unsawn Discount and those set forth in Section 3 of Schedule 1 ).

 

4


Contract Year ” means each of the following periods during the Term:

 

  (a) the period commencing on January 1, 2011 and ending on December 31, 2011 (the “ 2011 Contract Year ”);

 

  (b) the period commencing on January 1, 2012 and ending on December 31, 2012 (the “ 2012 Contract Year ”);

 

  (c) the period commencing on January 1, 2013 and ending on December 31, 2013 (the “ 2013 Contract Year ”);

 

  (d) the period commencing on January 1, 2014 and ending on December 31, 2014 (the “ 2014 Contract Year ”);

 

  (e) the period commencing on January 1, 2015 and ending on December 31, 2015 (the “ 2015 Contract Year ”);

 

  (f) the period commencing on January 1, 2016 and ending on December 31, 2016 (the “ 2016 Contract Year ”);

 

  (g) the period commencing on January 1, 2017 and ending on December 31, 2017 (the “ 2017 Contract Year ”);

 

  (h) the period commencing on January 1, 2018 and ending on December 31, 2018 (the “ 2018 Contract Year ”);

 

  (i) the period commencing on January 1, 2019 and ending on December 31, 2019 (the “ 2019 Contract Year ”); and

 

  (j) the period commencing on January 1, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2020 (the “ 2020 Contract Year ”).

Default Interest Rate ” means the annual rate equal to the greater of (i) *** percent (***%) and (ii) the one month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus *** basis points.

Defaulting Party ” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.2.

Definitive Annual Quantity ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.7(b).

Delivery Site ” means:

 

  (a) the facilities of the Purchaser Group located at Singen, Germany (the “ Singen Facility ”);

 

  (b) the facilities of the Purchaser Group located at Neuf Brisach, France (the “ Neuf Brisach Facility ”);

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

5


  (c) the facilities of the Purchaser Group located at Issoire, France (the “ Issoire Facility ”); and

 

  (d) such other facilities of the Purchaser Group as may be notified by the Purchaser to the Supplier on an exceptional basis, provided that the Purchaser shall bear any incremental freight charges incurred by the Supplier as a result of such designation.

Disclosing Party ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.15.

Dispute ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.1.

Disputed Amount ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.12(e).

Dollars ” or “ $ ” means the lawful currency of the United States of America.

EC Duty Paid Premium ” means for the calendar month of shipment, the arithmetic average of the EC Duty Paid Premium (cash average bid/ask) for primary high grade aluminium, as published by the Metal Bulletin during the calendar month preceding the calendar month of shipment or as otherwise determined pursuant to Section 2.9(c).

Effective Date ” has the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

Encumbrance ” means any claim, charge, mortgage, lien, option, equity, power of sale, hypothecation, usufruct, retention of title, right of pre-emption, right of first refusal or other third party rights or security interest of any kind or any agreement, arrangement or obligation to create any of the foregoing.

Escalation Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.2.

Euros ” or “ ” means the lawful currency of the member states of the European Union that adopt the single currency in accordance with the Treaty Establishing the European Community, as amended by the Treaty on European Union.

Event of Default ” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.2.

Financing Cost ” means the costs to be charged to the Purchaser as part of the Contract Price for Metal shipped to the Neuf Brisach Facility or the Issoire Facility and calculated in accordance with the formula set forth in Schedule 3 .

Force Majeure ” has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2.

Governmental Authority ” means any court, arbitration panel, governmental or regulatory authority, agency, stock exchange, commission or body.

Gross Up Payment ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.12(a)(v).

Group ” means the Supplier Group or the Purchaser Group, as the context requires.

 

6


Hardship Conditions ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.1(a).

Hardship Period ” means the period commencing on the first day of the month in which the Purchaser provides written notice to the Supplier pursuant to Section 5.1 that it wishes to reduce the quantity of Metal purchased by it under this Agreement due to the existence of Hardship Conditions, and ending on the date on which the Purchaser provides written notice to the Supplier pursuant to Section 5.10 that such Hardship Conditions have ceased.

ICC ” means the International Chamber of Commerce.

Incoterms 2000 ” means the set of international rules updated in the year 2000 for the interpretation of the most commonly used trade terms for foreign trade, as published by the ICC and as amended from time to time.

Indemnifiable Tax ” means any withholding tax imposed on any payment required to be made by the Purchaser to the Supplier under this Agreement by any taxing or governmental authority, other than a taxing or governmental authority of Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, the United States, the Czech Republic or any political subdivision of any of them, provided, however, that an Indemnifiable Tax shall not include (i) any withholding tax that would not have been imposed in respect of a payment under this Agreement but for a present or former connection (other than solely as a consequence of this Agreement) between the jurisdiction of the governmental or taxation authority imposing such tax and the Supplier (including, without limitation, a connection arising from the Supplier having had a permanent establishment or fixed place of business in such jurisdiction), (ii) any withholding tax that is attributable to the failure or inability of the Supplier to comply with or perform any of its obligation under Section 11.12(b), and (iii) (for the avoidance of doubt) any tax imposed on or calculated by reference to the net income, profits or gains of the Supplier by the jurisdiction under the laws of which the Supplier is incorporated or organised, or the jurisdiction in which it is treated as resident for tax purposes.

Information ” means any information, whether or not patentable or copyrightable, in written, oral, electronic or other tangible or intangible forms, stored in any medium, including studies, reports, test procedures, research, records, books, contracts, instruments, surveys, discoveries, ideas, concepts, Know-how, techniques, manufacturing techniques, manufacturing variables, designs, specifications, drawings, blueprints, diagrams, models, prototypes, samples, products, product plans, flow charts, data, computer data, disks, diskettes, tapes, computer programs or other software, marketing plans, customer information, customer services, supplier information, communications by or to attorneys (including attorney-client privileged communications), memos and other materials prepared by attorneys or under their direction (including attorney work product), and other technical, financial, employee or business information or data.

 

7


Know-how ” means confidential and proprietary industrial and commercial information and techniques in any form, including drawings, formulae, test results, reports, project reports and testing procedures, instruction and training manuals, tables of operating conditions, market forecasts, lists and particulars of customers and suppliers.

Laterrière Facility ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.3(b).

LCIA ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.4(a).

LCIA Rules ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.4(a).

LME ” means the London Metal Exchange.

LME Aluminium Price ” means, for the calendar month of shipment, the arithmetic average of the LME cash settlement seller’s and buyer’s prices for primary high grade aluminium plus the applicable contango/backwardation for the calendar month of shipment for the due date on the 3rd Wednesday of the month of shipment calculated each day, as published by the LME internet site at www.lme.co.uk, on each day during the calendar month preceding the calendar month of shipment or as otherwise determined pursuant to Section 2.9(b).

Logistics Costs ” means those logistics-related costs charged to the Purchaser as part of the Contract Price as set forth in Schedule 4 .

M + 1 Month ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.7(d).

M + 2 Month ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.7(d).

M + 3 Month ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.7(d).

Mediation Notice ” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.3(a).

Metal ” means aluminium and aluminium alloy in the form of sheet ingot (other than Trial Products), consisting of the alloys specifically identified in Schedule 5 and having the specifications set forth in Schedule 6 .

Monthly Base Quantity ” means, in respect of each calendar month during the Term of this Agreement, the quantity of Metal to be sold and purchased hereunder during such calendar month, which shall be equal to the sum of the following:

 

  (a) where the regular shipment pattern between a Supplier Facility and a Delivery Site consists of multiple shipments per week, the annual quantity of Metal to be purchased by that Delivery Site as forecasted in accordance with Section 2.7(c) and revised in accordance with Section 2.7(f), multiplied by the number of days in that calendar month and divided by the number of days in the Contract Year; and

 

8


  (b) where the regular shipment pattern between a Supplier Facility and a Delivery Site consists of a single shipment per week, the annual quantity of Metal to be purchased by that Delivery Site as forecasted in accordance with Section 2.7(c) and revised in accordance with Section 2.7(f), multiplied by the number of shipments in that calendar month determined based on the normally applied shipment schedule of the Supplier Facility supplying Metal to that Delivery Site and divided by 52 or 53, whichever is the total number of shipments in the regular shipment schedule of the Supplier Facility in the relevant Contract Year,

provided that the Monthly Base Quantity for any calendar month in which the Effective Date occurs shall be pro rated for the period from the Effective Date until the end of such calendar month; and provided further, for the avoidance of doubt, that the aggregate sum of the Monthly Base Quantities for any Contract Year shall be equal to the Definitive Annual Quantity for such Contract Year.

New Tooling ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4(c).

New Tooling Upcharge ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.4(c).

“***” has the meaning set forth in Section 3(b).

“***” has the meaning set forth in Section 3(a).

Ordinary Course of Business ” means any action taken by a Person that is in the ordinary course of the normal, day-to-day operations of such Person.

OTS Percentage ” has the meaning set forth in Schedule 10 .

Parent Company Guarantee ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.18(a).

Party ” means each of the Purchaser and the Supplier as a party to this Agreement and “ Parties ” means both of them.

Person ” means any individual, Business Concern or Governmental Authority.

PPM Level ” has the meaning set forth in Schedule 6 .

Product Group ” means such grouping of alloys, appropriate for planning and scheduling purposes, as may be mutually agreed upon by the Parties.

Product under Development ” means any product (other than Trial Products):

 

  (a) that is identified in advance by the Purchaser and agreed to by the Supplier pursuant to Section 2.4(a) as being under development;

 

  (b) for which the applicable Specifications have been developed and approved by the Purchaser and the Supplier; and

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (c) for which the total quantities thereof supplied to the Purchaser under this Agreement have not attained 2000 Tonnes (in the case of a new alloy not listed on Schedule 6 ) or 500 Tonnes (in the case of a new format).

Product under Development Upcharge ” means an upcharge to be charged to the Purchaser as part of the Contract Price in the amount of *** Euros per Tonne of Metal which constitutes Products under Development.

Purchaser ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble to this Agreement.

Purchaser Group ” means the Purchaser and its Affiliates from time to time.

Qualifying Change of Control ” has the meaning set forth in Part III of Schedule 8 .

Quality Upcharge ” means those quality-related premiums to be charged to the Purchaser as part of the Contract Price as set forth in Schedule 5 .

Reduced Supply ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.3(f).

Relevant 12-Month Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.3.

Relevant Contract Year ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.2.

Relevant Hardship Period ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.3.

Relevant Purchaser Entity ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.1(a)(ii).

Relevant Purchaser Facility ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.1(a)(ii).

Remedial Plan ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.11(a).

Representatives ” means, with respect to any Person, any of such Person’s Affiliates and its and their directors, officers, employees, agents, consultants, advisors, accountants and attorneys.

Requesting Party ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.15.

RTA Supply Amount ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.8.

Safety Net Volume ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.5(a).

Safety Net Volume Premium ” means:

 

  (a) the premium in an amount equal to *** Euros per Tonne of unsawn Metal to be charged to the Purchaser as part of the Contract Price for the first *** Tonnes of unsawn Metal comprising the Safety Net Volume; and

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (b) thereafter, the premium in an amount equal to *** Euros per Tonne of unsawn Metal to be charged to the Purchaser as part of the Contract Price for Metal comprising the Safety Net Volume.

Shipment Schedule ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.7(e).

Specifications ” means specifications for Metal as set out in Schedule 6 , which may be amended from time to time by mutual agreement of the Parties (including to set out the Specifications applicable to each Product under Development).

Standard Sheet Ingot Premium ” means the premium to be charged to the Purchaser for unsawn Metal in the amount of *** Euros per Tonne of Metal in the 2011 through 2017 Contract Years, *** Euros per Tonne of Metal in the 2018 Contract Year, *** Euros per Tonne of Metal in the 2019 Contract Year, and *** Euros per Tonne of Metal in the 2020 Contract Year, in each case with the exception of the Safety Net Volume, if any, to which the Safety Net Volume Premium shall apply.

Supplier ” has the meaning set forth in the Preamble to this Agreement.

Supplier Facilities ” means:

 

  (a) the facilities of the Supplier located at Hafnarfjordur, Iceland (the “ Isal Facility ”);

 

  (b) the facilities of the Supplier located at Dunkerque, France (the “ Dunkerque Facility ”);

 

  (c) the facilities of the Supplier located at Lynemouth, United Kingdom (the “ Lynemouth Facility ”); and

 

  (d) such other facilities of the Supplier as may be notified by the Supplier to the Purchaser and which are qualified to supply Metal in accordance with Section 2.3(a).

Supplier Group ” means Supplier and each of its Affiliates from time to time, including Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited and each of their respective Affiliates from time to time.

Sustained OTS Failure ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.13(c).

Target OTS Percentage ” has the meaning set forth in Schedule 10 .

Term ” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.1.

Terminating Party ” has the meaning set forth in Section 8.2.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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Third Party ” means a Person that is not a Party to this Agreement, other than a member of the Supplier Group or a member of the Purchaser Group.

Tonne ” or “ t ” means 1,000 kilograms.

Total Hardship Consumption Amount ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.8.

Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4(b).

Trial Product ” means any product:

 

  (a) that is identified in advance by the Purchaser and agreed to by the Supplier pursuant to Section 2.4(b) as being the subject of research and development or trials; and

 

  (b) for which the specifications shall be agreed between the Purchaser and the Supplier.

Trial Product Upcharge ” means an upcharge to be charged to the Purchaser as part of the Contract Price in the amount of *** Euros per Tonne of Metal which constitutes Trial Products.

Unsawn Discount ” means a discount of *** Euros per Tonne of Metal.

VAT Taxes ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.12(g).

Weighted Average OTS Percentage ” has the meaning set forth in Schedule 10 .

Withheld Amount ” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.12(a).

 

1.2 Currency

All currency references to LME Metal-related components herein are to Dollars unless otherwise specified. All other references to currency herein are to Euros unless otherwise specified. All currency conversions from Dollars to Euros and vice versa required for purposes of calculating the applicable LME Aluminium Price shall be made utilizing the monthly average of the daily spot Euro/Dollar exchange rate of the European Central Bank during the calendar month preceding the calendar month of shipment calculated each day, adjusted by the “report/deport” spread to the LME prompt date of the month of shipment plus two (2) Business Days.

 

1.3 Vienna Convention

The Parties agree that the terms of the United Nations Convention (Vienna Convention) on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1980) shall not apply to this Agreement or the obligations of the Parties hereunder.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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1.4 Schedules

The Schedules to this Agreement form an integral part of this Agreement and are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

 

2. SALE OF METAL

 

2.1 Supply and Sale by the Supplier

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and throughout the Term of this Agreement, the Supplier shall supply and sell to the Purchaser in each Contract Year the quantity of Metal determined in accordance with the terms of Sections 2.6 and 2.7.

 

2.2 Purchase by the Purchaser

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and throughout the Term of this Agreement, the Purchaser shall purchase and take delivery from the Supplier in each Contract Year the quantity of Metal determined in accordance with the terms of Sections 2.6 and 2.7.

 

2.3 Supplier Facilities and Qualification of Facilities

 

  (a) The Supplier shall supply Metal from any of the Supplier Facilities, at the option of the Supplier, provided the Supplier Facility in question is qualified to supply Metal to the applicable Delivery Site. The Supplier may also supply Metal from such other facilities as may be qualified for supply of Metal to the Delivery Sites in accordance with the terms hereof. Subject to Section 2.3(b), if the Supplier wishes at any time to supply Metal hereunder to the Purchaser from a facility other than a Supplier Facility and likewise, if the Purchaser wishes to receive delivery of Metal hereunder at a Delivery Site from a facility other than a Supplier Facility, the Supplier or the Purchaser, as the case may be, shall give notice of such desire to the other Party and thereafter the Parties shall enter into good faith negotiations with a view to agreeing on the appropriate qualification procedures and conditions to be met in order to qualify such facility (including the appropriate reimbursement of the Purchaser Group’s and the Purchaser Group’s customers’ costs in connection with such qualification) to supply Metal meeting the Specifications hereunder. Any such Supplier facility, once such qualification procedures and conditions have been agreed and the relevant facility has been qualified as provided above, shall become a “Supplier Facility” for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

  (b)

The Supplier and the Purchaser hereby acknowledge and agree that the facility of the Supplier located at Laterrière, Quebec (the “ Laterrière Facility ”) is qualified to supply 3104 Alloy to the Delivery Sites pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. The Supplier shall supply 3104 Alloy from the Laterrière Facility subject to the terms of this Agreement to the extent required in order

 

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  for it to satisfy its supply obligations under this Agreement during any period in which: (x) the Lynemouth Facility has been permanently shut down and (y) the Purchaser has notified the Supplier under Section 2.11 that the Dunkerque Facility is no longer qualified to supply 3104 Alloy to it under this Agreement, provided that:

 

  (i) notwithstanding the above, the Supplier shall not be obligated to supply 3104 Alloy to the Purchaser pursuant to this Section 2.3(b):

 

  (w) in excess of an aggregate quantity of *** Tonnes per month (including any quantities of 3104 Alloy purchased by the Purchaser pursuant to Section 2.8(a));

 

  (x) in any of the 2018 Contract Year, the 2019 Contract Year or the 2020 Contract Year;

 

  (y) if (and to the extent that), at the time the Purchaser requests the supply of 3104 Alloy under this Section 2.3(b), the Supplier is contractually obligated to supply volumes to any other person, in which case the Supplier shall consider in good faith allocating available supply of 3104 Alloy from the Laterrière Facility to the Purchaser (taking into account contractual obligations to other persons and the amount of 3104 Alloy required to be supplied to the Purchaser in order for the Supplier to comply with its supply obligations under this Agreement); or

 

  (z) if (and to the extent that) at the time the Purchaser requests the supply of 3104 Alloy under this Section 2.3(b) the Supplier has supplied quantities of 3104 Alloy to the Purchaser pursuant to Section 2.8(b); and

 

  (ii) the Purchaser shall, at least two (2) months prior to the month in which the Purchaser requests 3104 Alloy to be shipped to it, provide to the Supplier a draft shipment schedule specifying the date ranges for shipment and quantities of 3104 Alloy to be shipped in each week in respect of the relevant calendar month of shipment, which shipment dates and quantities of 3104 Alloy shall be subject to written acceptance by the Supplier, which acceptance may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.

Any 3104 Alloy supplied under this Section 2.3(b) shall be supplied on the terms (including the Contract Price) and conditions of this Agreement unless otherwise specified in this Section 2.3(b), at the Supplier’s cost (other than any duties imposed or levied on any such Metal supplied under this Section 2.3(b), which shall be paid by the Purchaser).

 

  (c) The Supplier hereby confirms that:

 

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (i) it shall implement improvement processes in connection with the Dunkerque Facility which are consistent with the principles set out in Schedule 9 (subject to the terms of Schedule 9 ) within a reasonable period of time. If the Supplier does not implement such improvement processes within a reasonable timeframe, the Parties shall meet within 20 Business Days of notice in writing from the Purchaser to the Supplier, to consider and discuss in good faith appropriate steps to be undertaken by the Supplier within a reasonable period of time to implement improvement processes which are consistent with the principles set out in Schedule 9 , subject to the terms of Schedule 9 ;

 

  (ii) if the Supplier provides the notice described in Section 2.3(f), the Supplier shall ensure that the Dunkerque Facility is qualified to supply the *** highest size formats of Metal supplied by the Supplier to the Purchaser at the Singen Facility from the Isal Facility as at the date of this Agreement, in accordance with the widths set out in Schedule 12 , by such date which is the later of: (x) 21 months after the date on which the Singen Facility is able to accept Metal of ***mm thickness as notified by the Purchaser to the Supplier pursuant to Section 2.3(d)(ii); and (y) the last date on which any quantity of Metal is supplied by the Supplier to the Purchaser from the Isal Facility under this Agreement. The Parties will use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to agree on the order in which the Dunkerque Facility will be qualified to supply the *** relevant size formats, and the timeframes by which the Dunkerque Facility shall be qualified to supply each size format. If the Parties fail to agree on the order and timeframe for supply of the *** size formats and this delays the qualification of the Dunkerque Facility for such size formats, the Supplier shall not be held to be in breach of this Section 2.3(c)(ii), provided that it has sought to agree with the Purchaser in good faith the order and timeframe for such qualifications; and

 

  (iii)

the Supplier shall ensure that, if so requested by the Purchaser, the Dunkerque Facility is qualified within a reasonable period to supply the other *** size formats of Metal which are supplied by the Supplier to the Purchaser at the Singen Facility from the Isal Facility as at the date of this Agreement, in accordance with the widths set out in Schedule 12 , provided that the Purchaser shall bear all tooling costs incurred by the Supplier which are directly related to and made necessary by the qualification of the Dunkerque Facility for such *** size formats upon presentation of reasonably detailed documentation and information in order to verify such costs. The Supplier shall, promptly after receipt of the Purchaser’s request to have the Dunkerque Facility so qualified, provide to

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

15


  the Purchaser its plans for the qualifications described in this Section 2.3(c)(iii) for its review and consider in good faith any comments of the Purchaser.

 

  (d) The Purchaser hereby agrees to:

 

  (i) collaborate with the Supplier with respect to any additional qualification or improvement under Section 2.3(c) and to not unreasonably prevent or delay such qualification or improvement;

 

  (ii) notify the Supplier three months prior to the date on which it expects in good faith that the Singen Facility will be able to accept Metal of ***mm thickness;

 

  (iii) notify the Supplier in good faith promptly after the date on which the Singen Facility is able to accept Metal of ***mm thickness; and

 

  (iv) procure that staff at the Singen Facility reasonably cooperate with the Supplier in respect of the qualification processes described in Sections 2.3(c)(ii) and (iii).

 

  (e) Subject to Section 2.3(f), in the event that the Supplier provides written notice to the Purchaser indicating that it desires to temporarily or permanently shut down, in whole or in part, one or more of the Supplier Facilities, the Purchaser agrees to cooperate with the Supplier with respect to the qualification of alternate Supplier facilities subject to the Parties agreeing the appropriate reimbursement of the Purchaser Group’s and the Purchaser Group’s customers’ costs in connection with such qualification, and to use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to agree on the supply of Metal from an alternate Supplier facility; provided that notwithstanding the foregoing, the Supplier shall not be relieved of any obligations under this Agreement to supply Metal in connection with any such shut down. The Supplier shall be required to provide advance written notice to the Purchaser of any shut down of a Supplier Facility by:

 

  (i) in respect of the Lynemouth Facility, the earlier of: (x) 6 months prior to any such shut down, and (y) the date on which the Supplier provides written notice of the decision to shut down to a Third Party in connection with its supply obligations pursuant to a supply agreement with that Third Party or to any Governmental Authority; and

 

  (ii) in respect of any other Supplier Facility, 18 months prior to any such shut down,

together with an estimate (in good faith) of the date on which production of Metal from such Supplier Facility will cease.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (f) The Purchaser acknowledges that during the 2011 Contract Year the Supplier shall not be required to supply in excess of *** Tonnes of Metal from the Isal Facility if such facility is converted to produce extrusion ingot, and that the Supplier may notify the Purchaser at any time that:

 

  (i) during the 2012 Contract Year, the Supplier shall not supply in excess of *** Tonnes of Metal from the Isal Facility;

 

  (ii) during the 2013 Contract Year, the Supplier shall not supply in excess of *** Tonnes of Metal from the Isal Facility. The last *** Tonnes of such maximum volume of *** Tonnes shall be unsawn, provided that the Contract Price for any unsawn Metal in excess of *** Tonnes in the 2013 Contract Year shall be subject to the Unsawn Discount (and, for the avoidance of doubt, the Sawing Upcharge shall not apply to any unsawn Metal);

 

  (iii) during the 2014 Contract Year, the Supplier shall not supply in excess of *** Tonnes of Metal from the Isal Facility, all of which shall be unsawn; and

 

  (iv) during the 2015 Contract Year and thereafter, the Supplier shall supply *** Tonnes of Metal from the Isal Facility,

(the aggregate volume of such reduced supply, the “ Reduced Supply ”). The Purchaser agrees that such reduction in supply shall not constitute a temporary or permanent shut down of a Facility to which Section 2.3(e) applies.

 

2.4 Products Under Development; Trial Products

 

  (a) The Purchaser may request, by notice, that the Supplier supply certain Products under Development to the Purchaser. Thereafter, the Parties shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to agree on the terms and conditions of such supply, including the Specifications for such Products under Development (which shall be proposed by the Purchaser and, provided that they have been accepted by the Supplier in writing, shall be reflected in an amendment to Schedule 6 ), it being acknowledged and agreed by the Parties that the Supplier shall have no obligation to supply Products under Development under this Agreement (including if the Purchaser’s proposals for the specifications to apply to such products are unacceptable to the Supplier).

 

  (b)

The Purchaser may request, by notice, that the Supplier supply certain Trial Products to the Purchaser. Thereafter, the Parties shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to agree on the terms and conditions of such supply, including the proposed specifications for such Trial Products, it being acknowledged and agreed by the Parties that the Supplier shall have no obligation to supply Trial Products under this Agreement (including if the Purchaser’s proposals for the specifications to apply to such products are unacceptable to the Supplier). If, following any qualification process for any

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

17


  Trial Products, the Parties so agree in writing, such Trial Products will be deemed to be Products under Development for the purposes of this Agreement and the terms of Section 2.4(a) shall apply to such product.

 

  (c) The Supplier shall provide its good faith estimate of the costs of any new moulds and tooling reasonably required to be purchased by the Supplier or which may be requested by the Purchaser for the purposes of producing such Products under Development and Trial Products (the “ New Tooling ”), as well as reasonably detailed documentation and information in order to verify such tooling costs. The Supplier shall charge such costs to the Purchaser initially in the form of a monthly upcharge, to be applied for each Tonne of Metal produced using such New Tooling and calculated based on the costs of such New Tooling divided by the total number of Tonnes of Metal produced using such New Tooling and reasonably expected to be purchased by the Purchaser in the initial 12-month period (a “ New Tooling Upcharge ”); provided that if, at the end of the 12-month period following the first application of such New Tooling Upcharge, the aggregate amount of such New Tooling Upcharge paid by the Purchaser:

 

  (x) is greater than the amount of costs actually incurred by the Supplier for such New Tooling, then the Supplier shall promptly refund to the Purchaser the amount of any New Tooling Upcharge paid by the Purchaser in excess of such actual costs; and

 

  (y) is less than the amount of costs actually incurred by the Supplier for such New Tooling, then the Purchaser shall promptly pay the difference to the Supplier.

Any such New Tooling shall be owned by the Supplier but shall be used by the Supplier solely for the production of Metal for the Purchaser, unless the Purchaser gives the Supplier its prior written consent for the use by the Supplier of New Tooling to produce Metal for Persons other than members of the Purchaser Group. As a condition to providing its consent, the Purchaser may request that the Supplier pay the Purchaser for such portion of the costs of New Tooling as may be agreed between the Supplier and the Purchaser at that time. If the Supplier is required to purchase any replacement New Tooling, the Supplier shall do so at its cost, but shall be entitled to use such replacement New Tooling to produce Products under Development, Trial Products and metal for Persons other than members of the Purchaser Group.

 

  (d) To the extent that any Products under Development (but, for the avoidance of doubt, excluding any Trial Products) are sold and purchased pursuant to the terms of this Section 2.4, they shall satisfy the obligations of the Parties in terms of the quantity of Metal to be sold and purchased in accordance with the terms of Sections 2.6 and 2.7.

 

18


  (e) In the event that the Purchaser orders any metal in connection with a Product under Development or Trial Product, the Purchaser shall indicate to the Supplier whether the Specifications for such metal (or, in the case of Trial Products, the draft specifications for such metal) are confidential or proprietary in nature. If the Purchaser so identifies the metal, the Supplier will not disclose to any other Person the Specifications for such metal (or, in the case of Trial Products, the draft specifications for such metal).

 

  (f) Products under Development and Trial Products shall be subject to the terms and conditions applicable to the supply and purchase of Metal under this Agreement (other than as agreed under Section 2.4(a)), provided that the Purchaser shall not be entitled to make any claim against the Supplier, whether for damages or otherwise, in connection with a breach of any terms and conditions of this Agreement applying to Trial Products.

 

2.5 Safety Net Volume

 

  (a) If the Supplier provides the notice referred to in Section 2.3(f), the Purchaser shall have the option to require that the Supplier supply the Purchaser with additional volume of:

 

  (i) *** Tonnes of Metal (in the formats described in Section 2.3(c)(ii) only) for the 2014 Contract Year, provided that the Purchaser provides written notice to the Supplier of such request no later than June 30, 2012; and

 

  (ii) if the Purchaser has purchased the Metal (in the formats described in Section 2.3(c)(ii) only) referred to in Section 2.5(a)(i), *** Tonnes of Metal for the 2015 Contract Year, provided that the Purchaser provides written notice to the Supplier of such request no later than June 30, 2013

(the “ Safety Net Volume ”) for use in the Singen Facility.

 

  (b) The price for the Safety Net Volume shall be calculated in accordance with the Contract Price, with the exception of the Standard Sheet Ingot Premium which shall be replaced by the Safety Net Volume Premium. All other terms of this Agreement applicable to the supply and purchase of Metal hereunder shall apply to the supply and purchase of Safety Net Volumes, and the quantity of the Safety Net Volume elected pursuant to Section 2.5(a) shall be deemed to be part of Annual Base Quantity and requested to be purchased by the Purchaser in accordance with Section 2.6 in the 2014 and 2015 Contract Years.

 

2.6 Metal Purchase Obligations

 

  (a) The quantity of Metal to be sold and purchased in each Contract Year of the Term shall not exceed ***% or be less than ***% of the Annual Base Quantity for such Contract Year.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (b) The quantity of Metal to be sold and purchased in each calendar month of the Term shall not exceed ***% or be less than ***% of the Monthly Base Quantity in respect of such calendar month, except for (i) the quantity of Metal to be sold and purchased hereunder in the month of December of a given Contract Year, which shall not exceed ***% or be less than ***% of the Monthly Base Quantity in respect of such calendar month (provided that the Supplier may supply to a Third Party broker any Metal in excess of the quantity of Metal set out in any Confirmed Orders for the month of December which is not elected to be purchased by the Purchaser in the month of December, if the Supplier provides details of such sale to the Purchaser, and the Supplier shall endeavour to facilitate the purchase of such Metal by the Purchaser from such broker for total costs and expenses (including any broker fees or commissions) equal to the Contract Price applicable to such Metal), and (ii) the quantity of Metal to be sold and purchased hereunder in one other month which is not consecutive with the month of December (other than December) of a given Contract Year, which shall not exceed ***% or be less than ***% of the Monthly Base Quantity in respect of such calendar month.

 

  (c) Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Purchaser and the Supplier shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to arrange for shipment of Metal during each Contract Year to be approximately evenly spread (i) on a monthly basis throughout such Contract Year, and (ii) on a weekly basis throughout each calendar month of such Contract Year.

 

2.7 Scheduling of Quantities

Throughout the Term of this Agreement, the Purchaser shall notify the Supplier of the following, it being understood and agreed that each of the scheduling and quantity requirements set forth in this Section 2.7 shall at all times remain subject to the requirements set forth in Section 2.6:

 

  (a)

By the fifteenth (15 th ) day of July of each Contract Year (and if such day is not a Business Day, on the Business Day immediately preceding such 15 th day), the Purchaser’s forecast representing its best estimate of the quantity of Metal that it wishes to purchase during the following Contract Year for all of the Delivery Sites;

 

  (b)

On or prior to the first (1 st ) day of October of each Contract Year (and if such day is not a Business Day, on the Business Day immediately preceding such 1 st day), (i) the definitive quantity of Metal that the Purchaser will purchase for each month of the following Contract Year for all Delivery Sites (the aggregate amount for such months, the “ Definitive Annual Quantity ”) and (ii) the Purchaser’s forecast representing its best estimate of the quantity of Metal that it wishes to purchase for each month of the following Contract Year for each Delivery Site;

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (c)

On or prior to the first (1 st ) day of November of each Contract Year (and if such day is not a Business Day, on the Business Day immediately preceding such 1 st day), the Purchaser’s forecast representing its best estimate of the allocation of the Definitive Annual Quantity on a monthly basis for the following Contract Year, that is the quantity of Metal that it wishes to purchase in each month of the following Contract Year for each Delivery Site and for each Product Group, including its best estimate of the allocation of alloys between the Delivery Sites, which forecast shall be subject to review and written acceptance by the Supplier, which acceptance shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned;

 

  (d)

By the 15 th day of each calendar month (and if such day is not a Business Day, on the Business Day immediately preceding such 15 th day), the definitive quantity of Metal that the Purchaser will purchase during the following calendar month (the “ M + 1 Month ”) for each Delivery Site and a forecast representing its best estimate of the quantity of Metal that it wishes to purchase during the first month following the M + 1 Month (the “ M + 2 Month ”) for each Delivery Site and during the second month following the M + 1 Month (the “ M + 3 Month ”) for all Delivery Sites, such definitive quantity and forecast shall be subject to review and written acceptance by the Supplier, which acceptance may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, it being understood and agreed that the quantity of Metal to be purchased by the Purchaser,

 

  (i) for the M + 1 Month, shall not exceed or be less than the previous forecast for the M + 2 Month by more than ***% in the case of the Issoire Facility and ***% for each other Delivery Site, and ***% for all Delivery Sites in the aggregate;

 

  (ii) for the M + 2 Month, shall not exceed or be less than the previous forecast for the M + 3 Month by more than ***% for all Delivery Sites in the aggregate; and

 

  (iii) for the M + 3 Month, shall not exceed or be less than the previous forecast for such month by more than ***% for all Delivery Sites in the aggregate;

 

  (e)

By the 15 th day of each calendar month (and if such day is not a Business Day, on the Business Day immediately preceding such 15 th day), a draft shipment schedule specifying the date ranges for shipment and quantities of Metal (by Product Group and by Delivery Site) to be shipped in each week in respect of the following calendar month (taking into account the applicable provisions of this Agreement regarding quantities and other matters), which shipment date ranges and quantities of Metal shall be subject to written acceptance by the Supplier, which acceptance may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed (any such schedule delivered by the Purchaser and accepted by the

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  Supplier or agreed upon by the Parties is hereinafter referred to as the “ Shipment Schedule ”);

 

  (f) On or prior to the last day of each of the first three quarters of each Contract Year (and if such day is not a Business Day, on the Business Day immediately preceding such last day), a revised and updated version of the forecast to be provided pursuant to Section 2.7(c), representing its best estimate of the quantity of Metal that it wishes to purchase in each month of the following three quarters for each Delivery Site and for each Product Group, which revised forecast shall be subject to review and written acceptance by the Supplier, which acceptance may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed;

 

  (g) By the first day of each week of each Contract Year, or as otherwise agreed by the Parties, an order for the definitive quantity of Metal to be shipped in the week commencing two weeks after such date, by alloy, by format, by Supplier Facility and by Delivery Site, which order shall be subject to review and written acceptance by the Supplier, which acceptance may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed and shall be deemed given if the Supplier does not object within two Business Days of receiving the Purchaser’s order (such accepted order hereinafter referred to as a “ Confirmed Order ”); and

 

  (h) The Supplier shall supply the quantities of Metal (including with respect to particular alloys, formats, Supplier Facilities and Delivery Sites) in accordance with the details set forth in each Confirmed Order, provided that such Confirmed Order complies with the applicable requirements of Section 2.6 and 2.7. The initial forecasts and Confirmed Order for purposes of Section 2.6 and 2.7 for the period immediately following the Effective Date shall be provided by the Purchaser to the Supplier prior to the Effective Date and agreed by the Parties acting reasonably consistent with the terms of this Agreement.

 

2.8 Additional Quantities of Metal; 3104 Surplus Inventory

 

  (a)

Subject to the availability of additional quantities of Metal, and except to the extent otherwise provided for herein (including with respect to Safety Net Volumes), either Party may at any time, by notice, advise the other Party of its desire to enter into negotiations in order to increase the quantity of Metal to be supplied and purchased hereunder. The Parties agree to negotiate in good faith with a view to reaching a definitive agreement with respect to such increase in supply and purchase of Metal but neither Party shall be obligated to enter into any such agreement. Subject to the terms of Section 2.8(b) which shall apply with respect to 3104 Surplus Inventory, the Purchaser may at any time request, by notice to the Supplier, to have additional quantities of 3104 Alloy supplied from the Laterrière Facility, and upon receipt of such notice the Parties shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to agree upon the terms and conditions of such supply, it being understood and agreed that the Supplier

 

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  shall not be obligated under this Section 2.8 to enter into such an agreement or to supply 3104 Alloy from the Laterrière Facility.

 

  (b) The Purchaser may request for any calendar month, by written notice to the Supplier, to be supplied with quantities of 3104 Alloy in order to put into place an additional inventory of such 3104 Alloy to take into account the seasonal nature of the products made from such alloy (the “ 3104 Surplus Inventory ”). The Supplier shall sell the 3104 Surplus Inventory to the Purchaser or to an intermediary designated by the Purchaser at the Contract Price and subject to the other terms and conditions of this Agreement, provided that such 3104 Surplus Inventory is within the definitive quantity of Metal which the Parties have agreed pursuant to Section 2.7(b) will be delivered by the Supplier and purchased by the Purchaser during the relevant month. The sale and purchase of the 3104 Surplus Inventory shall be subject to the following additional conditions: (i) the 3104 Surplus Inventory shall be sold and shipped by the Supplier in the same calendar month as the month during which it is produced; and (ii) the 3104 Surplus Inventory shall satisfy the conditions for 3104 Alloy as set forth in Schedule 6 to which the maximum Quality Upcharge Premium in the amount of *** Euros per Tonne of Metal applies.

 

2.9 Price

 

  (a) The price payable by the Purchaser to the Supplier for each Tonne of Metal sold and purchased pursuant to Sections 2.1 and 2.2 shall be the Contract Price.

 

  (b) In the event that (i) the LME ceases or suspends trading in aluminium, (ii)  Metal Bulletin ceases to be published or ceases publication of the relevant reference price for determining the EC Duty Paid Premium or (iii) the LME internet site ceases to publish the mean cash price for determining the LME Aluminium Price, the Parties shall meet with a view to agreeing on an alternative reference publication or, as applicable, an alternative reference price.

 

  (c) In the event that the EC Duty Paid Premium indicator is discontinued for whatever reason, the EC Duty Paid Premium shall be replaced by a corresponding geographical European Market Premium indicator, if published by Metal Bulletin . If no such replacement indicator is published, the Parties will enter into good faith negotiations in order to amend the definition of EC Duty Paid Premium in a manner which most closely restores the commercial agreement between the Parties with respect to this item as it stood immediately prior to the discontinuation of such indicator.

 

2.10 Quality

 

  (a)

The Supplier warrants that the Metal supplied under this Agreement (other than Trial Products) shall comply with all Specifications which are applicable to such Metal as set forth in Schedule 6 . Unless agreed otherwise, Metal not

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

23


  meeting the Specifications shall not be dispatched by the Supplier, to the extent that the Supplier is aware of any non-conformity with respect to such Metal at the time of shipment. Metal which is supplied by the Supplier and which does not meet the Specifications may, at the Purchaser’s option and as soon as reasonably practicable after the Purchaser becomes aware of the non-conformity, either (i) be returned to the Supplier, together with a notice to that effect to the Supplier indicating the technical reasons for rejecting the Metal in question and reasonable evidence that the Metal does not meet the Specifications, in which case the Supplier shall assume all costs for return of such Metal to the Supplier, and for the shipment of replacement Metal to the Purchaser or (ii) be retained by the Purchaser at a discounted price to be mutually agreed by the Parties, it being understood and agreed that (except pursuant Section 3(b) where the Supplier does not provide replacement Metal and the Purchaser does not elect to retain defective Metal at such discounted price), the foregoing shall be the only remedies available to the Purchaser against the Supplier in respect of the failure of Metal to comply with the Specifications.

 

  (b) Except for the warranties expressly set forth in this Agreement in Section 2.10(a) and Section 2.14(b), all express or implied warranties relating to Metal supplied hereunder, including warranties relating to quality, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, are hereby *** by Applicable Law. Accordingly, the *** of the Purchaser against the Supplier in respect of the failure of Metal supplied hereunder to comply with the Specifications is that expressly set forth in this Section 2.10 (and, if the Supplier does not provide replacement Metal and the Purchaser does not elect to retain defective Metal at a discounted price, the remedy set forth in Section 3(b)), and the Purchaser shall *** against the Supplier, whether contractually or extra-contractually, for damages or otherwise, in respect of the failure of Metal supplied hereunder to comply with the Specifications, including in respect of its quality, its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose.

 

  (c) The Purchaser shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to visually inspect the Metal in accordance with the quality assurance procedures of the Purchaser then in effect, including with a view to determining whether such Metal complies with the Specifications, before beginning the transformation of such Metal.

 

  (d) Either Party may from time to time request a change to the Specifications. Subject to Section 2.4 with respect to Products under Development, the Parties shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to reach an agreement with respect to such a request but neither Party shall be obligated to reach such an agreement.

 

  (e)

The Parties shall semi-annually review the list of alloys to be supplied hereunder and cooperate in good faith to agree on any alloys to be discontinued

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  and no longer supplied by the Supplier under this Agreement, provided that the Supplier may, following prior written notice to the Purchaser, discontinue the supply of any alloy, other than the alloys set forth in Schedule 13 (which may not be discontinued without the Purchaser’s prior written consent), at any time and in its sole discretion by providing at least 6 months advance written notice to that effect to the Purchaser or, in the case of alloys that have not been supplied by the Supplier to the Purchaser pursuant to the terms of this Agreement during the period of twelve (12) consecutive months or more immediately prior to the time of the discontinuance notice, by providing at least 3 months advance written notice to the Purchaser.

 

  (f) The Supplier shall promptly notify the Purchaser in the event that any significant modification is to be made in the Supplier Group’s production processes which are used to produce Metal and, promptly following any such notification, the Parties shall cooperate in good faith to determine whether, as a result of such modification, a re-qualification (in whole or in part) is warranted.

 

2.11 Remedial Plans

 

  (a) If the Purchaser determines (acting reasonably) that Metal (or certain alloys) supplied by the Supplier from a particular Supplier Facility under this Agreement persistently does not meet the Specifications (other than in the circumstances described in Schedule 6 in relation to PPM Levels, to which the provisions of Schedule 6 and not this Section 2.11 shall apply) promptly (and in any event within 30 Business Days) following a request by the Purchaser (and as soon as reasonably possible, in a situation of emergency, in which case the Supplier shall also propose emergency response measures (including identifications of potentially defective castings)), the Parties shall meet to discuss a remedial plan to rectify the failure of Metal to meet the Specifications, which plan shall include a timeframe for rectification (a “ Remedial Plan ”), with a view to the Supplier providing a final Remedial Plan to the Purchaser within 20 Business Days following such meeting. The Supplier shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to implement the emergency response measures and the Remedial Plan in accordance with the timeframe set out in the Remedial Plan.

 

  (b) If, following the time that is the earlier of the final date for rectification in the timeframe set out in the Remedial Plan and 120 days after the date on which the Purchaser requested a Remedial Plan pursuant to Section 2.11(a), the Supplier has not remedied the breaches described in Section 2.11(a) which are the subject of the Remedial Plan, (i) the Purchaser shall, acting reasonably, be entitled to notify the Supplier in writing that the relevant Supplier Facility is no longer qualified for the supply of Metal (or certain alloys, as the case may be) under this Agreement, with such de-qualification to take immediate effect, and (ii), at the Purchaser’s election, the Remedial Plan process shall be reinitiated as described in Section 2.11(a). Promptly following any such de-qualification,

 

25


  the Parties shall work together in good faith to launch a mutually agreeable re-qualification process for the relevant Metal alloys or Supplier Facility, as the case may be.

 

  (c) In the event of any such de-qualification pursuant to Section 2.11, the quantity of Metal that the Purchaser is required to purchase under this Agreement shall, at the Purchaser’s election, be reduced in proportion to the quantity of Metal impacted by such de-qualification as compared to the total quantity to be supplied under this Agreement for any given period. For the avoidance of doubt, any de-qualification of a Supplier Facility pursuant to this Section 2.11 shall not relieve the Supplier of its obligations to supply Metal to the Purchaser in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

2.12 Payment

 

  (a) The Purchaser shall pay the Supplier in full for each shipment of Metal meeting the Specifications in accordance with the Supplier’s commercial invoice, subject to any applicable discounts pursuant to Section 2.10(a). Payment shall be received by the Supplier no later than:

 

  (i)

for shipments by sea, the *** th day following the Bill of Lading Date; and

 

  (ii) for shipments other than by sea which depart from any Supplier Facility on any day of a given week, the Monday of the *** week following the week of shipment (for example, if shipment departs on Thursday, ***, then payment would be due by Monday, ***) or, if such Monday of the *** week is not a Business Day, then payment would be due by the Friday of the *** week following the week of shipment, except that in June and December of each Contract Year, the due dates for payment shall be adjusted by the Purchaser so that the average payment term for each respective half of such Contract Year is no more than *** calendar days,

provided however, that in the event that Metal not meeting the Specifications is retained by the Purchaser at a discounted price mutually agreed upon by the Parties in accordance with Section 2.10(a), payment for such Metal shall be received by the Supplier no later than the *** th day following the date on which the Supplier issues an invoice reflecting the discounted price to which the Parties have agreed. The Supplier agrees to invoice the Purchaser for all Metal shipped by the Supplier pursuant to this Agreement.

 

  (b)

The Parties agree that the terms and conditions relating to credit requirements set forth in Parts I and II of Schedule 8 shall apply prior to any Qualifying Change in Control or Qualifying IPO, and that the terms and conditions set

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  forth in Part III of Schedule 8 shall apply in the event of a Qualifying Change of Control or Qualifying IPO, as applicable.

 

  (c) The Purchaser shall pay any invoice as provided for in Section 2.12(a) relating to Metal not meeting the Specifications but retained by the Purchaser pursuant to the terms of Section 2.10(a). If a shipment of Metal does not meet the Specifications and the Purchaser has rejected such shipment in accordance with the terms of Section 2.10(a), the Purchaser need not pay the invoice relating to such shipment.

 

  (d) If any payment required to be made pursuant to Sections 2.12(a) or 2.12(c) is overdue, the full amount shall bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the Default Interest Rate calculated on the actual number of days elapsed, accrued from and excluding the date on which such payment was due, up to and including the actual date of receipt of payment in the nominated bank or banking account.

 

  (e) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any payment or any portion thereof required to be made pursuant to Sections 2.12(a) or 2.12(c) is being disputed in good faith by the Purchaser (the “ Disputed Amount ”) and the Purchaser is seeking diligently to resolve the dispute, the Disputed Amount may be withheld by the Purchaser and such amount shall not bear interest as provided for in Section 2.12(d) until such time as a binding agreement or decision is reached in respect of such Disputed Amount.

 

  (f) All amounts paid to the Supplier or the Purchaser hereunder shall be paid in Euros or in the currency of the applicable invoice, by wire transfer in immediately available funds to the account specified by the Supplier or the Purchaser, as applicable, by notice from time to time by one Party to the other hereunder.

 

  (g) All amounts payable hereunder are exclusive of any value added tax, goods and services tax or similar tax including, without limitation, sales, use or consumption/harmonised taxes imposed, claimed, levied, or assessed by or payable to, any government agency or authority (“ VAT Taxes ”) (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall not include any taxes imposed or based on the income, profits or employees of the Supplier). If any VAT Taxes are chargeable in respect of all or any of the amounts payable hereunder, the Purchaser shall, upon receipt of a valid VAT Tax invoice, pay to the Supplier an amount equal to such VAT Tax at the rate for the time being and from time to time properly chargeable in respect of the relevant supply by the Supplier.

 

2.13 Delivery

 

  (a) All Metal to be supplied pursuant to this Agreement will be delivered in accordance with the following terms:

 

  (i) CIP the applicable Delivery Site for shipments by land; and

 

27


  (ii) CIF Rotterdam Port for shipments by sea.

 

  (b) The Supplier will ensure that shipments of Metal are made in compliance with the Shipment Schedule. The Parties shall track “on time shipment” of Metal during each week, on a “by train” basis for shipments by train and on a “by boat” basis for shipment by boat and on a “by truck” basis for shipments by truck, in order to track whether shipments of Metal are made in compliance with the date ranges specified in the applicable Shipment Schedule. If, during two consecutive months of any Contract Year, the OTS Percentage is not at least equal to the applicable Target OTS Percentage for each Supplier Facility to each Delivery Site, the Supplier shall, as soon as reasonably practicable following a request by the Purchaser, prepare a proposed action plan with reasonable countermeasures and remedial actions. Promptly following the Supplier’s delivery of such action plan to the Purchaser, the Parties shall meet and work in good faith to agree upon the measures, if any, that may be implemented in order for the applicable Target OTS Percentage to be met in the future in respect of the affected Supplier Facility. Subject to Section 2.13(c), the only recourse of the Purchaser against the Supplier in respect of failure to meet the OTS Percentage is that expressly set out in this Section 2.13(b), and the Purchaser shall not have any other recourse whatsoever against the Supplier, whether contractually or extra-contractually, for damages or otherwise, in respect of the Supplier’s failure to meet the OTS Percentage, provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, this Section 2.13(b) shall not otherwise limit the Purchaser’s recourse against the Supplier pursuant to Section 3(b) or otherwise pursuant to any other provision of this Section 2.13 for any failure of the Supplier to comply with its obligations to supply Metal in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

  (c) (a) If, during a period of *** consecutive months during the period from the start of the 2011 Contract Year until the end of the Term, the Weighted Average OTS Percentage for the Dunkerque Facility to the Delivery Sites is not at least equal to the Target OTS Percentage (a “ Sustained OTS Failure ”), the Supplier agrees, upon request by the Purchaser, to establish a *** consisting of *** the Dunkerque Facility in the *** and in accordance with the conditions set out in Schedule 10 for a minimum period of *** month and until such time as the Weighted Average OTS Percentage is at least equal to the relevant percentages set out in the table in Schedule 10 . The only recourse of the Purchaser against the Supplier in respect of failure to meet the Target OTS Percentage for the Dunkerque Facility to any Delivery Site is that expressly set out in this Section 2.13(c), and the Purchaser shall not have any other recourse whatsoever against the Supplier, whether contractually or extra-contractually, for damages or otherwise, in respect of the Supplier’s failure to meet the Target OTS Percentage for the Dunkerque Facility to any Delivery Site, provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, this Section 2.13(c) shall not otherwise limit the Purchaser’s recourse against the Supplier pursuant to Section 3(b) or otherwise pursuant to any other provision of this Section 2.13 for any failure of the Supplier to comply with its obligations to supply Metal in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (d) (a) For the avoidance of doubt, the Supplier shall continue to *** and *** to any *** until such time as such *** is actually *** by the Supplier to the Purchaser pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.

 

2.14 Title and Risk of Loss

 

  (a) Except as provided in Section 2.13(d), title to and, pursuant to Incoterms 2000, title to and risk of damage to and loss of, the Metal shall pass to the Purchaser, (i) as the Metal is delivered to the carrier for shipments made pursuant to Section 2.13(a)(i) and (ii) as the Metal passes the ship’s rail at the Supplier Facility for shipments made pursuant to Section 2.13(a)(ii).

 

  (b) The Supplier warrants that it has good and marketable title to all Metal which is supplied to the Purchaser under this Agreement, and such title shall be transferred to the Purchaser in accordance with this Section 2.14 free and clear of all Encumbrances (except for any Encumbrances created in favour of the Purchaser which arise by or through acts or omissions of the Supplier).

 

  (c) For the avoidance of doubt, the Purchaser shall have full rights to re-sell, transfer, assign or otherwise make available to any Person (including any Third Parties) any Metal purchased from the Supplier hereunder.

 

2.15 Audit and Inspection Rights

 

  (a) The Purchaser shall have the right, and the Supplier shall permit the Purchaser (or, at the Supplier’s request, an independent auditor (who shall be a member of an internationally recognized accounting firm) selected by the Purchaser and acceptable to the Supplier, which acceptance may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, during normal business hours, to audit the calculation of the Contract Price, including each of the various components included in its formula (other than published components, such as the LME Aluminium Price, which may be validated by the Purchaser by reference to the publication source), including the New Tooling Upcharge charged by the Supplier pursuant to Section 2.4(c) and the alloy adjustment calculations contemplated in Schedule 2 .

 

  (b) If any such audit reveals that the Purchaser paid a Contract Price greater than the amounts required to be paid under this Agreement, the Supplier shall promptly remit to the Purchaser (in cash or by credit to a then outstanding invoice) an amount equal to the overpayment amount. In the event the audit reveals an underpayment by the Purchaser, the Purchaser shall promptly remit an amount equal to such underpayment to the Supplier.

 

  (c)

The Purchaser shall have the right to visit the Supplier Facilities, with a view to reviewing, on a quarterly basis during normal business hours, the quality

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  control systems and production processes at the Supplier Facilities, including with a view to verifying compliance by the Supplier with the Specifications.

 

  (d) The Supplier shall make available to the Purchaser (and/or any auditor appointed pursuant to Section 2.15(a)), during normal business hours and following reasonable advance notice by the Purchaser, such books and records, and access to such personnel (either on or off the premises) and facilities, of Supplier as Purchaser or the auditor may reasonably request in order to conduct the audit in an effective manner (other than any documents or information which the Supplier may not, pursuant to any legal or confidentiality obligations owed by it to a Third Party, disclose to the Purchaser, provided that the Supplier uses reasonable endeavours to seek a waiver or other release of such legal or confidentiality obligations and may withhold information only to the extent necessary to comply with such obligations).

 

  (e) The Supplier may (or, at the Purchaser’s request, an independent auditor (who shall be a member of an internationally recognized accounting firm) selected by the Supplier and acceptable to the Purchaser, which acceptance may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed, may), during normal business hours, audit the Purchaser’s compliance with Sections 5.1 (subject to Section 2.15(f)), 5.2, 5.3 and 5.8. If such audit reveals that:

 

  (i) the conditions required to be met by the Purchaser under Sections 5.2 and 5.3, as applicable, have not been met for the Relevant Contract Year or Relevant Hardship Period (as applicable);

 

  (ii) the quantity of Metal purchased by the Purchaser pursuant to the terms of this Agreement during the Relevant Contract Year or Relevant Hardship Period, as applicable, represents less than the amount required to be purchased in order to invoke the rights under Section 5 as set out in Section 5.8;

 

  (iii) the Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount notified to the Supplier under Section 5.1 is greater than the total quantity of slabs actually used or consumed by the Relevant Purchaser Entities during the Relevant 12-Month Period from all sources in the hot rolling process of the Relevant Purchaser Entities (including sources and casthouses within the Purchaser Group and including for the purpose of transformation or processing (tolling) of slabs by Third Parties), and consequently the conditions required to be met by the Purchaser under Section 5.3 or Section 5.8 have not been met; or

 

  (iv)

the Total Hardship Consumption Amount notified to the Supplier under Section 5.8 for the Relevant Contract Year or Relevant Hardship Period is greater than the actual quantity of slabs used or

 

30


  consumed by it from all sources in the hot rolling process of the Relevant Purchaser Entities (including sources and casthouses within the Purchaser Group and including for the purpose of transformation or processing (tolling) of slabs by Third Parties) during the Relevant Contract Year or Relevant 12-Month Period (as applicable), and consequently the conditions required to be met by the Purchaser under Section 5.8 have not been met,

then the Purchaser shall be deemed to be in breach of its obligations to purchase Metal under this Agreement and shall not be entitled to any reduction in the quantity of Metal which is required to be purchased by it under this Agreement, and any such reduction which it has sought to claim pursuant to Section 5 and has failed to purchase or take delivery of shall be deemed to be Metal which it has failed to pay for or take delivery of for the purposes of Section 3.

 

  (f) The Supplier may audit the Purchaser’s compliance with the Hardship Conditions in Section 5.1(i) for any Hardship Period claimed by the Purchaser. If the Supplier elects to so audit compliance with Section 5.1(i), the parties shall mutually agree, acting reasonably and without undue delay, on an independent industry expert (who shall not be an Affiliate of either the Purchaser Group or the Supplier Group) to make such determination. If the independent industry expert determines that the Hardship Conditions were not satisfied for such Hardship Period, then the Purchaser shall not be entitled to reduce the quantity of Metal which is required to be purchased by it under this Agreement based on such claimed Hardship Period, and any such reduction which it has sought to claim pursuant to Section 5, and any Metal it has accordingly failed to purchase or take delivery of, shall be deemed to be Metal which it has failed to pay for or take delivery of for the purposes of Section 3.

 

  (g)

The Supplier may (or, at the Purchaser’s request, an independent auditor selected by the Supplier and acceptable to the Purchaser, which acceptance may not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed (who shall be a member of an internationally recognized accounting firm) may), audit the Purchaser’s determination of the PPM Level pursuant to Schedule 6 , and the Purchaser shall make available to the Supplier such reasonable supporting documentation relating to the determination of the PPM Level as the Supplier may request (other than any documents or information which the Purchaser may not, pursuant to any legal or confidentiality obligations owed by it to its or the Purchaser Group’s customers, disclose to the Supplier). If such audit reveals that the PPM Level is greater than that determined by the Purchaser pursuant to Schedule 6 and that the Purchaser has paid a Quality Upcharge in excess of that which it should have been in respect of the audited PPM Level, the Supplier shall promptly remit to the Purchaser (in cash or by credit to a then outstanding invoice) an amount equal to the overpayment amount. If such audit reveals that the PPM Level is lower than that determined by the Purchaser pursuant to Schedule 6 and that the Purchaser has paid a smaller Quality Upcharge than that

 

31


  which it should have paid in respect of the audited PPM Level, the Purchaser shall promptly remit to the Supplier (in cash or by credit to a then outstanding invoice) an amount equal to the underpayment amount.

 

  (h) Each Party shall bear the costs they incur in connection with any audit, expert determination or inspection undertaken pursuant to this Section 2.15, except that if:

 

  (i) an independent auditor is appointed to undertake such audit and such auditor’s audit reveals any discrepancies equal to at least 3% of the audited amounts which are adverse to the Party conducting the audit, the fees and expenses of such auditor shall be borne by the Party that is being audited; and

 

  (ii) if the independent industry expert appointed by the Supplier under Section 2.15(f) reveals that the conditions in Section 5.1(a) have not been satisfied in respect of the relevant Hardship Period, the fees and expenses of such expert shall be borne by the Purchaser.

 

  (i) No amounts may be audited twice under this Section 2.15.

 

3. FAILURE TO PURCHASE/FAILURE TO SUPPLY

 

  (a) If the Purchaser fails to purchase or take delivery of any Metal for any Contract Year which it is required to purchase or take pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, and such failure is not attributable to Force Majeure or Hardship Conditions, the Purchaser shall be required to promptly (and in any event within *** Business Days following the end of such Contract Year) *** to the Supplier an amount equal to the *** for any quantity of Metal representing the shortfall between the quantity of Metal actually purchased in such Contract Year and a quantity equal to *** of the quantity of Metal required by the *** for such Contract Year to be purchased in that Contract Year pursuant to the terms of this Agreement (the “*** ”). *** by the Purchaser of the *** pursuant to this Section 3(a) shall be in full settlement of any costs or damages which may be claimed by the Supplier under this Agreement resulting from such failure to purchase or accept delivery and the Supplier shall be precluded from seeking other damages under this Agreement in connection with such failure to purchase or accept delivery.

 

  (b) If the Supplier fails to supply or deliver any Metal for any Contract Year which it is required to supply and deliver under the terms of this Agreement, and such failure is not attributable to a Force Majeure, the Supplier shall be required to promptly (and in any event within *** Business Days following the end of such Contract Year) *** an amount equal to the *** for any quantity of Metal representing the shortfall between the quantity of Metal actually supplied and delivered in such Contract Year and a quantity equal to *** of the quantity of Metal required by the *** for such Contract Year to be supplied and delivered in that Contract Year pursuant to the terms of this Agreement (*** ). *** by the Supplier of the *** pursuant to this Section 3(b) shall be in full settlement of any costs or damages which may be claimed by the Purchaser against the Supplier under this Agreement resulting from such failure to supply or deliver, and the Purchaser shall be precluded from seeking other damages against the Supplier under this Agreement in connection with such failure to supply or deliver.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (c) For each of the *** and *** Contract Years, the amount of the *** to be used to calculate the *** and the *** pursuant to Sections 3(a) and 3(b) respectively in lieu of the *** shall be determined in accordance with the formula set forth in Schedule 11.

 

4. FORCE MAJEURE

 

4.1 Effect of Force Majeure

Subject to the terms set forth in this Section 4, (i) no Party shall be liable for any loss or damage that arises directly or indirectly through or as a result of any delay in the fulfilment of or failure to fulfil its obligations in whole or in part (other than the payment of money as may be owed by a Party) under this Agreement where the delay or failure is due to Force Majeure, and (ii) the obligations of the Party directly affected by the event of Force Majeure (the “ Affected Party ”) shall be suspended, to the extent that the delay in the fulfilment of or failure to fulfil its obligations in whole or in part is a result of the event of Force Majeure, from the date the Affected Party first gives notice in respect of that event of Force Majeure until cessation of that event of Force Majeure (or the consequences thereof).

 

4.2 Definition

Force Majeure ” shall mean any act, occurrence or omission (or other event), subsequent to the commencement of the Term hereof, to the extent it is beyond the reasonable control of the Affected Party including, but not limited to: fires, explosions, accidents, strikes, lockouts or labour disruptions (other than a strike, lockout or labour disruption which lasts fewer than two days, provided that it is not a nation-wide or industry-wide strike, lock-out or labour disruption), floods, droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, seizures of cargo, wars (whether or not declared), civil commotion, acts of God or the public enemy, action of any government, legislature, court or other Governmental Authority, action by any authority, representative or organisation exercising or claiming to exercise powers of a government or Governmental Authority, compliance with Applicable Law (other than contractual obligations), blockades, electrical or other power failures or curtailments, inadequacy

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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or shortages or curtailments or cessation of supplies of raw materials or other supplies, failure or breakdown of equipment or facilities resulting in unscheduled or unanticipated maintenance or repairs or the cessation or curtailment in whole or in part of operations or production, the invocation of force majeure by any party or counterparty to an agreement under which any Party’s operations are directly and adversely affected (provided that such event had it occurred directly to the Supplier or the Purchaser, would have constituted Force Majeure as defined under this Agreement), or any other event beyond the reasonable control of, the Affected Party, whether or not similar to the events or occurrences enumerated above. In no circumstances shall problems with making payments or economic or financial hardship (including any of the events claimed by the Purchaser as Hardship Conditions under Section 5 of this Agreement) constitute Force Majeure. The Purchaser shall be deemed unable to perform its obligations to purchase Metal as a result of an event of Force Majeure to the extent the Purchaser Group is unable to use such Metal to produce products for its customers as a result of such Force Majeure event.

 

4.3 Notice

Upon the occurrence of an event of Force Majeure, the Affected Party shall promptly give notice to the other Party hereto setting forth the details and reasonably detailed supporting documentation where applicable of the event of Force Majeure and an estimate of the likely duration of the Affected Party’s inability to fulfil its obligations under this Agreement. The Affected Party shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to remove the said cause or causes and to resume, with the shortest possible delay, compliance with its obligations under this Agreement, provided that the Affected Party shall not be required to settle any strike, lockout or labour dispute on terms not acceptable to it, acting in good faith and using commercial judgment. When the said cause or causes have ceased to exist, the Affected Party shall promptly give notice to the other Party that such cause or causes have ceased to exist together with supporting documentation where applicable.

 

4.4 Pro Rata Allocation

If the Affected Party’s supply or purchase of any Metal to be delivered to the Purchaser is suspended or disrupted by an event of Force Majeure, the Affected Party shall be entitled to allocate its available supplies or purchases of such Metal relating to specific products lines and/or operations at the Affected Party’s Supplier Facility or Delivery Site, if any, among any or all of its existing customers or suppliers (including internal customers or suppliers and including the non-Affected Party) on a pro rata basis.

 

4.5 Consultation

Within ten (10) days of the date on which the Affected Party provides notice under Section 4.3 of the occurrence of the event of Force Majeure, the Parties shall consult with a view to reaching agreement:

 

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  (a) if the event of Force Majeure is ongoing at the time of consultation, as to the steps to be taken by the Affected Party to minimise the impact of the event of Force Majeure on the performance of the Affected Party’s obligations under the Agreement; and

 

  (b) if the event of Force Majeure is not ongoing at the time of consultation, as to the Supplier’s obligation to provide, and the Purchaser’s obligation to take delivery of, that quantity of Metal that could not be sold and purchased hereunder because of the event of Force Majeure.

Unless agreed otherwise by the Parties, failure to deliver or accept delivery of Metal which is excused by or results from the operation of the foregoing provisions of this Section 4 shall not extend the Term of this Agreement, and the quantities of Metal to be supplied and purchased under this Agreement shall be reduced by the quantities affected by such failure.

 

4.6 Termination

 

  (a) If an event of Force Majeure where the Affected Party is the Purchaser shall continue for more than twelve (12) consecutive calendar months, then the Supplier shall have the right to terminate, by providing at least sixty (60) days advance written notice to the Purchaser (provided that such sixty (60) days notice shall not extend the aforementioned twelve (12) consecutive calendar month period), this Agreement in whole or in respect of the relevant Delivery Site to the extent such Delivery Site is directly affected by the Force Majeure.

 

  (b) If an event of Force Majeure where the Affected Party is the Supplier shall continue for more than twelve (12) consecutive calendar months, then the Purchaser shall have the right to terminate, by providing at least sixty (60) days advance written notice to the Supplier (provided that such sixty (60) days notice shall not extend the aforementioned twelve (12) consecutive calendar month period), this Agreement in whole or in respect of the relevant Supplier Facility to the extent such Supplier Facility is directly affected by the Force Majeure.

 

5. HARDSHIP

 

5.1 Notwithstanding the terms of Section 3, in the event that the Purchaser fails to purchase or take delivery of any quantity of Metal as required pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and:

(a)

 

  (i) such failure is due to a fundamental change in ***, which conditions are beyond its reasonable control and which it could not have been expected to take into account at the time of the execution of this Agreement;

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  (ii) the continued performance of its obligations under this Agreement while the conditions referred to in Section 5.1(a)(i) persist would cause prejudice (that is substantial and sustained) to the Purchaser or members of the Purchaser Group to whom Metal is delivered under this Agreement and who operate at:

 

  (1) the Singen Facility;

 

  (2) the Neuf Brisach Facility; or

 

  (3) any other facility of the Purchaser Group which the Supplier and the Purchaser have agreed in writing shall be a Delivery Site for the purposes of paragraph (d) of the definition of “Delivery Site”, which the Purchaser and the Supplier have agreed shall be supplied with Metal under this Agreement on a regular monthly basis, and which the Purchaser and the Supplier have mutually agreed (following discussion in good faith between the Parties, provided that neither Party shall be obligated to agree) will be a Relevant Purchaser Entity for the purposes of this Section 5,

(such facilities, the “ Relevant Purchaser Facilities ”, and the Purchaser and such members of the Purchaser Group to be hereinafter referred to as the “ Relevant Purchaser Entities ”); and

 

  (iii) the Purchaser could not reasonably have avoided or mitigated such conditions or their consequences,

(the “ Hardship Conditions ”), the Purchaser shall, promptly following the occurrence of such Hardship Conditions, give notice to the Supplier in writing setting out the details of, and reasonably detailed supporting documentation in connection with:

 

  (b) the nature of the Hardship Conditions;

 

  (c) whether it expects the Hardship Conditions to cause the Purchaser to fail to purchase or take delivery of the quantity of Metal set out in Section 5.2 or 5.3 (as applicable), and the quantity of Metal the Purchaser expects to fail to purchase or take delivery of under this Agreement;

 

  (d) an estimate of the likely duration of the Hardship Period;

 

  (e)

whether it wishes to claim a reduction in the quantity of Metal to be purchased by it during the Hardship Period over the Relevant Contract Year in accordance with Section 5.2 or a Relevant 12-Month Period in accordance with Section 5.3,

 

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  and in the case that the Purchaser indicates it may wish to claim a reduction in accordance with Section 5.3, shall provide to the Supplier the Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount for the Relevant 12-Month Period and, in the case that the Purchaser indicates it may wish to claim a reduction in accordance with Section 5.2, shall procure that the Purchaser’s Chief Legal Officer provides to the Supplier the Annual Total Forecast Amount provided to it pursuant to Section 5.4(a). Nothing in this Section 5.1 shall prevent the Purchaser from subsequently notifying the Supplier that it wishes to claim a reduction in accordance with Section 5.3 if it has previously notified the Supplier that it may wish to claim a reduction in accordance with Section 5.2, provided that if the Purchaser so notifies the Supplier, it shall also provide to the Supplier the Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount for the Relevant 12-Month Period.

 

5.2 The Purchaser may, subject to compliance with the requirements of Section 5.8, notify the Supplier in writing that it requires a reduction in the quantity of Metal to be purchased during the Hardship Period by such amount as the Purchaser has failed to purchase or take delivery of pursuant to this Agreement due to the Hardship Conditions, provided that the Hardship Conditions cause the Relevant Purchaser Entities to fail to use or consume (and, consequently, the Purchaser fails to purchase or take delivery of under this Agreement) an amount of slabs, from all sources in its hot rolling process (including sources and casthouses within the Purchaser Group and including for the purpose of transformation or processing (tolling) of slabs by Third Parties), which results in a reduction during the Contract Year in which the Hardship Period commences (such year, the “ Relevant Contract Year ”) of (subject to Section 5.3):

 

  (a) where the Hardship Period commences in the 2011 Contract Year, *** per cent or more of the Annual Total Forecast Amount for the 2011 Contract Year; or

 

  (b) where the Hardship Period commences in the 2012-2020 Contract Years, *** per cent or more of the Annual Total Forecast Amount for the Contract Year in which such commencement occurs.

 

5.3

If the Hardship Period commences in one Contract Year and ends in another, and consequently the *** per cent or *** per cent reduction in the Relevant Contract Year described in Section 5.2(a) or (b) is not satisfied, and the Purchaser reasonably believes that the continued performance of its obligations under this Agreement while the Hardship Conditions persist would cause prejudice to the Relevant Purchaser Entities, the Purchaser may, subject to compliance with the requirements of Section 5.8, notify the Supplier in writing that it requires a reduction in the quantity of Metal to be purchased during the Hardship Period by such amount as the Purchaser has failed to purchase or take delivery of pursuant to this Agreement due to the Hardship Conditions where the Hardship Conditions cause the Relevant Purchaser Entities to fail to use or consume (and, consequently, the Purchaser fails to purchase or take delivery of under this Agreement) an amount of slabs, from all sources in its hot rolling process (including sources and casthouses within the Purchaser Group and including for the purpose of transformation or processing (tolling) of slabs by Third

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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  Parties), which results in a reduction during the 12-month period commencing at the commencement of the Hardship Period (such 12-month period, the “ Relevant Hardship Period ”) of:

 

  (a) where the Hardship Period commences in the 2011 Contract Year, *** per cent (or, if the Hardship Period commenced after June 30 in the 2011 Contract Year, then *** per cent.) or more of the Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount for the twelve-month period ending on the date immediately preceding the date that the Hardship Period commenced; and

 

  (b) where the Hardship Period commences in the 2012-2020 Contract Years, *** percent or more of the Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount for the twelve-month period ending on the date immediately preceding the date that the Hardship Period commenced,

each such twelve-month period ending on the date immediately preceding the date that the Hardship Period commenced, a “ Relevant 12-Month Period ”. At the same time as the Purchaser provides such notice, the Purchaser shall also provide to the Supplier the Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount for the Relevant 12-Month Period.

 

5.4     

 

  (a) At the time that the Purchaser notifies the Supplier of the Definitive Annual Quantity for any Contract Year as set forth in Section 2.7(b), the Purchaser shall prepare in good faith an estimate of the total quantity of slabs that it expects to be used or consumed by the Relevant Purchaser Entities (except at the Issoire Facility) during the Relevant Contract Year from all sources in its hot rolling process (including sources and casthouses within the Purchaser Group and including for the purpose of transformation or processing (tolling) of slabs by Third Parties) (such forecast amount, the “ Annual Total Forecast Amount ”). The Purchaser shall deliver the Annual Total Forecast Amount, within 5 days of its preparation, to the Purchaser’s Chief Legal Officer, along with reasonable supporting documentation.

 

  (b) In the case of any Hardship Period that is measured based on a Relevant 12-Month Period, the “ Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount ” shall be the total quantity of slabs actually used or consumed by the Relevant Purchaser Entities (except at the Issoire Facility) during the Relevant 12-Month Period from all sources in its hot rolling process (including sources and casthouses within the Purchaser Group and including for the purpose of transformation or processing (tolling) of slabs by Third Parties). For the avoidance of doubt, the Purchaser shall not be required to notify the Supplier of any Annual Total Forecast Amount or Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount unless and until required pursuant to Section 5.1.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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5.5 If the Purchaser notifies the Supplier pursuant to Section 5.1(c) that it expects the Hardship Conditions to cause the Purchaser to fail to purchase or take delivery of at least the quantity of Metal set out in Section 5.2 or 5.3 (as applicable), the Parties shall promptly enter into good faith discussions with a view to mitigating any adverse effects to either Party resulting from the operation of this Section 5, including by seeking to optimize the mix of product volumes, alloys and formats to be purchased under this Agreement.

 

5.6 If the Hardship Conditions continue for a period of more than 12 consecutive calendar months and the Purchaser fails to purchase or take delivery of the quantity of Metal set out in Section 5.2 or 5.3 (as applicable) during the relevant Contract Year or Contract Years, the Parties shall, promptly following receipt by a Party of notice from the other Party, meet to discuss in good faith any amendments to the terms of this Agreement.

 

5.7 Provided that the conditions in this Section 5 have been satisfied, the Purchaser shall not be in breach of its obligations to purchase Metal under this Agreement or required to pay the Non-Purchase Premium for any failure to purchase any quantity of Metal that it would otherwise be required to purchase under this Agreement (had this Section 5 not applied) during the Hardship Period. In the case of any Hardship Period which is measured based on a Relevant 12-Month Period, the Purchaser shall not be required to pay a Non-Purchase Premium for any failure to purchase Metal due to Hardship Conditions during such Hardship Period, unless and until it is determined that the applicable ***% or ***% reduction test was not satisfied.

 

5.8 Notwithstanding Sections 5.2 and 5.3, the Purchaser shall only be entitled to reduce the quantity of Metal to be purchased by the Purchaser from the Supplier (the “ RTA Supply Amount ”) pursuant to this Section 5 to the extent it reduces the quantity of slabs used or consumed by it from all sources in the hot rolling process of the Relevant Purchaser Entities (including sources and casthouses within the Purchaser Group and including for the purpose of transformation or processing (tolling) of slabs by Third Parties) during the Relevant Contract Year or Relevant Hardship Period (as applicable) (the “ Total Hardship Consumption Amount ”) on a pro rata basis so as to ensure that:

 

  (a) in the case of any Hardship Period measured based on a Relevant Contract Year:

 

  (x) the amount obtained by dividing (i) the RTA Supply Amount during the Relevant Contract Year by (ii) the Total Hardship Consumption Amount during the Relevant Contract Year,

is equal to or greater than:

 

  (y)

the amount obtained by dividing (i) the Definitive Annual Quantity for the Relevant Contract Year (but excluding any amounts to be supplied to

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

39


  facilities other than the Relevant Purchaser Facilities) by (ii) the Annual Total Forecast Amount for the Relevant Contract Year; or

 

  (b) in the case of any Hardship Period measured based on a Relevant Hardship Period:

 

  (x) the amount obtained by dividing (i) the RTA Supply Amount during the Relevant Hardship Period by (ii) the Total Hardship Consumption Amount during the Relevant Hardship Period,

is equal to or greater than:

 

  (y) the amount obtained by dividing (i) the RTA Supply Amount for the Relevant 12-Month Period by (ii) the Total Pre-Hardship Consumption Amount for the Relevant 12-Month Period,

and the Purchaser shall, promptly following the end of the Relevant Contract Year or Relevant Hardship Period (as the case may be), notify the Supplier in writing of the Total Hardship Consumption Amount for the Relevant Contract Year or Relevant Hardship Period (as the case may be).

 

5.9 Slabs used or consumed by the Purchaser Group at the Issoire Facility shall not be taken into account for any purpose in this Section 5.

 

5.10 The Purchaser shall, promptly upon the cessation of the Hardship Conditions, notify the Supplier in writing of such cessation, and the Parties shall meet to discuss in good faith the timely reinstatement of the Parties respective supply and purchase obligations under this Agreement.

 

5.11 In no circumstances shall any event which constitutes Force Majeure pursuant to Section 4 of this Agreement be claimed by the Purchaser as Hardship Conditions under this Section 5.

 

6. ASSIGNMENT

 

6.1 Prohibition on Assignments

No Party may assign, transfer (by way of novation or otherwise) or create any trust in respect of any rights or obligations under this Agreement except as permitted by Section 6.2 or Section 6.3, without the prior written consent of the other Party.

 

6.2 Assignment within the Supplier Group or Purchaser Group

 

  (a) The Supplier may assign, transfer or novate to one or more members of the Supplier Group the rights and obligations of the Supplier under this Agreement, provided that:

 

40


  (i) the Supplier shall remain fully liable for all obligations of the Supplier hereunder; and

 

  (ii) the transferee will remain at all times a member of the Supplier Group,

and any such successor to the Supplier as a Supplier under this Agreement shall be deemed to be the “Supplier” for all purposes of the Agreement (but, for the avoidance of doubt, without prejudice to Section 6.2(a)(i)).

 

  (b) The Purchaser may assign, transfer or novate to one or more members of the Purchaser Group the rights and obligations of the Purchaser under this Agreement, provided that:

 

  (i) the Purchaser shall remain fully liable for all obligations of the Purchaser hereunder; and

 

  (ii) the transferee will remain at all times a member of the Purchaser Group,

and any such successor to the Purchaser as Purchaser under this Agreement shall be deemed to be the “Purchaser” for all purposes of this Agreement (but, for the avoidance of doubt, without prejudice to Section 6.2(b)(i)).

 

6.3 Assignment in Connection with the Sale of a Delivery Site or Supplier Facility

The Parties acknowledge and agree that one or more of the Supplier Facilities, in the case of Supplier, and one or more of the Delivery Sites in the case of the Purchaser, may from time to time be sold to a Third Party during the Term of this Agreement. Each of the Supplier and the Purchaser agrees not to unreasonably withhold its consent to the assignment or transfer of the relevant rights, and the delegation of the relevant obligations, under this Agreement to the Third Party purchaser in the context of such a sale, giving due consideration to the Third Party purchaser’s experience and expertise in the industry, financial strength and stability (including creditworthiness), strength of management, and other similar factors; provided that in the event of any assignment or transfer which is consented to by the Purchaser or the Supplier, the Parties shall cooperate in good faith to agree on an appropriate standalone agreement applicable to the supply of Metal from such sold Supplier Facility or to such sold Delivery Site which reflects a pro rata apportionment of supply and/or purchase obligations relating to such Supplier Facility or Delivery Site.

 

6.4 Purchaser Representatives

For the avoidance of doubt, the Purchaser may designate such agents and representatives to facilitate the Purchaser’s exercise of its rights and performance of its obligations under this Agreement, provided that the Purchaser shall remain liable for ensuring that it complies with its obligations hereunder and for any breach

 

41


thereof. The Purchaser shall designate an individual representative and, if any of the Purchaser’s agents or representatives provide inconsistent or conflicting notices or instructions to the Supplier or make any inconsistent determinations, or the Supplier otherwise requires clarification, the Supplier shall be entitled to require that the Purchaser procure that such designated representative promptly resolve such inconsistency or conflict or provide such clarification. The Supplier may accept, rely upon and be bound by notices or instructions given by any of the Purchaser’s agents or representatives. The Supplier shall have no liability to (i) the Purchaser as a result of compliance by the Supplier with the Purchaser’s agents’ or representatives’ notices or instructions, or (ii) the Purchaser’s agents or representatives as a result of compliance by the Supplier with such agents’ or representatives’ notices or instructions.

 

7. TERM AND TERMINATION

 

7.1 Term

The term of this Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date and shall terminate on December 31, 2020 (the “ Term ”), unless terminated earlier pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.

 

7.2 Termination

This Agreement shall terminate:

 

  (a) upon expiry of the Term;

 

  (b) upon the mutual agreement of the Parties prior to the expiry of the Term;

 

  (c) pursuant to Section 4.6 as a result of Force Majeure; or

 

  (d) at the election of the Terminating Party after the occurrence of an Event of Default, in accordance with Section 8.2.

 

8. REMEDIES FOR BREACH

 

8.1 Suspension of Performance

If:

 

  (a) the Purchaser defaults in its obligation to make any payments which are due and payable by it pursuant to this Agreement where such default is not cured within 5 Business Days of the Purchaser’s receipt of notice from the Supplier of the occurrence of such default, the Supplier may elect, by notice to the Purchaser, to suspend performance of its supply obligations pursuant to this Agreement until such time as the breach is remedied; or

 

42


  (b) the Purchaser fails to purchase or to take delivery of any quantity of Metal which it is required to purchase or take delivery of pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and fails to pay the Non-Purchase Premium as provided for in Section 3(a) where such default is not cured within 5 Business Days of the Purchaser’s receipt of notice from the Supplier of the occurrence of such default, the Supplier may elect, by notice to the Purchaser, to suspend performance of its supply obligations pursuant to this Agreement until such time as the breach is remedied.

 

8.2 Termination

Subject to Section 11.7, either Party (the “ Terminating Party ”) may terminate this Agreement in the event that an Event of Default occurs in relation to the other Party (the “ Defaulting Party ”), and such termination shall take effect immediately upon the Terminating Party providing notice to the Defaulting Party of the termination.

For the purposes of this Agreement, each of the following shall individually and collectively constitute an “ Event of Default ” with respect to a Party:

 

  (a) such Party defaults in its obligation to make any payments which are due and payable by it pursuant to this Agreement or fails to make such payments on the dates on which they are due, and such default or failure has not been remedied by the Defaulting Party within 60 days following receipt by the Defaulting Party of written notice of default or failure from the Terminating Party and of its intention to terminate this Agreement;

 

  (b) such Party breaches any of its material obligations pursuant to this Agreement (other than as set out in paragraph (a) above), and such breach has not been remedied by the Defaulting Party within 60 days following receipt by the Defaulting Party of written notice of such breach from the Terminating Party and of its intention to terminate this Agreement;

 

  (c) an event described in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 8 occurs with respect to the Purchaser;

 

  (d) such Party: (i) is dissolved (other than pursuant to a solvent consolidation, reorganisation, amalgamation or merger); (ii) is unable to, or fails or admits in writing its inability to, pay generally its debts as they become due; (iii) makes a general assignment, arrangement or composition with or for the benefit of its creditors generally; (iv) institutes or has instituted against it a proceeding seeking a judgment of insolvency or bankruptcy, or a petition is presented for its winding-up or liquidation, and, in the case of any such proceeding or petition instituted or presented against it, that proceeding or petition (A) results in a judgment of insolvency or bankruptcy or the making of an order for its winding-up or liquidation or (B) is not frivolous or vexatious or withdrawn, dismissed, discharged, stayed, restrained or controverted, in each case within sixty (60) days of the institution or presentation of that proceeding or petition;

 


  (v) has a resolution passed for its winding-up or liquidation (other than pursuant to a solvent consolidation, reorganisation, amalgamation or merger); (vi) seeks or becomes subject to the appointment of an administrator, provisional liquidator, conservator, receiver, administrative receiver, compulsory manager, trustee, custodian or other similar official for it or for all or substantially all of its assets; (vii) has a secured party take possession of all or substantially all its assets or has a distress, diligence, execution, attachment, sequestration or other legal process levied, enforced or sued on or against all or substantially all its assets and that secured party maintains possession, or that process is not withdrawn, dismissed, discharged, stayed or restrained, in each case within sixty (60) days of that event; or (viii) causes or is subject to any event with respect to it which, under the laws of any jurisdiction, has an analogous effect to any of the events specified in this Section 8.2(d)(i) to (vii) inclusive;

 

  (e) an event described in Section 8.2(d) occurs with respect to the guarantor under the Parent Company Guarantee, provided that the Parent Company Guarantee has not been replaced with a guarantee which is reasonably satisfactory to the Supplier within 10 Business Days after the earlier of the Purchaser becoming aware of the occurrence of such event and the date on which the Supplier provides notice to the Purchaser of the occurrence of the event; or

 

  (f) the Parent Company Guarantee ceases to be in full force and effect or is or becomes void or unenforceable, provided that the Parent Company Guarantee has not been replaced with a guarantee which is reasonably satisfactory to the Supplier within 10 Business Days after the earlier of the Purchaser becoming aware of the occurrence of such default and the date on which the Supplier provides notice to the Purchaser of the occurrence of such default.

 

8.3 Remedies Cumulative

The remedies set forth in Sections 8.1 and 8.2 are not exclusive and are in addition to any other remedies that may be available under Applicable Law. For greater certainty, the election to exercise either of the foregoing remedies shall be without prejudice to the non-defaulting Party’s right to claim damages from the Defaulting Party for a breach of this Agreement, except where otherwise provided in this Agreement, including pursuant to Sections 2.4(f), 2.10(a) and (b), 3 and 11.13.

 

9. [INTENTIONALLY DELETED]

 

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10. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

 

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10.1 Disputes

The provisions of this Section 10 shall govern all disputes, controversies or claims (whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise) between the Parties that may arise out of, or relate to, or arise under or in connection with, this Agreement (a “ Dispute ”).

 

10.2 Negotiation

The Parties hereby undertake to attempt in good faith to resolve any Dispute by way of negotiation between senior executives who have authority to settle such Dispute. In furtherance of the foregoing, any Party may initiate the negotiation by way of a notice (an “ Escalation Notice ”) demanding an in-person meeting involving representatives of the Parties at a senior level of management of the Parties (or if the Parties agree, of the appropriate business unit or division within such Party). A copy of any Escalation Notice shall be given to the Chief Legal Officer of each Party (which copy shall state that it is an Escalation Notice pursuant to this Agreement). Any agenda, location or procedures for such negotiation may be established by the Parties from time to time; provided, however, that the negotiation shall be completed within thirty (30) days of the date of the Escalation Notice or within such longer period as the Parties may agree in writing prior to the expiration of the initial thirty (30) day period.

 

10.3 Mediation

 

  (a) Except as provided otherwise in this Agreement, if the Dispute has not been resolved by negotiation as provided in Section 10.2 within thirty (30) days of the date of the Escalation Notice or such extended period as may be agreed by the Parties, or should the Parties fail to meet within the said thirty-day period, the Parties shall endeavour to settle the Dispute by mediation. The Party wishing to refer a Dispute to mediation shall give written notice to the other (the “ Mediation Notice ”) describing the Dispute, requiring that the Dispute be submitted to mediation and proposing the name of a suitable person to be appointed mediator.

 

  (b) If the other Party rejects the proposed mediator and the Parties are unable to agree on a mediator within fifteen (15) days of the Mediation Notice, then either Party may request that CEDR Solve appoint a mediator.

 

  (c) The mediator shall be entitled to make recommendations to the Parties which, unless the Parties agree otherwise, shall not be binding upon them.

 

  (d) The mediation shall continue until the earliest to occur of the following: (i) the Parties reach agreement as to the resolution of the Dispute, (ii) the mediator makes a finding that there is no possibility of resolution through mediation, or (iii) thirty (30) days have elapsed since the appointment of the mediator.

 

  (e) Each Party shall bear its own costs in connection with the mediation; the fees and disbursements of the mediator shall be borne equally by the Parties.

 

  (f) If the Parties accept any recommendation made by the mediator or otherwise reach agreement as to the resolution of the Dispute, such agreement shall be recorded in writing and signed by the Parties, whereupon it shall become binding upon the Parties and have, as between them, the authority of a final judgment or arbitral award ( res judicata ).

 

  (g) The mediation shall be confidential and neither the Parties (including their auditors and insurers) nor their counsel and any Person necessary to the conduct of the mediation nor the mediator or any other neutral involved in the mediation shall disclose the existence, content (including submissions made, positions adopted and any evidence or documents presented or exchanged), or outcome of any mediation hereunder without the prior written consent of the Parties, except as may be required by Applicable Law or the applicable rules of a stock exchange and except for disclosures to other members of its Group or its Group’s Representatives.

 

  (h) In the event that a Dispute is referred to arbitration in accordance with Section 10.4 below, the mediator or any other neutral involved in the mediation shall not take part in the arbitration, whether as a witness or otherwise, and any recommendation made by him in connection with the mediation shall not be relied upon by either Party without the consent of the other Party and of the mediator or neutral, and neither Party shall make use of or rely upon information supplied, positions adopted, or arguments raised, by the other Party in the mediation (except to the extent such information, positions or arguments are supplied or raised in connection with the arbitration proceedings).

 

  (i) Subject to the right of the Parties to seek interim or conservatory relief from a court of competent jurisdiction, as provided below in Section 10.4(e), neither Party shall be entitled to refer a Dispute to arbitration unless the dispute has first been the subject of an Escalation Notice.

 

10.4 Arbitration

 

  (a) Subject to the right of the Parties to seek interim or conservatory relief from a court of competent jurisdiction as provided below in Section 10.4(e), any Dispute which has not been resolved by negotiation or mediation as provided herein shall, upon the request of either Party, be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration (the “ LCIA ”) then in force (the “ LCIA Rules ”).

 

  (b) The arbitral tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators. The place of arbitration shall be London, England. The language of the arbitration shall be English.

 

  (c)

The costs of the arbitration shall be specified by the arbitral tribunal and shall be borne by each Party to the extent it does not prevail on its claims, unless the arbitral tribunal, in its discretion, determines a different allocation, taking all

 

46


  relevant circumstances into account. The costs of arbitration include, in addition to the costs of the arbitration as determined by the LCIA Court under Article 28.1 of the LCIA Rules, the legal and other costs incurred by the Parties, including: (i) the reasonable travel and other expenses of witnesses; (ii) the reasonable fees and expenses of expert witnesses; and (iii) the costs of legal representation and assistance, to the extent that the arbitral tribunal determines that the amount of such costs is reasonable.

 

  (d) The arbitral tribunal shall endeavour to issue its award within sixty (60) days of the last hearing of the substantive issues in dispute between the Parties; however, the arbitral tribunal shall not lose jurisdiction if it fails to respect this deadline. The arbitral award shall be final and binding.

 

  (e) For the purposes of any interim or conservatory measure that may be sought in aid of the arbitration proceedings, the Parties hereby irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of London and waive any right to invoke, and they hereby agree not to invoke, any claim of forum non conveniens, inconvenient forum, or transfer or change of venue. Without prejudice to such interim or conservatory remedies as may be obtained from a competent court, the arbitral tribunal shall have full authority to grant interim or conservatory remedies and to award damages for the failure of any Party to respect the arbitral tribunal’s orders to that effect.

 

  (f) Neither the Parties (including their auditors and insurers), their counsel, any Person necessary to the conduct of the arbitration nor the arbitrators shall disclose the existence, content (including submissions and any evidence or documents presented or exchanged), or outcome of any arbitration hereunder without the prior written consent of the Parties, except as may be required by Applicable Law or the applicable rules of a stock exchange and except for disclosures to other members of the Group or its Group’s Representatives.

 

10.5 Continuing Obligations

Other than as expressly set out in this Agreement, the existence of a Dispute between the Parties with respect to this Agreement shall not relieve either Party from performance of its obligations under this Agreement that are not the subject of such Dispute.

 

11. MISCELLANEOUS

 

11.1 Construction

In this Agreement, unless a clear contrary intention appears:

 

  (a) the singular number includes the plural number and vice versa ;

 

47


  (b) reference to any Person includes such Person’s successors and assigns but, if applicable, only if such successors and assigns are not prohibited by this Agreement, and reference to a Person in a particular capacity excludes such Person in any other capacity or individually;

 

  (c) reference to any gender includes each other gender;

 

  (d) reference to any agreement, document or instrument means such agreement, document or instrument as amended, modified, supplemented or restated, and in effect from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof subject to compliance with the requirements set forth herein;

 

  (e) reference to any Applicable Law means such Applicable Law as amended, modified, codified, replaced or re-enacted, in whole or in part, and in effect from time to time, including rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and reference to any section or other provision of any Applicable Law means that provision of such Applicable Law from time to time in effect and constituting the substantive amendment, modification, codification, replacement or re-enactment of such section or other provision;

 

  (f) “herein”, “hereby”, “hereunder”, “hereof”, “hereto” and words of similar import shall be deemed references to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Article, Section or other provision hereof;

 

  (g) “including” (and with correlative meaning “include”) means including without limiting the generality of any description preceding such term;

 

  (h) the Table of Contents and headings are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation hereof;

 

  (i) with respect to the determination of any period of time, “from” means “from and including” and “to” means “to but excluding”; and

 

  (j) references to documents, instruments or agreements shall be deemed to refer as well to all addenda, exhibits, schedules or amendments thereto.

 

11.2 Notices

All notices and other communications under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be presumed to be duly given (a) on the date of delivery, if delivered personally, (b) on the first Business Day following the date of dispatch if delivered by a nationally recognized next-day courier service, (c) on the date of actual receipt if delivered by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid or (d) if sent by facsimile transmission, when transmitted and successful transmission by the facsimile machine. All notices hereunder shall be delivered as follows:

If to the Purchaser, to:

 

48


Engineered Products Switzerland AG

Max Hoegger-Strasse 6

CH-8048 Zurich

Switzerland

Fax:      +41 (0) 43 497 4399
Attention:      Chief Procurement Officer

With a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:

Alcan Engineered Products

Tour Reflets

17, place des Reflets

92097 Paris La Défense

France

Fax:      + 33-15700-3307
Attention:      Chief Legal Officer

If to the Supplier, to:

Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.

1188 Sherbrooke Street West

Montreal, Quebec

Canada, H3A 3G2

Fax:      514-848-8115
Attention:      Chief Legal Officer

Any Party may, by notice to the other Party, change the address or fax number to which such notices are to be given.

 

11.3 Governing Law

This Agreement and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with it shall be governed by and construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England applicable therein. The Parties irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England to support and assist the arbitration process pursuant to Section 10.4 including if necessary the grant of interlocutory relief pending the outcome of that process.

 

11.4 Currency

The obligations of a Party to make payments hereunder shall not be discharged by an amount paid in any currency other than Euros, whether pursuant to a court judgment or arbitral award or otherwise, to the extent that the amount so paid upon conversion to Euros and transferred to an account indicated by the Party to receive such funds under normal banking procedures does not yield the amount of Euros due, and each Party hereby, as a separate obligation and notwithstanding any such judgment or

 

49


award, agrees to indemnify the other Party against, and to pay to such Party on demand, in Euros, any difference between the sum originally due in Euros and the amount of Euros received upon any such conversion and transfer.

 

11.5 Entire Agreement

This Agreement and the schedules hereto and the specific agreements contemplated herein contain the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede all previous agreements, negotiations, discussions, writings, understandings, commitments and conversations with respect to such subject matter. No agreements or understandings exist between the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof other than those set forth or referred to herein or therein. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this Agreement shall in all cases supersede the terms and conditions that may be set forth in any purchase order, purchase order confirmation, bill of lading, invoice, or other standard form of document or agreement that may be used from time to time by either the Supplier or the Purchaser in connection with the ordering or delivery of Metal.

 

11.6 Severability

If any provision of this Agreement or the application thereof to any Person or circumstance is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions hereof, or the application of such provision to Persons or circumstances or in jurisdictions other than those as to which it has been held invalid or unenforceable, shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated thereby, so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner adverse to any Party. Upon such determination, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith in an effort to agree upon such a suitable and equitable provision to effect the original intent of the Parties.

 

11.7 Survival

Except as provided otherwise in this Agreement, the following shall survive the expiry of the Term or earlier termination of this Agreement: (a) the provisions of Sections 1.1, 2.4(c), 2.9, 2.10(a) and (b), 2.12 (with respect to Metal supplied to and accepted by Purchaser prior to termination and excluding Sections 2.12(b)), 2.14(b), 2.15 (other than 2.15(c)), 3 (with respect to failures to purchase or supply prior to termination), 6, 10 and 11, and (b) a Party’s liability hereunder for the breach prior to expiry of the Term or earlier termination of this Agreement of any of its obligations contained herein and (c) the payment obligations of a Party hereunder to the extent they arose prior to the time of termination or expiry.

 

11.8 Execution in Counterparts

This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, all of which shall be considered one and the same agreement, and shall become effective when one or

 

50


more counterparts have been signed by each of the Parties and delivered to the other Party.

 

11.9 Amendments

No provisions of this Agreement shall be amended, supplemented or modified by any Party, unless such amendment, supplement or modification is in writing and signed by an authorized representative of each of the Parties.

 

11.10 Waivers

No failure on the part of a Party to exercise and no delay in exercising, and no course of dealing with respect to, any right, power or privilege under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, power or privilege under this Agreement preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege. No provisions of this Agreement may be waived unless the waiver is in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the Party against whom it is sought to enforce such waiver.

 

11.11 No Partnership

Nothing contained herein or in the Agreement shall make a Party a partner of any other Party and no Party shall hold out the other as such.

 

11.12 Taxes, Royalties and Duties; Set-off

 

  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement to the contrary, to the extent any amounts are required under applicable law to be deducted or withheld for or on account of taxes (each such amount, a “ Withheld Amount ”) from any charges or any other sums payable by the Purchaser to the Supplier under this Agreement, the Purchaser shall:

 

  (i) promptly notify the Supplier;

 

  (ii) be entitled to withhold and deduct such amounts;

 

  (iii) pay, or cause to be paid, to the relevant taxing or governmental authority the Withheld Amount in accordance with applicable law;

 

  (iv)

pay the amounts owing under this Agreement reduced by such Withheld Amount, subject to clause (v) below. For greater certainty, subject to clause (v) below, any amount so withheld or deducted by the Purchaser shall discharge the Purchaser’s obligation to pay such portion of such charge or other amount under this Agreement. Subject to applicable law (including any applicable double tax conventions or treaties), the Parties agree to cooperate to reduce any amounts required to be withheld by the Purchaser from any charge

 

51


  or other amounts payable to the Supplier under this Agreement or to obtain a refund of any Withheld Amount, or part thereof; and

 

  (v) if the Withheld Amount is an Indemnifiable Tax, pay to the Supplier such additional amount (the “ Gross Up Payment ”) as is necessary to ensure that the net amount actually received by the Supplier will equal the full amount the Supplier would have received had no such deduction or withholding been required.

 

  (b) Each Party agrees that, so long as either Party has or may have any obligation under this Agreement, it shall upon written demand of the other Party deliver to such other Party (or to any governmental or taxing authority as the other Party reasonably directs), any forms or other documents and provide such other cooperation and assistance as may reasonably be required or requested in writing in order to allow such other Party to make a payment under this Agreement without any deduction or withholding for or on account of any tax or with such deduction or withholding at a reduced rate. Any such form or document shall be accurate and completed in a manner reasonably satisfactory to such other Party and shall be executed and delivered with any reasonably required certification by such date as is agreed between the Parties or, in the absence of such agreement, as soon as reasonably practicable following the demand by the other Party but no later than the due date under applicable law (provided the other Party has given reasonable notice).

 

  (c)

If the Purchaser makes a Gross Up Payment pursuant to Section 11.12(a)(v) and the Supplier determines (whether following a request by the Purchaser, or otherwise) that it has actually received (and would not have received but for such Gross Up Payment) a refund of or in respect of such Gross Up Payment or has received, utilised and retained (and would not have received, utilised and retained but for such Gross Up Payment) any credit against or relief or remission from any Tax by reason of, or in respect of, such Gross Up Payment from the relevant taxing or governmental authority (other than a refund, credit, relief or remission arising from a carryback or carryforward of a tax attribute of the Supplier), the Supplier shall pay over as soon as reasonably practicable such refund or an amount equal to such credit, relief or remission to the Purchaser (but only to the extent of the Gross Up Payment as determined by the Supplier), reduced by all taxes imposed with respect to such refund, credit, relief or remission as determined by the Supplier, net of all out of pocket expenses of the Supplier as determined by the Supplier and without interest; provided that the Purchaser, upon the request of the Supplier, agrees to repay as soon as reasonably practicable the amount of refund, credit, relief or remission paid over to the Purchaser (plus any penalties, interest, or other charges imposed by the relevant taxing or governmental authority) to the Supplier in the event such refund, credit, relief or remission is repaid to the relevant taxing or governmental authority or otherwise reversed. This Section 11.12(c) shall not be construed to require the Supplier to make available its tax

 

52


  returns (or any other information relating to taxes which it deems confidential) to the Purchaser or any other person.

 

  (d) The Parties shall take reasonable measures to avoid any payment under this Agreement becoming subject to deductions or withholdings for or on account of taxes.

 

  (e) Except as provided otherwise in Section 11.12, all payments to be made by either of the Parties under this Agreement shall be made in full, free of any right of counterclaim or setoff and without deduction of any kind.

 

  (f) All VAT Taxes and duties imposed or levied on any Metal supplied, or in respect of the supplies of Metal made (which, for the avoidance of doubt shall not include any taxes assessed on the Supplier in respect of its net income, profits or gains), shall be for the account of and paid by the Purchaser, subject to Section 2.12(g).

 

11.13 Limitations of Liability

 

  (a) Neither Party shall be liable to the other Party, under any theory of recovery, including for liability arising by way of indemnity, in contract or in tort (including negligence) or otherwise, for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage, loss of profit or revenue, loss of contract, loss of use, loss of ***, cost of capital or incursion or financial charges arising in any way out of this Agreement.

 

  (b) Each Party shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to avoid or mitigate any losses which, in the absence of mitigation, would give rise to or increase the amounts recoverable from the other Party pursuant to a breach claim under this Agreement, provided that the other Party shall reimburse the mitigating Party for any costs reasonably incurred by the mitigating Party in complying with this Section 11.13(b). In addition, each Party shall cooperate and endeavour in good faith to mitigate the amount of any costs or expenses which are incurred by such Party and are to be paid or reimbursed by the other Party.

 

  (c) In the event that a Party has a breach claim against the other Party, the claiming Party shall promptly, and in any event within 60 Business Days after it becomes aware of the claim, deliver written notice of the claim which specifies in reasonable detail the basis for the claim; provided that any failure to give notice within such time period shall not relieve the breaching Party from any liability, except and to the extent the breaching Party is actually and materially prejudiced by such failure.

 

11.14 Confidentiality

 

  (a)

Subject to Section 11.15, each Party shall hold, and shall cause its respective Group members and its respective Affiliates (whether now an Affiliate or

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

53


  hereafter becoming an Affiliate) and its and their Representatives to not disclose and to hold, in strict confidence, with at least the same degree of care that applies to its own confidential and proprietary Information, all confidential and proprietary Information concerning the other Group (or any member thereof) that is either in its possession or in the possession of any member of its Group (including Information in its possession or in the possession of any member of its Group prior to the date hereof) or furnished by the other Group (or any member thereof) or by any of its Affiliates (whether now an Affiliate or hereafter becoming an Affiliate) or their respective Representatives at any time pursuant to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby (any such Information referred to herein as “ Confidential Information ”), and shall not use, and shall cause its respective Group members, Affiliates and its and their Representatives not to use, any such Confidential Information other than for such purposes as shall be expressly permitted hereunder or under other agreements between members of the Supplier Group and the Purchaser Group. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Confidential Information shall not include Information that is or was (i) in the public domain other than by the breach of this Agreement or by breach of any other agreement relating to confidentiality between or among the Parties and/or their respective Group members, Affiliates or Representatives, (ii) lawfully acquired by such Party (or any member of the Group to which such Party belongs or any of such Party’s Affiliates) from a Third Party who to the recipient’s knowledge (after reasonable enquiry) is not bound by a confidentiality obligation, or (iii) independently generated or developed by Persons who do not have access to, or descriptions of, any such confidential or proprietary Information of the other Party (or any member of the Group to which such Party belongs).

 

  (b) Each Party shall maintain, and shall cause its respective Group members to maintain, policies and procedures, and develop such further policies and procedures as will from time to time become necessary or appropriate, to ensure compliance with this Section 11.14.

 

  (c)

Each Party agrees not to release or disclose, or permit to be released or disclosed, any Confidential Information to any other Person, except its Representatives who need to know such Confidential Information (who shall be advised of their obligations hereunder with respect to such Confidential Information), and except in compliance with Section 11.15. Without limiting the foregoing, when any Confidential Information furnished by the other Party pursuant to this Agreement is no longer needed for the purposes contemplated by this Agreement, each Party will promptly, after request of the other Party and at the election of the Party receiving such request, return to the other Party all such Confidential Information in a printed or otherwise tangible form (including all copies thereof and all notes, extracts or summaries based thereon) and destroy all Confidential Information in an electronic or otherwise intangible form and certify to the other Party that it has destroyed such Confidential Information (and such copies thereof and such notes, extracts or summaries based thereon). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Parties agree

 

54


that to the extent some Confidential Information to be destroyed or returned is retained as data or records for the purpose of business continuity planning or is otherwise not accessible in the Ordinary Course of Business, such data or records shall be destroyed in the Ordinary Course of Business in accordance, if applicable, with the business continuity plan of the applicable Party.

 

11.15 Protective Arrangements

In the event that any Party or any member of its Group or any Affiliate of such Party or any of their respective Representatives either determines on the advice of its counsel that it is required to publicly disclose any Confidential Information (the “ Disclosing Party ”) pursuant to Applicable Law or receives any demand under lawful process or from any Governmental Authority to disclose or provide Confidential Information of the other Party (or any member of the Group to which such Party belongs) (the “ Requesting Party ”) the Disclosing Party shall, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law, promptly notify the other Party prior to the Disclosing Party disclosing or providing such Confidential Information and shall use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to cooperate with the Requesting Party so that the Requesting Party may seek any reasonable protective arrangements or other appropriate remedy and/or waive compliance with this Section 11.15. All expenses reasonably incurred by the Disclosing Party in seeking a protective order or other remedy will be borne by the Requesting Party. Subject to the foregoing, the Disclosing Party may thereafter disclose or provide such Confidential Information to the extent (but only to the extent) required by such Applicable Law (as so advised by legal counsel) or by lawful process or by such Governmental Authority and shall promptly provide the Requesting Party with a copy of the Confidential Information so disclosed, in the same form and format as disclosed.

 

11.16 Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999

A person who is not a Party has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce or enjoy the benefit of any term of this Agreement.

 

11.17 Service of Process

Without prejudice to any other mode of service allowed under any relevant law, each Party shall, promptly (and in any event within 10 Business Days) following a request by the other Party, irrevocably appoint a process agent for service of process in relation to any proceedings before the English courts in connection with this Agreement.

 

11.18 Parent Company Guarantee

 

  (a)

The Purchaser shall, at its cost, procure the issue and delivery to the Supplier on or prior to the Effective Date, and following its issue, maintain in full force and effect until the expiry or termination of this Agreement, a guarantee from Omega Holdco B.V. in respect of the performance of the Purchaser’s

 

55


  obligations under this Agreement (the “ Parent Company Guarantee ”), in the form set out in Schedule 14 to this Agreement.
  (b) If at any time during the term of this Agreement, Omega Holdco B.V. ceases to be an Affiliate of the Purchaser, the Purchaser shall procure that a replacement parent company guarantee is provided to the Supplier from a guarantor reasonably acceptable to the Supplier on the terms otherwise set out in Section 11.18(a) above.

[The remainder of this page is intentionally blank.]

 

56


IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties hereto have caused this Metal Supply Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized representatives as of the date first hereinabove written.

 

ENGINEERED PRODUCTS
SWITZERLAND AG, a company
incorporated in Switzerland
By:  

/s/ Sandra Walker

Name:   Sandra Walker
Title:   Group Counsel,
  Strategic Projects, Rio Tinto
RIO TINTO ALCAN INC., a company
incorporated in France
By:  

/s/ Sandra Walker

Name:   Sandra Walker
Title:   Group Counsel, Strategic
  Projects, Rio Tinto

 

57


SCHEDULE 1

ADDITIONAL UPCHARGES AND DISCOUNTS

The following Additional Upcharges shall apply to Metal supplied under the Agreement:

 

1. Sawing Upcharge :

 

 

 

Sawing Requirements

 

Marking

 

Sawing Upcharge

(Euros per Tonne)

 

Head or Foot Sawn

  TS or PS   ***
 

Head and foot Sawn

  TPS   ***

In the event that the Specifications cannot reasonably be fulfilled unless by sawing, the Supplier shall be entitled to charge the appropriate Additional Upcharge, notwithstanding the Marking on the order received from the Purchaser.

 

2. Small Lot Size Upcharge :

All Confirmed Orders for Metal shall be for multiples of full casting batches (that is the maximum number of unsawn sheet ingots of a specification that can be cast from one furnace in a single drop).

 

Casting Batches per order line of Metal

   

Small Lot Size Upcharge (Euros per Tonne,

per Supplier Facility)

 
3 or less for *** to *** Contract Years     ***  

 

3. Long Lead Time Discount;

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

58


Discount of *** Euros per Tonne of Metal where lead time between the last Business Day of the week in which the order for Metal is provided to the Supplier and the first Business Day of the week in which the Metal is to be shipped exceeds *** Business Days.

 

4. Furnace Optimization :

The Parties hereby agree to work together in good faith and to use Commercially Reasonable Endeavours to increase and maximize efficiency, including in terms of furnace optimization at the Supplier Facilities; provided that the foregoing obligation shall not require any Party to agree on any amendments to or waive any rights afforded to them under this Agreement. Furnace optimization occurs when the maximum furnace charge that the Supplier Facility can apply is achieved, given the technical capabilities of the Supplier Facility, the format, the alloy and the characteristics of the alloy as defined in the Specifications.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

59


SCHEDULE 2

ALLOY ADJUSTMENTS

The Alloy Adjustment shall apply to all alloys other than 1xxx and 8xxx series alloys.

The Alloy Adjustment shall be calculated as follows and shall be revised every 6 th calendar month as specified below throughout the Term of the Agreement:

Alloy Adjustment = P × [A – LME] converted in Euros/Tonne.

Where:

 

P

   = % of alloying element weight content in the Metal as per Purchaser Specifications,

A

   = Average price for the relevant alloy during the six month period specified below determined for five alloying elements in the following manner:

 

  (a) For Magnesium, minimum ***% average Magnesium price FOB Chinese port as published in Metal Bulletin , plus an additional charge of USD *** per Tonne;

 

  (b) For Manganese, minimum ***% electrolytic Manganese flake free market monthly average as published in Metal Bulletin plus an additional charge of USD *** per Tonne;

 

  (c) For Silicon, Silicon *** Euros per Tonne monthly average as published in Metal Bulletin ; plus an additional charge of USD *** per Tonne;

 

  (d) For Copper, Cash LME *** as published in Metal Bulletin plus an additional charge of *** USD per Tonne;

 

  (e) For Chromium, minimum ***% world free market alumino-thermic monthly average as published in Metal Bulletin plus an additional charge of *** USD per Tonne.

Less common alloy ingredients such as Bismuth (Bi), Strontium (Sr) and Zinc (Zn) will be charged as the case may be using *** and/or mutually agreed references along the same principles.

LME: same as defined in the Agreement, calculated as the six month monthly average for the six months relevant period specified below.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

60


Conversion from USD/Tonne to Euros/Tonne = using the same exchange rate as defined in the Agreement, §1.2.

The Alloy Adjustment shall be revised according to the following schedule:

The flat rates will be revised annually subject to mutual agreement of the Parties before 20 th of December for each following year.

For the invoicing period for the months of January to June of year Y (and for each month of such invoicing period), the average price of the relevant alloy (A) and for LME for the months of June to November of year Y-1 shall be used. Alloy adjustment reference values for first half of year Y to be provided by the Supplier to the Purchaser before 20 th of December year Y-1.

For the invoicing period for the months of July to December of year Y (and for each month of such invoicing period), the average price of the relevant alloy (A) and for LME for the months of December Y-1 to May Y shall be used. Alloy adjustment reference values for second half of year Y to be provided by the Supplier to the Purchaser before 20 th of June year Y.

Example of Alloy Adjustment calculation for Magnesium in Alloy 5005 :

 

P    = 0.9%
Mg    = USD ***/Tonne + USD ***/Tonne = USD ***/Tonne
LME    = USD ***/Tonne

Alloy 5005:  [0.009 × (*** – ***)] / *** [i.e. USD *** = 1 Euro] = *** Euros/ Tonne

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

61


SCHEDULE 3

FINANCING COSTS

The Financing Costs shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

[(a+b+c+d+e+f+g+h+i+j+k-l) × Overnight LIBOR × 60/360]

Where :

 

  (a) is the LME Aluminium Price;

 

  (b) is the EC Duty Paid Premium;

 

  (c) is the Safety Net Volume Premium, if any;

 

  (d) is the Standard Sheet Ingot Premium;

 

  (e) is the Logistics Cost;

 

  (f) is the Quality Upcharge;

 

  (g) is the Alloy Adjustment, if any (with any downward adjustment to be expressed as a negative number);

 

  (h) is the Additional Upcharge, if any;

 

  (i) is the Product under Development Upcharge, if any;

 

  (j) is the New Tooling Upcharge, if any;

 

  (k) is the Trial Product Upcharge, if any; and

 

  (l) means any applicable discounts (including the Unsawn Discount and those set forth in Section 3 of  Schedule 1 ).

Values used for (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j) and (k) above will be based on the average values of the previous calendar quarter.

Overnight LIBOR ” means the average of the rate in effect for each day during the applicable quotation period for deposits in Dollars for overnight funds that is fixed as of 11:00 a.m., London time on such date (or if such date is not a business day in London, on the first business day preceding such date) and displayed on Bloomberg under the ticker “US00O/N Index” or under such other ticker as may replace such ticker on Bloomberg or such other service or services as may be nominated by the British Bankers’ Association for the purpose of displaying London interbank offered rates for deposits in Dollars. If no such rate appears on Bloomberg, then Overnight LIBOR in respect of such date will be the arithmetic mean of the offered rates (unless

 

62


the display referred to below by its terms provides only for a single rate, in which case such single rate shall be used) for deposits in the London interbank market in U.S. dollars that appear on the display on the Reuters Monitor Money Rates Service for the purpose of displaying the London interbank offered rates of major banks for Dollars as of 11:00 a.m., London time, on such date (or if such date is not a Business Day, on the first Business Day preceding such date), if at least two such offered rates appear.

 

63


SCHEDULE 4

LOGISTICS COSTS

Sales are CIP or CIF (Incoterms 2000).

Below, freight cost for normal transport mode is indicated where available.

 

Origin

  

Destination

  

Applied term

  

Freight
paid by Purchaser

  

Remarks

  

Freight Costs
Indication

Dunkerque

   Neuf-Brisach    ***    From Dunkerque to Neuf-Brisach    ***    ***

Dunkerque

   Issoire    ***    From Dunkerque to Issoire    ***    ***

Dunkerque

   Singen    ***    From Dunkerque to Singen    ***    ***

ISAL

   Neuf-Brisach    ***    From Rotterdam to Neuf-Brisach   

***

***

  

ISAL

   Issoire    ***    From Rotterdam to Issoire   

***

***

  

ISAL

   Singen    ***    From Rotterdam to Singen   

***

***

   ***
Lynemouth    Neuf-Brisach    ***    From Lynemouth to Neuf-Brisach    ***    ***
Lynemouth    Issoire    ***    From Lynemouth to Issoire    ***   
Lynemouth    Singen    ***    From Lynemouth to Singen    ***   

Charged freight cost will be revised as needed, at a minimum on an annual basis. The Parties will work together to optimize logistics arrangements with the goal of reducing costs while maintaining or improving reliability and quality of service.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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SCHEDULE 5

ALLOYS AND APPLICABLE QUALITY UPCHARGES

 

Rolling Mill

  

RTA Alloy Designation

  

Singen Alloy Designation

  

Quality Upcharge (EUR/t)

  

Notes

Neuf Brisach

   ***         
   ***         
   ***         
   ***         
   ***       ***    Subject to Additional Conditions set forth in Schedule 6
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

65


Rolling Mill

  

RTA Alloy Designation

  

Singen Alloy Designation

  

Quality Upcharge (EUR/t)

  

Notes

   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***         

Singen

   ***    ***    ***   
   ***    ***      
   ***    ***    ***   
   ***    ***    ***   
   ***    ***    ***   
   ***       ***   
      ***    ***   

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

66


Rolling Mill

  

RTA Alloy Designation

  

Singen Alloy Designation

  

Quality Upcharge (EUR/t)

  

Notes

         ***   
   ***       ***   
      ***    ***   
   ***    ***    ***   
   ***    ***    ***   
   ***    ***    ***   

Issoire

   ***         
   ***         
   ***         
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***   
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by prior special agreement
   ***       ***    Only deliverable by

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

67


Rolling Mill

  

RTA Alloy Designation

  

Singen Alloy Designation

  

Quality Upcharge (EUR/t)

  

Notes

   ***       ***    prior special agreement

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

68


SCHEDULE 6

SPECIFICATIONS

*** ALLOY

***Alloy for *** has specific low inclusion quality requirements that must be satisfied. High inclusions levels in *** Alloy produce defective *** at ***, and the rejected *** coils rate is measured in terms of parts per million (PPM)

PPM Level ” for a given 3-month period, a given Supplier Facility, a given Delivery Site, and a given alloy shall equal (i) the weight of coils rejected by customers of the Purchaser’s Group due to inclusions which were produced at the Delivery Site with the alloy shipped from the Supplier Facility, divided by (ii) the total weight of coils shipped to customers of the Purchaser’s Group which were produced at the Delivery Site from the alloy supplied from the Supplier Facility, and multiplied by 1,000,000.

For example, if during a period of 3 months, the weighted of rejected coils is 20 tonnes, and the weight of shipped coils is 3500 tonnes, the PPM Level for such 3-month period would be 5714. The PPM level will be measured for periods of 3 months (January through March, April through June, July through September and October through December) during each Contract Year of the Term. The *** applicable for a Supplier Facility, Delivery Site and alloy for any 3-month period will be based on the PPM Level for such Supplier Facility, Delivery Site and alloy in the immediately preceding 3-month period. The Purchaser shall notify the Supplier of its PPM Level measurement for each 3-month period and of any claims made by customers of the Purchaser Group which relate to such measurement.

If the PPM Level in a 3-month period for a given Supplier Facility and Delivery Site is equal to or less than the *** PPM Level, then a full *** of *** Euros per Tonne shall apply to *** Alloy that is shipped from such Supplier Facility to such Delivery Site during the next succeeding 3-month period.

If the PPM Level in a 3-month period for a given Supplier Facility and Delivery Site is equal to or greater than the *** PPM Level, a reduced *** of *** Euros per Tonne shall apply to *** Alloy that is shipped from such Supplier Facility to such Delivery Site during the next succeeding 3-month period.

The *** PPM Level, *** PPM Level and Maximum Threshold applicable in respect of any given 6-month period are set forth in Table 1 below.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

69


Time period:

  

*** PPM Level:

   *** PPM Level:    Maximum Threshold:

H1 2011

   *** PPM    *** PPM    *** PPM

H2 2011

   *** PPM    *** PPM    *** PPM

H1 2012

   *** PPM    *** PPM    *** PPM

H2 2012

   *** PPM    *** PPM    *** PPM

H1 2013

   *** PPM    *** PPM    *** PPM

H2 2013 (and each 6-month period thereafter)

   *** PPM    *** PPM    *** PPM

If the PPM Level during a 3-month period is above the Maximum Threshold in Table 1 then the Purchaser will be entitled to de-qualify the defaulting Supplier Facility for *** Alloy. The disqualified Supplier Facility must then be requalified before being able to supply *** Alloy to Purchaser. In the event that a Supplier Facility is disqualified and the Supplier does not supply replacement Metal from another Supplier Facility, the Purchaser shall have the right to reduce the quantity of Metal that it is required to purchase under the Agreement by an amount equal to the quantity of Metal which was to be supplied by the Supplier Facility in question for the corresponding time period.

As a result of the *** Alloy quality performance in the six-month period prior to the Effective Date, orders shipped during the six-month period immediately following the Effective Date from the Dunkerque Facility shall be subject to the reduced *** and orders for the same period shipped from other Supplier Facilities shall be subject to the full ***.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

70


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S LAB S PECIFICATION TO RTA

FROM N EUF -B RISACH AND I SSOIRE F ACILITIES

(Omega)

 

Version

  

Application Date

  

 

  

Date

  

Name

  

Visa

Origin    19/11/2010    Writer       B. Commet   
      NH Approval       L. Thomas   
      IS Approval       R. Dif   
      Supplier approval         

 


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CONTENTS   
Contents   
1   OBJECTIVE    74
  1.1   General introduction    74
  1.2   The Purpose    74
  1.3   The Scope    74
  1.4   Related documents    74
2   ORDERING    74
3   CHEMICAL COMPOSITION    75
  3.1   Composition standards    75
  3.2   Analysis    75
4   GEOMETRICAL QUALITY    76
  4.1   Slab length    76
  4.2   Slab thickness    76
  4.3   Slab width    76
  4.4   Slab straightness    77
  4.5   Slab side shape    77
  4.6   Slab torsions and deflections    77
5   SLAB SURFACE QUALITY    78
6   METALLURGICAL QUALITY    78
7   QUALITY ASSURANCE    79
  7.1   Principle    79
  7.2   Process modification    79
  7.3   Statistical techniques    79
  7.4   Traceability    79
  7.5   Handling of non-conformity and defects    79
  7.6   Supervision plans    80
  7.7   Audit    80
8   MARKING    80
  8.1   Paint characteristics    80
  8.2   NH Marking    80
  8.3   IS Marking    81
  8.4   Special marks    82

 


9   SHIPMENT – PACKING    82
  9.1   Packing    82
  9.2   Mode of transportation    82
  9.3   Loading of vehicles    82
10   WEIGHT AND ANALYSIS CERTIFICATES    83
  10.1   Shipping document    83
  10.2   Shipping file    83
A.1   PROCEDURE FOR QUALITY APPROVAL    84
  A.1.1   The purpose of quality approval    84
  A.1.2   Scope of quality approval    84
  A.1.3   Contents of an approval    84
  A.1.4   Evaluation of the Quality Assurance system    84
  A.1.5   Approval lots    84
  A.1.6   Follow up of approval lots    84
  A.1.7   Approval decision    84
  A.1.8   PQA recording    85
  A.1.9   De-qualification    85
A.2   PARAMETERS OF SLAB FABRICATION PROCESS    86
A.3   STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE AND CAPABILITY    87
A.4   SHIPPING FILE FORMATS    88
  A.4.1   Text file format    88
  A.4.2   File format 1 (NH)    88
  A.4.3   File format 2 (NH)    88
  A.4.4   File format 3 (IS)    89

 


1 OBJECTIVE

 

1.1 General introduction

If there is any discrepancy, ambiguity or inconsistency between this Specification and the terms and provisions of the Metal Supply Agreement, the terms of the Metal Supply Agreement shall prevail.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 is intended to imply any warranty on the part of the Supplier as to the fitness for any particular purpose or merchantability of the Metal.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 shall entitle the Purchaser to any recourse against the Supplier in respect of the failure of Metal supplied under this Agreement to comply with the Specifications, other than as expressly set out in Section 2.10 of the Metal Supply Agreement.

 

1.2 The Purpose

This Slab Specification concerns the supply by an outside producer (hereinafter referred to as « the Supplier ») of aluminum or aluminum alloys slabs (i.e. sheet ingots or rolling ingots) for the two Alcan-Rhenalu facilities: Neuf-Brisach plant (hereinafter referred to as « NH ») and Issoire plant (hereinafter referred to as « IS »).

Slabs are made to obtain:

 

   

current rolled products designed for *** ,

 

   

current rolled products designed for *** ,

 

   

coils to be rerolled for manufacture of ***,

 

   

strips and shapes for *** applications,

 

   

strips and sheets for *** ,

 

   

strips for *** applications,

 

   

current rolled products designed for *** ,

 

   

current sheets products designed for ***.

 

1.3 The Scope

This Slab Specification concerns alloys of the families 1000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000 and 8000 and defines the general requirements with regards to:

 

   

metal chemical composition,

 

   

geometrical characteristics,

 

   

slab surface quality,

 

   

metallurgical quality,

 

   

quality assurance,

 

   

shipment, packing,

 

   

environment.

 

1.4 Related documents

All requirements specific to a Supplier’s plant are gathered in the Alloy Specification . This data sheet contains the alloy compositions, their metallurgical specifications, statistical performance targets, slab sizes, concessions . . .

The following table lists the references used in the present document.

 

Reference

  

Name and description

***    ***
***    *** reference frame.
***    ***
***    Description of the standard for *** measurement.
***    Standard for ***.

 

2 ORDERING

The order must contain the following elements:

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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Element

  

Description

Reference number    Ordering reference number.
Time of delivery    The time of delivery is the week in which the slabs arrive at the plant.
Alloy    Code mutually agreed which corresponds to the 6 digit alloy number used by ALCAN Rhénalu.
Dimension    Width and Thickness in millimeters.
Length    Length is expressed in centimeters (NH) and millimeters (IS).
Sawing operation   

If sawing is necessary, this will be indicated by the following abbreviations:

« Foot sawn » = sawn off at bottom, by *** at least.

« Head sawn » = sawn off at top, by *** at least.

« Both ends sawn » = sawn off at top and bottom, by at least *** from bottom and *** from top.

Lack of any indication means that the slabs are ordered ***.

 

The Supplier may at his own discretion saw head and/or foot of a product ordered
« as cast » to comply with other requirements included in the present specifications.

 

3 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

 

3.1 Composition standards

The alloy standards produced by the Supplier are listed by the Alloy Specification . Creation or modification of an alloy implies a new release of this spec sheet. The Alloy Specification is signed by both sides prior to any production.

NH requires an average composition equal to the aimed value of the reference standard. The composition distribution must be:

 

1. *** in the statistical term *** ,

 

2. within the limits of the standard,

 

3. with a statistical performance at least *** on critical elements (cf. §7.3 and the Alloy Specification).

 

3.2 Analysis

The Supplier ascertains the composition by analyzing casting samples, returning element concentration in wt%. Disparity in analysis between NH/IS and the Supplier may lead to a shift in the aimed composition. It must be identified and corrected whenever possible.

*** elements must be analyzed systematically: ***. Some minor elements may be added according to the ultimate application of the metal (like *** ). They appear with only a maximum in the Alloy Specification. The element order given must be respected.

The material is sampled during casting at least at the *** (within the first *** cast) and at the ***. These samples (*** at least) must be stored for 1 year. The Supplier is free to sample more. The average has to be consistent with the samples, e.g. *** samples are taken, if only *** and *** samples are compared to standard, the average is computed from those two samples.

The *** describes the digit rounding rules. Every element concentration of each casting samples and their average value of these elements across all casting samples must be within the chemical composition intervals.

The Supplier provides the average composition, not the individual casting sample values. This average value has all digits given by the measurement apparatus (no digit rounding).

Environmental concerns. The Supplier commits to provide slabs which are not radioactive and don’t contain uranium (i.e. complying with alloy composition spec).

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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4 GEOMETRICAL QUALITY

 

4.1 Slab length

This is the overall length measured on the slabs, whether they are sawn or not. The length is measured along the center line; accuracy of a tape.

The tolerances in length ordered are:

 

   

for unsawn slabs : ***,

 

   

for sawn slabs : ***.

They are requested with a statistical performance *** (cf. §7.3).

 

4.2 Slab thickness

Thickness measurements have to be made *** *** from *** and *** , out of a *** :

 

   

*** x thickness on *** and *** x thickness on *** (cf. below),

 

   

*** x thickness from ***.

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Figure 1: Description of the *** on slab *** (unsawn and sawn).

t = Product thickness

Measurement is done at two points on each section, one at least *** from the *** and one at the ***. The difference between the slab extreme thickness and the thickness ordered must be within *** , with a statistical performance *** (cf. §7.3).

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Figure 2: Principle of measuring the *** variation in the ***

 

4.3 Slab width

This is the overall width measured on the slabs. Measurement of width is done at the *** and at the *** of the slab, at the *** of the section, after elimination of the *** at the *** and ***.

The difference between the slab *** and the *** must be within *** , with a statistical performance *** (cf. §7.3).

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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*** Figure 3: Definition of the *** , outside the ***

 

4.4 Slab straightness

Since the slab cross-section is not constant (convex base – flat middle – concave top, cf. picture below), it is necessary to minimize deformations so that the slabs can be « bleached » (whole skin and all marks removed) in one scalping pass.

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Figure 4: The slab *** is *** than the ***. The *** is the opposite.

Thickness span (max-min) at any point of the slab surface (*** – so it includes the *** , the *** and any steady state *** effects) must not exceed:

 

   

on unsawn slabs : ***,

 

   

on sawn slabs : ***.

For slabs with foot sawn, differences in *** at any point of the slab must be less than ***.

 

4.5 Slab side shape

The side shape is that of the equipment being used at the time of signature of this document. Prior to any change of casting mold (old or new format), the Supplier must obtain NH/IS approval of the side geometry.

 

4.6 Slab torsions and deflections

Deflection measurements are made on the *** after elimination of the *** at the *** and ***. The following drawing shows the types of deflections and the way to measure them. Maximal values are:

 

   

A = Lateral deflection or bow on side : ***

 

   

B = Longitudinal deflection or deflection on face : ***

 

   

C = Transversal deformation, hollow or bulge : ***

 

   

D = Diagonal deflection or twist : ***

In case of a bayonet type defect (local lateral deformation), the deviation must be less than *** and the tolerance is *** of deformation per *** of length.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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Figure 5: 4 principal slab deviations

5 SLAB SURFACE QUALITY

In general, rolling face defects should be ***. All *** information could be provided by NH upon Supplier requirement, for the Supplier to improve the surface quality and geometry. It includes ***.

Major surface defect specification:

 

   

No ***.

 

   

No ***.

 

   

No ***.

 

   

No ***.

 

   

No ***.

 

   

No *** on faces or sides.

 

   

No *** on foot sawn slabs.

 

   

*** lower than *** on *** slabs are allowed (measured on the faces or the sides of the slab).

 

   

No *** out on faces or sides.

 

   

No ***.

 

   

No *** out for foot sawn slabs.

 

   

No mark *** on the rolling faces made by handling equipment.

 

   

Top shrinkage pipe includes the visible cavity and the small cracks emerging on the surface. The depth of the top shrinkage pipe must not exceed ***. On slabs sawn off at top, there must not be any remaining traces of shrinkage pipe.

List of minor surface defects to be avoided (The following requirements are to be construed as the statement of a target only):

 

   

The slabs delivered must be clean, non-corroded and without oil stains.

 

   

The bottoms of unsawn slabs must be free from inlaid materials.

 

   

Horizontal and vertical exudations (sweating).

 

   

Water streak (lime deposits).

 

   

Oxide skin patches.

 

   

Handling marks: preferably no more than 7 gripper marks per side.

 

6. METALLURGICAL QUALITY

Metallurgical requirements depend on final product properties (mechanical characteristics, isotropy, suitability for anodizing, etc...). The metallurgical quality is detailed in the Alloy Specification grouped by application.

The metallurgical quality is described by various parameters:

 

   

***

according to *** , in.

 

   

***.

 

   

***.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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Metal cleanliness: inclusions...

 

   

Shell zone size and structure.

NH/IS don’t request the Supplier to check continuously the metallurgical quality of the slabs. But NH/IS and the Supplier may decide from time to time to check that specific metallurgical characteristics respect the specifications.

 

7 QUALITY ASSURANCE

The requirements with regard to quality assurance are as follows.

 

7.1 Principle

Our Product Quality Assurance (PQA) approach is such that, once qualified, the Supplier delivers the specified products under Quality Assurance.

The quality approval procedure (Qualification) is set forth in appendix A.1. In some cases, it may be altered by mutual consent between NH/IS and the Supplier.

 

7.2 Process modification

The Supplier has to inform NH/IS whenever a critical parameter has changed (cf. list in Appendix A.2). In such a case, a qualification must be run.

 

7.3 Statistical techniques

NH/IS requires the Supplier to ensure the product quality remains under control, i.e. product key indicators are stable in time and within tolerances with a small rejection rate. This latter is measured by the Statistical Performance: Ppk (cf. Appendix A.3).

The Ppk is computed on the following product characteristics:

 

   

Chemical composition on key elements listed in the Alloy Specification per alloy. Every casting sample (i.e. not the cast average value) of every cast, without digit-rounding, is used in computation of Ppk.

 

   

Geometrical characteristics: slab length, width and thickness. The sampling rate will be established by the Supplier in accordance with his own Performance.

The initial target is *** and has to be construed as a target only.

The Supplier reports every quarter (beginning of January, March, July, and October), with Ppk graphs spanning over at least the last 8 quarters. Also an action plan is presented in case Ppk are below target.

 

7.4 Traceability

The Supplier must ensure traceability of all the parameters that he considers significant in his process. Records are kept at least for 5 years.

 

7.5 Handling of non-conformity and defects

According to ISO 9001, non-conformity is the non-satisfaction of a specified requirement. The level of non-conformity is analyzed every quarter. Quarter objectives are set at the beginning of each year.

Non-conformity can occur at the Supplier’s plant or can be detected at the Purchaser’s Group facilities or at the Purchaser’s Group facilities customers plants

Any non-conformity detected at the Supplier’s plant must either be internally rejected, or give rise to concession with all necessary technical details (a picture must come with surface defects request). Any non-conform product cannot leave the Supplier’s plant before NH/IS written approval.

Request for concession will be sent by mail to Casthouse Quality Department. For NH, non-conformities in length should be sent to Metal Supply and Launching Department. NH or IS cannot issue a claim for a product on which they formerly agreed a concession. NH or IS keep tracks of every Supplier’s request, with record of the decision.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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The Supplier is informed of any non-conformity detected during transformation, The Supplier must work to help NH or IS securizing the metal flow, identifying the root cause and correcting them sustainably.

 

7.6 Supervision plans

A supervision plan is introduced and updated by the Supplier to list the Key Process Indicators, how to track them, their limits and corrective actions in case of deviation.

 

7.7 Audit

After agreement of the Supplier, NH/IS may make quality audits in Supplier’s plant. The purpose is to evaluate the compliance of the Supplier with the specifications. Audit is based on the supervision plan (cf. §7.6) and reviews the proceedings (Quality System), the product quality and the production process.

Reasons for audits may be qualification of new product or process, major process modification, re-qualification, situation after a corrective action plan, continuation audit (every 3 years) . . .

 

8 MARKING

 

8.1 Paint characteristics

The paint properties are:

 

   

high temperature (800°C) and water resistant,

 

   

lead free,

 

   

size of character: 50 – 125 mm high,

 

   

colors: black,

 

   

printed with stencils or similar (automatic marking).

 

8.2 NH Marking

The slabs are to be stamped on the head and painted along both sides.

Head stamping is made of: NH Plant Letter (X), the casting number (123545) and the individual slab number (6).

Side marks must be centered on 1 line at mid-thickness, in the following order:

 

   

1 letter for the NH Plant Letter (e.g. X),

 

   

5 digits for the casting number (e.g. 12345),

 

   

1 digit for the individual number in the casting i.e. the slab index (e.g. 6),

 

   

6 digits for the alloy (e.g. 105005),

 

   

4 digits for the NH size code (e.g. 3661),

 

   

3 digits for the ordered length in cm (e.g. 410),

 

   

weight in kg (e.g. 10400).

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Figure 6: Marking principle on head and side for NH slabs

 

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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We draw attention on the two following codes:

 

   

Casting number . The Supplier has to provide a casting number within 5 digits. In case the Supplier casting number is different, the Supplier should introduce a dedicated casting numbering for NH, and keeps alive a cross-reference table for traceability reasons.

 

   

NH Plant Letter . Each plant is assigned a single letter that identifies it. It is used before the cast number.

 

   

NH size code . A 4 digits code specifies the format. The first two digits are part of the width and the two last are part of the thickness. This only works with metric sizes as described in the following example. A special code exists for particular formats, e.g. above 2000 mm width.

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Figure 7: Example of translation of the metric slab size (in mm) to the NH size code

The two last codes are written in the Alloy specification.

 

8.3 IS Marking

The slabs are to be stamped on the head and painted along both sides.

Head stamping is made of: The IS Plant Number (123), the cast number (12345) and the individual slab number (6). On the following line write the Alloy number (e.g. 105005).

Side marks must be centered on 1 line at mid-thickness, in the following order:

 

   

3 digits for the IS Plant Number (e.g. 123),

 

   

5 digits for the casting number (e.g. 12345),

 

   

1 digit for the individual number in the casting i.e. the slab index (e.g. 6),

 

   

6 digits for the alloy (e.g. 105005),

 

   

2 digits for the IS size code (e.g. 62),

 

   

4 digits for the ordered length mm (e.g. 4100),

 

   

weight in kg (e.g. 10400).

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Figure 8: Marking principle on head and side for IS slabs

We draw attention on the two following codes:

 

   

Casting number . Same as NH.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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IS Plant Number. Each plant supplying IS is assigned a 3-digits number. It is used before the cast number.

 

   

IS size code. A 2-digit number is the reference for the size; e.g. size 62 is 2180 mm wide and 600 mm thick. The two last codes are written in the Alloy specification.

 

8.4 Special marks

Sawn foot must be marked for traceability stake, even if the head is not sawn. A pair of horizontal strokes at the level of marking, beginning on the big side near this one and going on the cut side (cf. below) are painted. Each stroke extends at least 100 mm on each face and should be at least 50 mm wide. The same paint as for marking is used for these strokes.

Warning code is used to track slabs with non-standard processing or particular observations, e.g. material for trials, qualification batch, new alloy, new size... It is written after the slab weight (e.g. W01). It appears in the command. The code is “WXX” with XX belonging to [01; 99].

 

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Figure 9: Marking on both sides + Paint strokes on sawn foot + Warning code (NH marking for example)

 

9 SHIPMENT — PACKING

 

9.1 Packing

The slabs must be delivered:

 

   

without any protective packaging,

 

   

stacked on 2 pieces of timber of minimum 110 mm thickness to allow handling by forklift truck (horizontally) or by traveling crane (vertically).

Strips to hoop timbers and slabs are requested by NH. The strip can be made of steel or plastic. For any transport means, IS don’t request the slabs to be stripped to the timbers.

 

9.2 Mode of transportation

NH is equipped for efficient unloading of railway wagons. It is therefore desired to receive the slabs by rail or by Rhine barge via the Rhine port of Neuf-Brisach. In the latter case, transfer onto platform wagons is carried out in the port of Neuf-Brisach by the Colmar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Lorries may only be used in an emergency, in case use of wagons is not possible.

 

9.3 Loading of vehicles

Wagons . Only flat wagons with stanchions or flap down aluminum side rails may be used.

Flat wagons equipped with retractable plate holders are very suitable for this kind of transport (stanchions which can be removed by lifting, and steel side rails are prohibited). The slabs must be:

 

   

placed in 1 central row along the longitudinal axis of the wagons,

 

   

arranged on 1 or 2 levels depending on the slab shape and wagon size,

 

   

hooked and wedged so as to avoid any movement during transport.

Trucks.     The slabs must:

 

   

be placed on timber,

 

   

not been stacked,

 

   

be placed along the longitudinal axis of the lorry,

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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be laid and wedged so as to avoid any movement during transportation,

 

   

be loaded in such a way that they can be unloaded horizontally by a fork truck or vertically by a traveling crane with grab or sling.

 

10 WEIGHT AND ANALYSIS CERTIFICATES

Delivery data are sent in two systematic forms: a paper document (Shipping documents) accompanying the slabs and a data file (Shipping file) via electronic means to NH/IS systems.

 

10.1 Shipping document

One shipping notice with certificate of analysis and declaration of conformity must be issued per order, per shipping date and per vehicle. It should arrive at NH/IS (Supply / Launching Department) at the latest the same time as the corresponding products, and must include the following indications:

 

1) Order reference,
2) Shipment reference (number of notice or certificate),
3) Date of shipment,
4) Supplier’s plant,
5) Alloy,
6) Dimensions and/or size code + length,
7) Number of slabs – total gross and net weights,
8) For each slab: Casting number + individual index (idem slab marking)
                                     net weight in kg
9) Average cast chemical composition (cf. §3.2).
10) A declaration of conformity must be given for the whole delivery, certifying that the products shipped conform to this Slab Specification.

NH/IS carries out weight controls by sampling on incoming slabs. A systematic drift between the Supplier values and these controls will lead to a claim.

It is desirable to find all of this information on a single document. It may include several pages, according to the size of the shipment.

 

10.2 Shipping file

For each shipment, a text file must be sent to NH/IS. It contains all key information for every slab. There is several file formats (cf. §A.4): Format 1 and 2 (NH) and Format 3 (IS). The protocol for sending the file directly to our system is given by IT department.

For special occasion, e.g. early phase of qualification or low quantity, a temporary concession is accepted. The text file or an Excel file has to be sent by mail to the Supply Chain technician. The file formats are similar. Templates and samples are available upon request.


A.1 PROCEDURE FOR QUALITY APPROVAL

 

A.1.1 The purpose of quality approval

This is two-fold:

 

   

to ensure that the casting quality is up to the level required and fulfills the conditions of the Slab Specification,

 

   

to ensure that the manufactured products are not different from usual production.

 

A.1.2 Scope of quality approval

Quality approval (Qualification) may be required in the event of:

 

   

new alloy,

   

new process (new plant, new unit, new machine, new gas, filtering media, . . .),

   

changes in process used at the time of the quality approval.

Meetings between the Supplier and NH/IS should enable them to define precisely what the stages of quality approval involve. General rules for quality approval are given below. Special conditions may be decided from case to case.

In any event, the quality approval program must be agreed beforehand by the Supplier and NH.

 

A.1.3 Contents of an approval

A product quality approval is made of 4 phases:

1. Evaluation of the Quality Assurance System of the Supplier,
2. Approval lots specifically followed,
3. Decision regarding quality approval,
4. Audit Phase.

 

A.1.4 Evaluation of the Quality Assurance system

The Supplier must have a quality assurance system consistent with ISO 9001. If the plant is not certified, NH will make an audit to evaluate the technical and organizational ability of the Supplier to respect the Slab Specification over the long term. In all cases, a discussion must take place with the Supplier on the following points:

 

   

Technical. It is necessary to have a precise idea of the layout of the process for which quality approval is requested; the ability of the process to comply with the Slab Specification is to be estimated,

 

   

Traceability,

 

   

Tests made.

From these discussions, an action plan could result. It has to be implemented by the Supplier.

 

A.1.5 Approval lots

NH has to define the approval route. The trial lot number may vary between 1 and 3, and trial tonnage between 50 and 1000 t.

 

A.1.6 Follow up of approval lots

The Supplier must ascertain, by extensive checking, that the slabs of the approval lots fulfill the Slab Specification, and must provide to NH the following information about them: reminder of process used, results of inspections of aspect, geometry, and all other points specified in the Slab Specification.

For traceability reasons, NH might ask for a slab special marking (cf. §8.4), via the order.

 

A.1.7 Approval decision

When inspection of the trial lots has been completed, the decision to approve the Supplier is made according to the final customer’s results and NH’s judgment on the ability of the Supplier’s process and on the level of his Quality Assurance System.

NH may decide to take deliveries from the Supplier, without granting quality approval, during a certain period of additional testing, or whilst certain planned improvements are being made by the Supplier.

If an approval phase has a negative result, it is possible to repeat tests of this phase if the time lapse does not exceed one year.

The approval is formalized by a “qualification report” sent to the Supplier.


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A.1.8    PQA recording

The Supplier is required to:

 

   

sign PQA document and to send the original to the Purchasing Department of NH factory,

 

   

mark, whenever possible, the delivered products and the delivery documents with the ‘‘PQA” symbol.

A.1.9    De-qualification

The Supplier and the NH/IS will agree that Section 2.11 of the MSA will apply.

 


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  A.2 PARAMETERS OF SLAB FABRICATION PROCESS

This is the list of critical parameters for slab production covering all aspects of the process, ranging from casting process, materials or raw materials.

 

Topic

  

Parameters

Electrolysis metal    ***
Pretreatment of electrolysis metal    ***
Load    ***
Flux    ***
Alloying metals and master alloys    ***
***    ***
Settling    ***
Treatment of metal in furnace    ***
Treatment during casting    ***
Filtration    ***
Casting    ***
Geometrical and metallurgical tests    Type and frequency of the tests achieved
Chemical analyses   

Sample type

Analysis apparatus

Number and selection of analysis samples in a casting

Materials    In addition to the traceability of *** for the *** , the Supplier must report changes in *** and in the ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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  A.3 STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE AND CAPABILITY

The defective rate is measured by the statistical Performance (named Pp). It is the ratio of the Client’s specification to the Supplier’s product variability, computed over the whole population. Since the average value is not systematically centered, the Ppk has to be computed. It is a one-sided performance with mathematical definition:

 

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With:

USL = Upper Specification Limit

LSL = Lower Specification Limit

µ = average value

s = standard-deviation

NH requests the Supplier to monitor the process performance and to reach the minimum target of ***.

***

This table lists Ppk, rejection rates and 6-sigma levels.

 

Ppk

  

Sigma level ( s )

  

Yield Level

  

Rejection rate

***

   ***    ***%    ***ppm

***

   ***    ***%    ***ppm

***

   ***    ***%    ***ppm

***

   ***    ***%    ***ppm

***

   ***    ***%    ***ppm

***

   ***    ***%    ***ppm

 

*** The Performance is different from the Capability (named Cp). Cp is computed with the best population part, so it is the process potential performance currently associated with the process techniques. Since Cp is a centered capability, a one-sided capability exists, called Cpk.

Pp/Ppk is also called long-term capability and Cp/Cpk called short-term capability. They differ by the computation of the standard-deviation s .

The Supplier’s responsibility is to analyze the product quality performances/capabilities and to improve the production process. A normal target value is ***, and for critical process ***. An optimal situation is:

***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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A.4 SHIPPING FILE FORMATS

A.4.1      Text file format

The Text file has:

 

   

No header.

   

A line for every slab shipped.

   

All fields are written in a row, respecting each field length and format.

   

No separator between fields for the NH text file format

A.4.2    File format 1 (NH)

The description of this format is accessible upon request. It is similar to File Format 2.

A.4.3    File format 2 (NH)

 

Field name

   Position      Width      Format    Example

File Code

     1         3       ELK    “ELK”

Plant Number

     4         3       007    “007”

NH Plant letter

     7         1       A    “Z”

Cast + Ingot number

     8         7         NNNNNN    “294781”

Shipping Date

     15         6       YYMMDD    “100813” = 13/08/2010

Product Number

     21         10       NNNNNNNNNN    “14064”

Order Number

     31         16       NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN    “05289610”

Alloy

     47         10               NNNNNN    “598201”

Width (mm)

     57         5         NNNN    “1820”

Thickness (mm)

     62         3       NNN    “510”

Length (mm)

     65         4       NNNN    “5600”

Sawing

     69         2       AA    “FT”, “PT”, “P”, “T”

Weight (kg)

     71         5       NNNNN    “13630”

***

     76         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    “SI+00.08000”

***

     87         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     98         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     109         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     120         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     131         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     142         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     153         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     164         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     175         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     186         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     197         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     208         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     219         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     230         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

***

     241         11       EL+NN.NNNNN    idem

Comments:

 

Symbol

  

Description

A

   ASCII CHARACTER (A-Z)

N

   Number (0-9)

   BLANK (space)

YY

   Year 2 characters

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 


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MM    Month 2 characters (01 - 12)
DD    Day 2 characters (01-31)
EL    Chemical Element
+NN.NNNNN                    Chemical composition
-00.00010    For not measured element or under the detection limit
“P”    Slab with sawn foot
“T”    Slab with sawn head
“PT” or “FT”    Slab with sawn foot and Head

Sample of the corresponding Text File

 

XYZ

     007Z         294781100813         14064         05289610         598201         18205105600FT13630SI+00.08000...   

XYZ

     007Z         294782100813         14064         05289610         598201         18205105600FT13630SI+00.09000...   

XYZ

     007Z         294783100813         14064         05289610         598201         18205105600FT13610SI+00.07000...   

XYZ

     007Z         294784100813         14064         05289610         598201         18205105600FT13620SI+00.09000...   

...

 

A.4.4 File format 3 (IS)

The file name is composed of:

 

   

A suffix made of the number of the bill of lading corresponding to the delivery

 

   

An extension “.dat”.

Each field is separated by a semi-colon (“;”).

 

Field name

   Position      Width      Format    Example

Alloy

     1         6       NNNNNN    300308

IS Plant Number and Cast number

     8         8       PPPNNNNN    “14300227”

FINAL

     17         5       FINAL    FINAL

Number of chemical elements

     23         2       NN    13

Element 1 name

     26         2       EL    “SI”

Chemical composition 1

     29         8       NN,NNNNN    “00,52000”

Repeat for the NN-1 other elements

           

 

Sample of the corresponding Text File

300308;14300227;FINAL;13;SI;00,20000;FE;00,52000;CU;00,07000;MN;01,11000;MG;00,05200... 300308;14300228;FINAL;13;SI;00,20000;FE;00,52000;CU;00,07000;MN;01,11000;MG;00,05200... 300308;14300229;FINAL;13;SI;00,21000;FE;00,53000;CU;00,06000;MN;01,06000;MG;00,02400...

...


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1. Description

If there is any discrepancy, ambiguity or inconsistency between this Specification and the terms and provisions of the Metal Supply Agreement, the terms of the Metal Supply Agreement shall prevail.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 is intended to imply any warranty on the part of the Supplier as to the fitness for any particular purpose or merchantability of the Metal.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 shall entitle the Purchaser to any recourse against the Supplier in respect of the failure of Metal supplied under this Agreement to comply with the Specifications, other than as expressly set out in Section 2.10 of the Metal Supply Agreement.

This data sheet is an addendum to the Slab Specification. It describes the requirements specific to the Supplier. Information for each alloy includes the exact composition, metallurgical specifications and statistical control goals. Also present are the list of format with the Issoire size code, the letter designating the Supplier for marking slabs and the specific concessions made to the specifications.

Process for a new release:

 

1. Issoire sends the new release.

 

2. The Supplier updates his systems.

 

3. The Supplier’s Approbator checks the evolutions are correct. Then he signs this document and sends it back to Issoire (post or mail) to the Writer Issoire.

 

4. Issoire signs it and sends back the official signed copy to the Supplier.

 

Revision

index

  Application
date
    

Who

 

Date

 

Name

 

Signature

Origin     8/12/2010       Writer Issoire     J. Nouhaud  
     Approbation Issoire     R. Dif  
     Approbation Issoire     J.S. Besset  
     Supplier’s Approbation      
    

Evolution from the former revision :

Creation for homologation project

 

2. General conditions

Red letters mention evolution with respect to the former release.

*** refers to the *** or *** .

*** measurement refers to *** .

Metallurgical Quality requirements are to be construed as a target only.

Issoire Plant Number for marking slabs: 149

Specific concessions: None

Supplier slab sizes:

 

Width

  Thickness   IS Size code  
***   ***     01   
***   ***     62   

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 


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3. *** coil- *** to *** mm ( *** and *** )*** ( *** and 1200.02)

Alloys compositions

 

Alloy

  

wt%

   ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***  

***

   min      ***         ***         ***         ***                                    
   aim      ***         ***         ***         ***                                    
   max      ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***            ***         ***         ***   

***

   min                  ***         ***                              
   aim                  ***         ***                              
   max      ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***   

***

   min                                             
  

aim

                                            
   max      ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***               

***

   min               ***         ***         ***                              
   aim               ***         ***         ***                              
   max      ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***               ***      

Comments:

Any other element: ***.

For *** alloy: any other element: *** and ***

Metallurgical Quality

The following important product requirements are construed as the statement of a target only. RTA will work in good faith towards the stated targets.

 

   

Index for *** higher or equal to ***.

 

   

No ***.

 

   

***.

 

   

Ingot cleanliness: Non-metallic inclusions (i.e. oxides, borides, agglomerates, ceramic particles, etc.) have to be small in size and number.

 

   

*** contents typical value is ***.

Statistical analysis

 

Alloys

 

Composition

 

Geometry

***

  ***   ***   Length, Width, Thickness   ***

***

  ***   ***   Length, Width, Thickness   ***

***

  ***   ***   Length, Width, Thickness   ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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4. *** Product ***

Alloys compositions

 

Alloy

  

wt%

   ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      ***      Comments  

***

   min      ***         ***         ***         ***            ***            ***                  ***   
   aim      ***         ***         ***         ***            ***            ***               
   max      ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***         ***      

Metallurgical Quality

The following important product requirements are construed as the statement of a target only. RTA will work in good faith towards the stated targets.

 

   

Index for *** higher or equal to ***.

 

   

No ***.

 

   

***.

 

   

Ingot cleanliness: Non-metallic inclusions (i.e. oxides, borides, agglomerates, ceramic particles, etc.) have to be small in size and number.

 

   

*** contents typical value is ***.

Statistical analysis

 

Alloys

 

Composition

 

Geometry

***

  none     Length, Width, Thickness   ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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1. Description

If there is any discrepancy, ambiguity or inconsistency between this Specification and the terms and provisions of the Metal Supply Agreement, the terms of the Metal Supply Agreement shall prevail.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 is intended to imply any warranty on the part of the Supplier as to the fitness for any particular purpose or merchantability of the Metal.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 shall entitle the Purchaser to any recourse against the Supplier in respect of the failure of Metal supplied under this Agreement to comply with the Specifications, other than as expressly set out in Section 2.10 of the Metal Supply Agreement.

This data sheet is an addendum to the Slab Specification. It describes the requirements specific to the Supplier. Information for each alloy includes the exact composition, metallurgical specifications and statistical control goals. Also present are the list of format with the NH size code, the letter designating the Supplier for marking slabs and the specific concessions made to the specifications.

Process for a new release:

 

1. NH sends the new release.

 

2. The Supplier updates his systems.

 

3. The Supplier’s approbator checks the evolutions are correct. Then he signs this document and sends it back to NH (post or mail) to the Writer NH.

 

4. NH signs it and sends back the official signed copy to the Supplier.

 

Revision
index

  

Application
date

    

Who

  

Date

  

Name

  

Signature

Origin      19/11/2010       Writer NH       B. COMMET   
      Approbation NH       L. THOMAS   
      Supplier’s Approbation       H. LESCUYER   
     

Evolution from the former revision:

***: Introduction instead of the *** .

***.

***: Suppression.

Comments:

Introduction of Alloy Specification. “Normes RHU” was used previously with RTA.

 

2. General conditions

Red letters mention evolution with respect to the former release.

*** according to the *** or ***.

*** measurement according to ***.

NH Plant Letter for marking slabs: D

Supplier slab sizes

 

Width

  

Thickness

  

NH size code

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

***

   ***    ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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***

   ***   ***

***

   ***   ***

***

   ***   ***

***

   ***   ***

***

   ***   ***

***

   ***   ***

Specific concessions: For alloys ***, ***, ***, ***, the *** is agreed to be *** until the *** is fully qualified and operational. These concessions shall be excluded from the monthly rating of concessions.

***

Alloys compositions

 

Alloy

  

wt%

   ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

 

Alloy

  

wt%

  

***

***    min    ***
   aim   
   max    ***
***    min    ***
   aim   
   max    ***

Comments:

Any other element: ***

(1): ***

Metallurgical structure

The following important product requirements are construed as the statement of a target only. RTA will work in good faith towards the stated targets.

 

   

*** for *** higher or equal to *** for *** alloys.

***.

***.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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Internal quality

 

   

Ingot cleanliness: Non-metallic inclusions (i.e. oxides, borides, agglomerates, ceramic particles, etc.) have to be small in size and number.

 

   

*** maximal contents target is *** and ***.

Statistical analysis

 

Alloys

  

Composition

   Geometry

***

   ***    ***      Length, Width, Thickness       ***

***

   ***    ***      Length, Width, Thickness       ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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3. *** application ***

Alloys compositions

 

Alloy

   wt%    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

1200-23

   min    ***    ***                                    
   aim    ***    ***                                    
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

8079-02

   min    ***    ***                                    
   aim       ***                                    
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

Comments

Any other element: ***

(1): ***

Metallurgical structure

The following important product requirements are construed as the statement of a target only. RTA will work in good faith towards the stated targets.

 

   

*** for *** higher or equal to ***.

 

   

***.

 

   

***.

Internal quality

Ingot cleanliness: Non-metallic inclusions (i.e. oxides, borides, agglomerates, ceramic particles, etc.) have to be small in size and number. *** maximal contents target is ***.

Statistical analysis

 

Alloys

  

Composition

  

Geometry

***

   ***    ***    Length, Width, Thickness    ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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4. *** applications

Alloys compositions

 

Alloy

   wt%    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***       ***    ***    ***             ***            
   aim    ***       ***    ***    ***             ***            
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***       ***    ***                ***            
   aim    ***       ***    ***                ***            
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***       ***    ***                ***            
   aim    ***       ***    ***                ***            
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***       ***    ***    ***             ***            
   aim    ***       ***    ***    ***             ***            
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***       ***    ***    ***             ***            
   aim    ***       ***    ***    ***             ***            
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min          ***    ***    ***                        
   aim          ***    ***    ***                        
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***                   ***               
   aim    ***    ***                   ***               
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

Comments

Any other element: ***

(2): *** , ***

Metallurgical structure

The following important product requirements are construed as the statement of a target only. RTA will work in good faith towards the stated targets.

 

   

*** for *** higher or equal to ***.

 

   

***.

 

   

***.

 

   

***.

Internal quality

 

   

Ingot cleanliness: Non-metallic inclusions (i.e. oxides, borides, agglomerates, ceramic particles, etc.) have to be small in size and number.

 

   

*** maximal contents target is ***.

Statistical analysis

 

Alloys

  

Composition

  

Geometry

***

   ***    ***    Length, Width, Thickness    ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.


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5. *** designed for *** (***)

Alloys compositions

 

Alloy

   wt%    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***   

 

   ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***                            ***         
   aim    ***    ***                                    
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***       ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***                         ***      
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***                              
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***          ***                   ***         
   aim    ***    ***          ***    ***                        
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***       ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***       ***    ***    ***                ***    ***      
   aim    ***    ***       ***    ***    ***                        
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min             ***    ***                      ***      
   aim             ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***       ***                         ***      
   aim             ***                              
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

 

Alloy

   wt%    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***      
   aim         
   max         

***

   min         
   aim         
   max       ***    ***

Comments

Any other element: ***

(1): ***

Metallurgical structure

The following important product requirements are construed as the statement of a target only. RTA will work in good faith towards the stated targets.

 

   

***.

Internal quality

 

   

Ingot cleanliness: Non-metallic inclusions (i.e. oxides, borides, agglomerates, ceramic particles, etc.) have to be small in size and number.

 

   

*** maximal contents target is ***.

Statistical analysis

 

Alloys

  

Composition

  

Geometry

***

   ***    ***    Length, Width, Thickness    ***

Others alloys

   none    none    Length, Width, Thickness    ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 


LOGO

 

1. Description

If there is any discrepancy, ambiguity or inconsistency between this Specification and the terms and provisions of the Metal Supply Agreement, the terms of the Metal Supply Agreement shall prevail.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 is intended to imply any warranty on the part of the Supplier as to the fitness for any particular purpose or merchantability of the Metal.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 shall entitle the Purchaser to any recourse against the Supplier in respect of the failure of Metal supplied under this Agreement to comply with the Specifications, other than as expressly set out in Section 2.10 of the Metal Supply Agreement.

This data sheet is an addendum to the Slab Specification. It describes the requirements specific to the Supplier. Information for each alloy includes the exact composition, metallurgical specifications and statistical control goals. Also present are the list of format with the NH size code, the letter designating the Supplier for marking slabs and the specific concessions made to the specifications.

Process for a new release:

 

1. NH sends the new release.

 

2. The Supplier updates his systems.

 

3. The Supplier’s approbator checks the evolutions are correct. Then he signs this document and sends it back to NH (post or mail) to the Writer NH.

 

4. NH signs it and sends back the official signed copy to the Supplier.

 

        Revision        
index

           Application        
date
  

Who

  

Date

  

Name

  

Signature

Origin    8/12/10    Writer NH       B. COMMET   
          Approbation NH         L. THOMAS     
      Supplier’s Approbation       A. SWEENEY   
     

Evolution from the former revision:

Comments:

Introduction of Alloy Specification. “Normes RHU” was used previously with RTA.

     

2.    General conditions

Red letters mention evolution with respect to the former re-lease.

*** rounding refers to the *** or ***.

*** measurement refers to ***. Metallurgical Quality requirements are to be construed as a target only.

Supplier’s letter for marking slabs: N

Specific concessions:

 

use of blue marking paint.

Supplier slab sizes

 

Width

   Thickness   NH size code

***

   ***   ***

***

   ***   ***

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 


LOGO

 

3. ***

Alloys compositions

 

Alloy

  

wt%

   ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

***

   min    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   aim    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***                           
   max    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***    ***

Comments:

Any other element: ***.

(1): ***.

Metallurgical Quality

The following important product requirements are construed as the statement of a target only. RTA will work in good faith towards the stated targets.

 

   

*** for *** higher or equal to ***.

 

   

***.

 

   

***.

 

   

Ingot cleanliness: Non-metallic inclusions (i.e. oxides, borides, agglomerates, ceramic particles, etc.) have to be small in size and number.

 

   

*** contents ***.

Statistical analysis

 

Alloys

   Composition    Geometry

***

   ***    ***      Length, Width, Thickness       ***        

 

 

Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 


Amendment to slab specifications for Alcan Singen GmbH

If there is any discrepancy, ambiguity or inconsistency between the Rolling Ingot Specification, the Alloy Sheets, this Amendment, including referenced documents and the terms and provisions of the Supply Agreement, the terms of the Supply Agreement shall prevail.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 is intended to imply any warranty on the part of the Supplier as to the fitness for any particular purpose or merchantability of the Metal.

Nothing in this Schedule 6 shall entitle the Purchaser to any recourse against the Supplier in respect of the failure of Metal supplied under this Agreement to comply with the Specifications, other than as expressly set out in Section 2.10 of the Supply Agreement.

For the supply of slabs from Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) to Alcan Singen GmbH (ASG) pursuant to the Metal Supply Agreement, the Rolling Ingot Specification from ASG: “***, Rolling Ingot Specification”. As this is a general specification for all ASG suppliers, AGS hereby confirms its agreement to the following amendments to the general specifications and each of the Alloy sheets (***), to cover the specific business relationship between RTA and ASG. ***

1. Amendments to Rolling Ingot Specification ***:

 

   

Following references shall be construed as the statement of a target only and shall not be interpreted as creating a contractual obligation:

2. Dimensional Tolerances - Sawing: “The sawn ends must be free from tooling marks, metal chips, burrs, and heavy residues of lubricant”

3. Surface Requirements:

“All Ingot Faces shall be clean (i.e. free of oil, grease, dirt, etc.).”

“Side Faces and Corner Radii shall be free of defects with typical dimension <5mm, which act as stress raisers, such as cold shuts, pits, tears, folds, etc.”

4. Internal Ingot Quality:

“*** Content shall be less than *** for alloys with purity *** and higher, for other alloys less than *** (Alcan)”

Ingots faces free from pressed-in material and from cracks is an obligation (and not a target)

Side faces and corner radii of slabs should be free of defects with typical dimension *** is an obligation

Chapter 4, Internal Ingot Quality:

 

   

Check Analyses : OES checks can be sent to Arvida Research and Development Centre instead of ATM Neuhausen.

 

   

Ingot Microstructure : The existing paragraph is replaced with the following: “*** must be *** over the *** of the ingot (except in the ***) and ***.”

 

   

Ingot cleanliness : The existing paragraph is replaced with the following: “Non-metallic inclusions (i.e. oxides, borides, agglomerates, ceramic particles, etc.), are not allowed or have to be small in size and number.”

 

   

Scalping : For the alloys supplied from RTA as of the date of the Supply Agreement the existing sentence “if defects are found after scalping off the specification, then directly an additional scalping cut is made” is deleted and replaced with the following:: “If *** are found after *** off the specified ***, then directly an additional ***.”

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 


   

Scalping : The last sentence: “Costs for additional scalping will be claimed.” is deleted and replaced by: If ASG elects to retain such Metal, the Parties undertake to negotiate in good faith an appropriate discount in accordance with Section 2.10 of the Metal Supply Agreement which takes into account reasonable costs incurred by ASG in performing additional scalping.

Chapter 5, Ingot Marking:

 

   

As Dunkerque does not yet have the possibility of marking with barcode labels, a transition period until 30.06.2012 to close this gap is accepted by ASG.

Chapter 6, Packaging and Transport:

 

   

For slabs delivered from ISAL the use of square timbers with a square of 125 mm x 125mm is accepted by ASG.

Chapter 8, Production Process

The existing paragraph is deleted and replaced with the following: “The decision on the casting technology used is up to the ingot supplier as long as the Specifications are met. The supplier has to advise of major changes in the production process of the ingots and changes in the pre-material used which may affect the supplier’s ability to meet the Specifications before the first shipment. The ingots shall be delivered having the minimum quality characteristics as tested and released by ASG during the qualification trials. A qualification is valid only for the production site with which the qualification was accomplished.”

Chapter 9, Other Documents

The references to the following documents are deleted:

 

   

*** – Test Lots for qualification of rolling ingot suppliers

 

   

Chemical analysis table of Alcan Singen GmbH

 

   

Listing “Wer liefert was?” (internal document of Alcan Singen GmbH)

 

   

Following references in “Sawing of Rolling Slab” shall be construed as the statement of a target only and shall not be interpreted as creating a contractual obligation:

2. Sawing Specifications

“2.2 The cut of the sawn ends has to be rectangular, clean, and smooth, i.e. it shall be free from strong tool marks, metal chips, burrs, and residues from lubricants.”

2. Amendments to Alloy sheets ***:

Section 3—Applications

 

   

The applications mentioned in the alloy sheets do not create an obligation on RTA to supply Metal which is fit or suitable for the particular purpose in the context of the Supply Agreement (chapter 2.10), but are meant as examples for typical application fields only.

 

   

There are specific requirements that are very important and fundamental for our products and are ensured since years with internal ASG established quality control procedures.

 

   

These requirements are controlled ASG internally mainly with the *** test (fulfilled if the rating is *** or better) and/or *** test (fulfilled if the rating is *** or better) or other test in the same understanding. The requirements are evaluated according to the following procedures:

 

   

***:

If an *** at the coil sample is found, the same sample will be *** at ASG and reviewed. If the result of the re-annealed sample smaller or equal *** (mark *** ) it is an indication that the *** are caused by ***. If the result of the *** sample larger

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 


 

than *** (mark *** ) it is an indication that the *** are caused by ***. After *** only the *** sample is therefore available from ASG.

 

   

***:

If *** at the coil sample are found, the sample will be *** (***, depending on sample size/thickness) at ASG. If the *** re-appear after *** , it is an indication that it is a *** , which is caused by ***.

Upon request by RTA, further independent metallurgical analysis will be conducted before the definitive cause of defect is assigned.

If a new kind of testing is available that proves reliably to the satisfaction of both parties to be more precise on indicating causes of defects, the new testing procedure will then be implemented.

Non-conformity to the specifications can occur at the Supplier’s plant or can be detected at the Purchaser’s Group facilities or at the Purchaser’s Group facilities customer’s plant. .

Section 4 – Quality and Casting ***

 

   

The sentence: “The metal shall be free from ***.” in each of the Alloy Sheets shall be construed as the statement of a target only and shall not be interpreted as creating a contractual obligation.

 

   

The following sentence, where it appears, is deleted from this section:

“*** which may lead to *** in the final product are not acceptable.”

 

   

The following sentence, where it appears, is deleted from this section:

“*** in the form of *** or lines which may lead to the failure of the final product due to insufficient *** values ( *** ) are unacceptable.”

It is replaced with the following:

“Minimal occurrence of *** in the form of *** shall be targeted.

*** in this context are understood to be *** as large *** and ***. In the case of a defect caused by such *** , the *** process origin has to be indisputably established by independent metallurgical analysis.”

General comments:

 

   

RTA shall have the right to audit on site ASG’s procedures, processes and documents related to claims, and more precisely to check that the non conformity to the specification is correctly measured and due to casting process. ASG also agrees to make available to RTA reasonable supporting documentation related to such procedures, processes or claims.

Singen, XXXXX 2010/rd/gkc

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

 


SCHEDULE 7

[INTENTIONALLY DELETED]

 


 

SCHEDULE 8

CREDIT REQUIREMENTS

PART I

 

1. If the *** (determined without taking into account any VAT Taxes, Withheld Amounts and Indemnifiable Taxes) *** from the Purchaser to the Supplier or to any other member of the Supplier Group pursuant to any Metal Supply Agreement (each, an “ RTA Supplier ”) exceeds the *** at any time, the Purchaser shall as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any event within 10 Business Days after receiving written notice from an RTA Supplier that it has exceeded the ***, pay such amounts to the RTA Suppliers (pro rata according to the amounts owing to each RTA Supplier under the Metal Supply Agreements) as shall be necessary to reduce the outstanding credit owing to the RTA Suppliers to below the ***.

If the Purchaser fails to comply with this provision within such 10 Business Day period, the RTA Suppliers’ obligations to supply metal under the Metal Supply Agreements shall be suspended from the expiry of such 10 Business Day period until the Purchaser has reduced the outstanding credit amount owing to the RTA Suppliers to no more than the ***.

 

2. The *** shall be determined as of any Business Day in accordance with the mechanism in Part II of this Schedule 8 (the date on which any such determination is made, the “ Date of Determination ”).

 

3. (a) Upon and at any time after the occurrence of an event of default (i) (A) under any principal debt facility of the Purchaser Group (a “ Principal Facility ”) or (B) under any ancillary facility of a member of the Purchaser Group (which shall be a local facility as to which not less than $*** million is outstanding), (ii), in the case of either clause (i)(A) or (B), where as a result of such event of default, the relevant lenders have exercised any rights of acceleration, and (iii) in the case of clause (i)(B) only, such acceleration results in the acceleration by the relevant lenders of a Principal Facility; or (b) the occurrence of an event set forth in clause 19.6 (Insolvency) or 19.7 (Insolvency Proceedings) under the Debt Facility Agreement, which event of default is then continuing, all amounts owing to the RTA Suppliers under the Metal Supply Agreements shall, upon delivery of notice by an RTA Supplier to the Purchaser, become immediately due and payable and the RTA Suppliers’ obligations to supply and the Purchaser’s obligations to purchase under the Metal Supply Agreements shall cease.

 

4. The Purchaser shall provide the quarterly unaudited and annual audited consolidated accounts of the Purchaser’s Group to the RTA Suppliers for so long as they continue to be obligated to supply metal to the Purchaser under the terms of the Metal Supply Agreements, unless such information is provided to any member of the Supplier Group pursuant to the terms of the Shareholders Agreement relating to Omega Holdco B.V. At the reasonable request of the RTA Suppliers, and on reasonable prior notice, the

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

71


  Purchaser shall make available relevant personnel for discussion of its financial condition, as well as additional financial information, provided that such request shall not unreasonably disrupt the Purchaser’s business.

 

5. For the purposes of this Part I of Schedule 8 :

 

“Aluminium-Lithium Supply Agreement” means the agreement for the supply of aluminium-lithium ingots dated on or about the date of this Agreement between the Purchaser as purchaser and the Supplier as supplier.

Billets Agreement ” means the agreement for the supply of aluminium ingot for extrusion dated on or about the date of this Agreement between the Purchaser as purchaser and Aluminium Pechiney as supplier.

Debt Facility Agreement ” means the debt facility agreement dated on or about the date of this Agreement between Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à r.l. and Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement.

Maximum Credit Amount ” has the meaning given in Part II of this Schedule 8 .

Metal Supply Agreement ” means this Agreement, the NA Slab Agreement, the Rod Agreement, the Billets Agreement and the Aluminium-Lithium Supply Agreement.

NA Slab Agreement ” means the agreement for the supply of North American slab metal dated on or about the date of this Agreement between the Purchaser as purchaser and the Supplier as supplier.

Rod Agreement ” means the agreement for the supply of aluminium rod dated on or about the date of this Agreement between the Purchaser as purchaser and Aluminium Pechiney as supplier.

 

72


PART II

For the purposes of this Part II of Schedule 8 :

Date of Determination ” has the meaning given in Part I of this Schedule 8 .

FX Rate ” means the spot closing mid-point rate for a transaction between Dollars and Euros on the date immediately preceding the Date of Determination as quoted by the Financial Times, London edition or, if no such rate is quoted on that date, on the first preceding date on which such rate is quoted.

LME ” means the average LME Aluminium Price, as defined in Section 1 of this Agreement, for the ***day period preceding the Date of Determination (except that for purposes of calculating the NA Slab Credit Exposure and Al-Li Credit Exposure, such period shall be *** days and ***days, respectively).

*** ” means the amount calculated as of any Date of Determination pursuant to the following formula:

*** = *** x (*** + *** + *** + *** + ***)

Where:

 

EU Slab *** =   

$1,000 x (*** + ((*** + *** + ***) x ***) + *** + ***) x ***

 

Where :

 

EU Slab Shape Premium = weighted average of the Standard Sheet Ingot Premium and, if applicable, Safety Net Volume Premium, payable with respect to each tonne of Metal purchased in the *** day period preceding the Date of Determination in € / tonne

 

Quality Premium = *** in € / tonne

 

Alloy Adjustment = *** in € / tonne

 

ECDP = the weighted average of the EC Duty Paid Premium payable with respect to each tonne of Metal purchased in the *** day period preceding the Date of Determination

 

EU Slab Freight = *** in $/ tonne

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

73


   EU Slab CEV = the sum of the quantities of Metal that the Purchaser was entitled to purchase for each day during the *** day period preceding the Date of Determination, with the quantity for each day determined by dividing the Annual Base Quantity in effect on such day by 365
Billets *** =   

$1,000 x (*** + (*** x ***) + ***) x ***

 

Where :

 

Billets Shape Premium = *** in € / tonne

 

Billets Freight = *** in $/ tonne

 

Billets CEV = the sum of the quantities of Metal that the Purchaser was entitled to purchase for each day during the *** day period preceding the Date of Determination, with the quantity for each day determined by dividing the maximum annual purchase amount in effect on such day by 365

Rod *** =   

$1,000 x (*** + (*** x ***)) x ***

 

Where :

 

Rod Shape Premium = *** in € / tonne

 

Rod CEV = the sum of the quantities of Metal that the Purchaser was entitled to purchase for each day during the *** day period pre-ceding the Date of Determination, with the quantity for each day determined by dividing the maximum annual purchase amount in effect on such day by 365

NA Slab *** =   

$1,000 x (*** + *** + ***) x ***

 

Where:

 

NA Slab Shape Premium = *** in $/ tonne

 

Midwest Transaction Price = *** in $/ tonne

   NA Slab CEV = the sum of the quantities of Metal that the Purchaser was entitled to purchase for each day during the *** day period preceding the Date of Determination, with the quantity for each day determined by dividing the maximum annual purchase amount in effect on such day by 365

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

74


Al-Li *** =

  

$1,000 x (*** + *** + *** ) x ***

 

Where :

 

Al-Li Casting Price = *** in $/ tonne

 

Al-Li Alloys Cost = *** in $/ tonne

 

Al-Li CEV = the sum of the quantities of Metal that the Purchaser was entitled to purchase for each day during the ***-day period preceding the Date of Determination, with the quantity for each day determined by dividing the maximum annual purchase amount in effect on such day by 365

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

75


PART III

Capitalized terms used in this Part III of Schedule 8 but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings given to them in the Shareholders Agreement (the “ Shareholders Agreement ”), dated as of the Effective Date, by and among Omega Holdco B.V. (“ Holdco ”), Rio Tinto International Holdings Ltd., Apollo Omega (Lux) S.à r.l., Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement, Rio Tinto plc and AIF VII Euro Holdings, L.P.

 

1. In the event that:

 

  (a) a Third Party who is not an Affiliate of Apollo acquires a Percentage Interest equal to at least ***%;

 

  (b) Rio Tinto has not approved or consented (in its capacity as a shareholder of Holdco or pursuant to its consent rights in the Shareholders Agreement), or the Directors nominated or appointed by Rio Tinto to serve on Holdco’s board of directors have not approved or voted for, the acquisition of Shares which resulted in such Third Party’s Percentage Interest being equal to at least ***%;

 

  (c) Apollo’s Percentage Interest is less than ***% following such Third Party acquisition; and

 

  (d) Rio Tinto’s Percentage Interest is less than ***% following such Third Party acquisition,

(the satisfaction of all of the foregoing clauses (a) to (d) above, collectively, a “ Qualif y ing Change of Control ”), then the Purchaser shall (and shall procure that Holdco shall) comply with the following requirements for so long as such Qualifying Change of Control continues:

 

  (i) Holdco shall maintain a corporate rating, as determined by S&P, Fitch or Moody’s, that is not lower than the highest corporate rating (or highest implied corporate rating) of Holdco that was in effect in the 24-month period preceding the Qualifying Change of Control; or

 

  (ii) the Purchaser shall negotiate in good faith and agree with the Supplier on reasonable adjustments to the Purchaser’s payment terms and global credit limit which, in the absence of such agreement, shall reflect the following:

 

  (x) if Net Debt ÷ Adjusted EBITDA is less than or equal to ***, then the Purchaser shall not be required to agree to any adjustments or provide any additional credit security;

 

  (y) if Net Debt ÷ Adjusted EBITDA is greater than *** and less than or equal to ***, then the Purchaser or Holdco shall provide additional credit security in the form of a bank letter of credit or bank guarantee in an amount equal to ***% of the average outstanding receivable amount owed to the Supplier by the Purchaser during the prior ***day period; and

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

76


  (z) if Net Debt ÷ Adjusted EBITDA is greater than ***, then the Purchaser or Holdco shall provide additional credit security in the form of a bank letter of credit or bank guarantee (the terms of which shall be determined following consultation with the Supplier) in an amount equal to ***% of the average outstanding receivable amount owed to the Supplier by the Purchaser during the prior ***day period.

 

2. In the event that:

 

  (a) there has been an IPO of Shares of the Company;

 

  (b) Apollo’s Percentage Interest is less than ***% following such IPO; and

 

  (c) Rio Tinto’s Percentage Interest is less than ***% following such IPO,

(the satisfaction of all of the foregoing clauses (a) to (c) above, collectively, a “ Qualif y ing IPO ”), then the Purchaser shall (and shall procure that Holdco shall) comply with the following requirements for so long as such Qualifying IPO continues:

 

  (i) Holdco shall maintain the corporate rating required in clause 1(i) above; or

 

  (ii) the Purchaser shall satisfy the condition set out in clause 1(ii) above, provided that:

 

  (x) the reference to *** in clause 1(ii)(x) above shall instead be ***;

 

  (y) the reference to *** in clause 1(ii)(y) above shall instead be ***, and the reference to *** shall instead be to ***; and

 

  (z) the reference to *** in clause 1(ii)(z) above shall instead be ***.

 

3. For the purposes of this Part III of Schedule 8 :

Adjusted EBITDA ” shall mean, with respect to Holdco for any period, Net Income of Holdco and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis plus (a) the sum of (in each case without duplication and to the extent the respective amounts described in subclauses (i) to (vii) below reduced such Net Income for the period for which Adjusted EBITDA is being determined):

 

  (i) provision for taxes based on income, profits or capital of Holdco and its subsidiaries;

 

  (ii) gross interest expense of Holdco and its subsidiaries, including the applicable portion of any payments or accruals with respect to capitalized lease obligations and net payments and receipts (if any) pursuant to interest rate hedging arrangements;

 

  (iii) depreciation, amortization and accretion expenses of Holdco and its subsidiaries;

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

77


  (iv) any other non cash charges, including non-cash impairment charges or asset write-offs and non-cash compensation charges or expenses resulting from stock, equity option and related grants; and

 

  (v) the amount of management, consulting, monitoring, transaction and advisory fees and related expenses paid to Apollo or its Affiliates (or any accruals related to such fees and related expenses),

minus (b) the sum of (without duplication and to the extent the amounts described in this clause (b) increased such Net Income for the period for which Adjusted EBITDA is being determined) non cash items increasing Net Income of Holdco and its subsidiaries, and excluding moving average impact. Adjusted EBITDA under this Agreement shall be calculated on a Pro Forma Basis, including, for any quarter ending prior to the first full quarter ending after the Effective Date, giving effect to the Transaction.

Net Debt ” means consolidated financial debt of Holdco (inclusive of third-party financial guarantees, receivables financing and similar obligations), less cash and cash equivalents.

Net Income ” shall mean, with respect to Holdco for any period, the consolidated net income (loss) of Holdco and its subsidiaries determined in accordance with [IFRS] for such period; provided:

 

  (a) any net after-tax extraordinary, nonrecurring or unusual gains or losses or income, expenses or charges (less all fees and expenses relating thereto), including, without limitation, any relating to (i) severance, relocation, plant shutdowns, curtailments and other restructuring activities; (ii) new product lines; (iii) modifications to pension and post-retirement employee benefit plans and excess pension charges; (iv) acquisition integration costs, facilities opening costs, project start-up costs, business optimization costs, signing retention or completion bonuses; (v) Holdco becoming an independent operating company in connection with the Transaction; or (vi) any equity offering, acquisition, disposition, recapitalization or issuance, repayment, incurrence, refinancing, amendment or modification of indebtedness (in each case, whether or not successful), in each case shall be excluded;

 

  (b) any net after-tax income or loss from disposed, abandoned, transferred, closed or discontinued operations shall be excluded;

 

  (c) any net after-tax income or loss (less all fees and expenses or charges relating thereto) attributable to the early extinguishment of (i) indebtedness or (ii) obligations under swap agreements or other derivative instruments, shall be excluded;

 

  (d) Net Income for such period shall not include the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principles during such period; and

 

78


  (e) unrealized gains or losses relating to hedging transactions and other non-cash gains, losses, income and expenses resulting from fair value accounting shall be excluded.

Percentage Interest ” means, with respect to any shareholder at any time, the percentage derived by dividing (i) the total number of ordinary shares in Omega Holdco B.V. owned by such shareholder and its affiliates by (ii) the total number of outstanding shares (but excluding shares issued pursuant to the Management Equity Plan).

Pro Forma Basis ” shall mean, for any events as described below that occur subsequent to the commencement of a period for which the financial effect of such events is being calculated (the “ Reference Period ”), such calculation as will give pro forma effect to such events as if such events occurred on the first day of the Reference Period:

 

  (a) any sale of assets outside the ordinary course of business, any acquisition, disposition, merger, amalgamation or consolidation and any restructurings of the business of Holdco or any of its subsidiaries that are expected to have a continuing impact and are factually supportable, including head count reduction, closure of facilities and similar operational changes (the foregoing, together with any transactions related thereto or in connection therewith, the “ Relevant Transactions ”), in each case that occurred during the Reference Period or thereafter and to and including the applicable date of measurement of Adjusted EBITDA; and

 

  (b) any indebtedness (including indebtedness incurred or paid in connection with any Relevant Transactions for which the financial effect is being calculated, but excluding normal fluctuations in revolving indebtedness incurred for working capital purposes) is issued, incurred, assumed or permanently repaid during the Reference Period or thereafter and to and including the applicable date of measurement of Adjusted EBITDA.

Calculations made pursuant to the definition of the term “Pro Forma Basis” shall be determined in good faith by an officer of Holdco and may include adjustments to reflect operating expense reductions and other operating improvements or synergies or cost savings reasonably expected to result from a Relevant Transaction, which adjustments are reasonably anticipated by Holdco to be realizable in connection with such Relevant Transaction and are estimated on a good faith basis by Holdco.

Transaction ” has the meaning given to such term in the Share Sale Agreement between Alcan Holdings Switzerland AG, Omega Holdco B.V. and certain other share sellers, dated on or about the date of this Agreement.

 

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SCHEDULE 9

DUNKERQUE IMPROVEMENT PROCESS

 

   

The Supplier intends to implement the following measures to ensure that 3104 Alloy supplied by it to the Purchaser from the Dunkerque Facility meets the Specifications in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. The first measure involves targeted improvements at the Dunkerque Facility itself and the second measure is aimed at improving operating processes at the Dunkerque Facility.

Facility Improvements

 

   

The Supplier has completed or is currently undertaking the following investments at the Dunkerque Facility:

 

   

Replacement of all molten metal transportation trucks (in progress)

 

   

*** station refurbishment (completed)

 

   

Alloying elements weighting station refurbishment (in progress)

 

   

Furnace weighting system - Batch pilot (in progress)

 

   

*** implementation in furnaces for *** control (in progress)

 

   

The Supplier is currently considering other steps to be implemented in the 2011 Contract Year at the Dunkerque Facility, including implementing ***, and may also consider including further investments that it may determine to be necessary or advantageous to meeting its objectives.

 

   

The Supplier may make any appropriate changes to the investments described above in order to address health, safety and environment, quality, ergonomics and/or economic matters.

Operational Improvements

 

   

The Supplier has commenced the introduction of the “Lean” operating process and intends to continue to work with a view to improving its operational performance at the Dunkerque Facility, in order to satisfy its obligations to the Purchaser and improve its metal quality and supply chain performance under this Agreement.

 

   

In order to implement the facility and operational improvements described in this Schedule 9, the Supplier requires the Purchaser’s co-operation. The planning lead time and adequate notice of the mix and quantities of products to be supplied to the Purchaser are essential to improving quality and service at the Dunkerque Facility. The Parties’ cooperation will focus on continuous improvements.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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SCHEDULE 10

***

 

1. Shipment performance from each Supplier Facility to each Delivery Site will be measured by on time shipment percentage (the “ OTS Percentage ”) during each week, on a “by train” basis for shipments by train and on a “by boat” basis for shipment by boat and on a “by truck” basis for shipments by truck, calculated by the Supplier and notified to the Purchaser on a monthly basis during the period from the Effective Date to the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

 

2. The target OTS Percentage applicable for each Delivery Site for each Contract Year (the “ Target OTS Percentage ”) is ***%, and the “ Weighted Average OTS Percentage ” shall be equal to the sum of the weighted average of the OTS Percentages for each of the Delivery Sites for the relevant period.

 

3. The amounts of *** in respect of supplies from the Dunkerque Facility at *** designated by the Purchaser in the event of a Sustained OTS Failure are set forth in the table below:

 

Weighted Average OTS
Percentage
2011 to 2020 Contract Years

 

   *** Requirement

Equal to or greater than ***%

 

  

*** Tonnes

 

Equal to or greater than ***%

and less than ***%

 

  

Quantity = *** over the

***

 

Less than ***%

 

  

Quantity = ***

 

 

4. The Purchaser shall be entitled to designate the Delivery Sites and alloys to which any ***.

 

5. The Supplier shall *** of *** Tonnes by 31 January 2011. Notwithstanding paragraph 2 above, the Supplier’s maximum *** obligation at any time on or before 31 January 2011 is *** Tonnes and at any other time during the 2011 Contract Year is *** Tonnes.

 

6. Any *** under this Agreement will be limited to a maximum of *** specifications (a specification is comprised of alloy & dimensions) jointly agreed upon by the Supplier and the Purchaser.

 

7. Due to the *** of the production requirements at the Purchaser’s Neuf-Brisach Facility, the Supplier shall not be obliged to *** at the end of each Contract Year but will *** any *** required for the month of January of the following contract Year.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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SCHEDULE 11

PREMIUM CALCULATION

 

   

***

       

***

       

***

       

***

Premium  =  

   

   X   

       +           X     
 

 

     

***

       

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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SCHEDULE 12

ISAL SIZE FORMATS

Width of seven highest size formats for purposes of Section 2.3(c)(ii):

***

Width of next five highest size formats for purposes of Section 2.3(c)(iii):

***

All new formats will have minimum ***mm thickness.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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SCHEDULE 13

ALLOYS NOT SUBJECT TO DISCONTINUANCE

WITHOUT PURCHASER CONSENT

RTA Alloy Designation of alloys which may not be discontinued without the Purchaser’s prior written consent:

Issoire Facility

***

Neuf-Brisach Facility

***

Singen Facility

***

The Parties shall cooperate in good faith to agree reasonable minimum lot sizes and number of moulds.

 

 

*** Certain information on this page has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.

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SCHEDULE 14

PARENT COMPANY GUARANTEE

This Guarantee Agreement (this “ Guarantee ”) is made on [ ] between:

 

(1) OMEGA HOLDCO B.V. , a company incorporated in The Netherlands whose registered office is at Amsteldijk 166, 1079 LH Amsterdam (the “ Guarantor ”),

 

(2) RIO TINTO ALCAN INC. , a corporation organized under the laws of Canada (“ RTA ”); and

 

(3) ALUMINIUM PECHINEY , a corporation organized under the laws of France (“ AP ”) (each of RTA and AP, a “ Supplier ” and together, the “ Suppliers ”).

Whereas :

 

(A) the Guarantor has entered into a Share Sale Agreement (the “ SPA ”) with ALCAN HOLDINGS SWITZERLAND AG (“ AHS ”) and the Share Sellers (as defined in the SPA) to purchase the EP Business (as defined in the SPA) on the terms and conditions set forth therein;

 

(B) under the terms of the SPA, it is contemplated that Engineered Products Switzerland AG, a company incorporated in Switzerland (the “ Company ”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Guarantor, has entered into certain Metal Supply Agreements (as defined below) with the Suppliers providing for the supply and purchase of metal; and

 

(C) the Guarantor wishes to guarantee the obligations of the Company to the Suppliers under the Metal Supply Agreements.

It is agreed as follows:

 

1. Metal Supply Agreements . Reference is made to:

 

  (a) the Metal Supply Agreement for the supply of Sheet Ingot in Europe between the Company and RTA, dated as of the date of this Guarantee and as may be amended from time to time (the “ EU Slab MSA ”);

 

  (b) the Metal Supply Agreement for the supply of Aluminium-Lithium Ingots between the Company and RTA, dated as of the date of this Guarantee and as may be amended from time to time (the “ Al-Li MSA ”);

 

  (c) the Metal Supply Agreement for the supply of Sheet Ingot in North America between the Company and RTA, dated as of the date of this Guarantee and as may be amended from time to time (the “ NA Slab MSA ”);

 

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  (d) the Metal Supply Agreement for the supply of Aluminium Rod between the Company and AP, dated as of the date of this Guarantee and as may be amended from time to time (the “ Rod MSA ”); and

 

  (e) the Metal Supply Agreement for the supply of Extrusion Ingot between the Company and AP, dated as of the date of this Guarantee and as may be amended from time to time (the “ Billets MSA ”),

(each such agreement, a “ Metal Supply Agreement ”, and collectively, the “ Metal Supply Agreements ”). Capitalised terms used herein and not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them under the Metal Supply Agreements or the relevant specified Metal Supply Agreement.

 

2. Guarantee .

 

  (a) The Guarantor:

 

  (i) irrevocably and unconditionally guarantees (A) to RTA the due and punctual performance and observance by the Company of each of the Company’s obligations, commitments, undertakings and warranties under or pursuant to the EU Slab MSA, the Al-Li MSA and the NA Slab MSA when they or any part of them become due and performable according to the terms of the relevant Metal Supply Agreement (including, without limitation, the due and punctual payment in accordance with the EU Slab MSA, the Al-Li MSA or the NA Slab MSA (as applicable) of all amounts payable by the Company under such agreements), and (B) to AP the due and punctual performance and observance by the Company of each of the Company’s obligations, commitments, undertakings and warranties under or pursuant to the Rod MSA and the Billets MSA when they or any part of them become due and performable according to the terms of the relevant Metal Supply Agreement (including, without limitation, the due and punctual payment in accordance with the Rod MSA or the Billets MSA (as applicable) of all amounts payable by the Company under such agreements) (“ Guaranteed Obligations ”); and

 

  (ii) as a separate, additional and continuing obligation, unconditionally and irrevocably undertakes with each of the Suppliers that, should any payment of or in respect of any of the Guaranteed Obligations not be recoverable from the Guarantor under clause 2(a)(i) above for any reason whatsoever, the Guarantor will, as a sole, original and independent obligor, make payment of the same by way of a full indemnity in the same manner and extent as is provided for in the relevant Metal Supply Agreement.

 

  (b)

If and whenever the Company defaults for any reason whatsoever in the performance (including, without limitation, payment of any amounts payable under any of the Metal Supply Agreements) of any of the Guaranteed Obligations,

 

86


  the Guarantor shall forthwith upon demand by the relevant Supplier unconditionally perform (or procure performance of) and satisfy (or procure the satisfaction of) the Guaranteed Obligations (including, without limitation, payment) in regard to which such default has been made as if the Guarantor instead of the Company were expressed to be primary obligor of the relevant Metal Supply Agreement and not merely as surety (but without affecting the Company’s obligations) in the manner prescribed by the relevant Metal Supply Agreement and so that the same benefits shall be conferred on the relevant Supplier as it would have received if the Guaranteed Obligations had been duly performed and satisfied by the Company.

 

3. Continuing Obligations . This Guarantee is to be a continuing guarantee and accordingly is to remain in force notwithstanding any act, omission, neglect, event or matter whatsoever until all Guaranteed Obligations shall have been performed or satisfied. This Guarantee is in addition to and without prejudice to and not in substitution for any rights or security which the Suppliers may now or hereafter have or hold for the performance and observance of the Guaranteed Obligations.

 

4. Enforceability . As a separate and independent obligation, the Guarantor agrees that this Guarantee shall be unconditional and that the Guarantor shall be fully liable irrespective of the validity, regularity, legality or enforceability against the Company of, or any defence (other than full payment or satisfaction) or counter-claim whatsoever available to the Company in relation to, any of the Guaranteed Obligations (including any moneys payable), whether or not any action has been taken to enforce the same or any judgment obtained against the Company, whether or not any time or indulgence has been granted to the Company by the relevant Supplier, whether or not the Company has been dissolved, liquidated, merged, consolidated, bankrupted or has changed its status or functions and whether or not any circumstances have occurred which might constitute a legal or equitable defence to a guarantor. The validity of this Guarantee shall not be affected by reason of any invalidity, irregularity, illegality or unenforceability of all or any of the Guaranteed Obligations and this Guarantee shall not be discharged nor shall the liability of the Guarantor under this Guarantee be affected by any act, fact, matter, thing, event or circumstance whatever whereby its liability would not have been discharged if it had been the sole or principal obligor in respect thereof. Neither Supplier will be obliged, before enforcing any of its rights or remedies under this Guarantee, to take any step or action, and the liabilities of the Guarantor under this Guarantee may be enforced irrespective of whether any legal proceedings are being or have been taken, against the Company.

 

5.

Preservation of Rights . The Guarantor’s obligations and liability under this Guarantee will remain in full force and effect and are not to be discharged, released or reduced in any way by reason of any variation to or amendment of the Metal Supply Agreements (including any concession or waiver by a Supplier in respect of the Company’s obligations under the Metal Supply Agreements) or any provision of the Metal Supply Agreements being or becoming illegal, invalid, void or unenforceable for any reason, or any termination or suspension of a Metal Supply Agreement. The Guarantor agrees that, so long as the Company is under any actual or contingent obligations under each relevant

 

87


  Metal Supply Agreement, it shall not, in respect of any amounts paid by it under this Guarantee or by reason of performance by it of its obligations under this Guarantee, exercise any rights of subrogation or contribution or, without limitation, any other right or remedy which may accrue to it in respect of or as a result of any such payment or performance, or claim or recover by the institution of proceedings or the threat of proceedings or otherwise any sum from the Company or claim any set-off or counterclaim against the Company or prove in competition with either Supplier in respect of any payment by the Guarantor under this Guarantee. If, notwithstanding the foregoing, upon the bankruptcy, insolvency or liquidation of the Company, any payment or distribution of assets of the Company of any kind or character, whether in cash, property or securities, shall be received by the Guarantor before payment in full of all sums payable under the relevant Metal Supply Agreements shall have been made to the relevant Supplier, the Guarantor shall on demand pay the same over to the relevant Supplier.

 

6. Subsequent Avoidance . If any payment received by a Supplier pursuant to the provisions of this Guarantee shall (whether on the subsequent bankruptcy, insolvency or corporate reorganization of the Company or, without limitation, any other event) be avoided or set aside for any reason, such payment shall not be considered as discharging or diminishing the liability of the Guarantor and this Guarantee shall continue to apply as if such payment had at all times remained owing by the Company to the relevant Supplier.

 

7. Notices . In the event that a Supplier makes a claim to the Guarantor in respect of any of the Guaranteed Obligations, such Supplier shall promptly provide notice and reasonable detail regarding such claim to the Guarantor, and provide any further information reasonably requested by the Guarantor relating to such claim. Any notice or other communication in connection with this Guarantee (each a “ Notice ”) shall be in writing in English and delivered by hand, fax, registered post or by courier using an internationally recognised courier company:

 

  (a) If to the Guarantor to:

Omega Holdco B.V.

Amsteldijk 166

1079LH Amsterdam

Fax: +31 (0) 20 6442735

Attention:  Ms. Karlien Jehee

with a copy to (which shall not constitute notice) to:

Alcan Engineered Products

Tour Reflets

17, place des Reflets

92097 Paris La Défense

France

Fax :    + 33-15700-3307
Attention:    Chief Legal Officer

 

88


  (b) If to RTA or AP to:

Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.

1188 Sherbrooke Street West

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 3G2

Fax:    514-848-8115

Attention:    Chief Legal Officer

Either party may, upon written notice to the other party, change the address and person to whom such communications are to be directed.

 

8. Assignment; Group Restructure .

 

  (a) Neither of the Suppliers nor the Guarantor shall be entitled to assign or otherwise transfer the benefits or obligations of this Guarantee or any part hereof (including receiving any amounts hereunder), including any interest herein, at any time, to any person, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the Suppliers (in the case of any such assignments or transfers by the Guarantor) or the Guarantor (in the case of any such assignments or transfers by either of the Suppliers).

 

  (b) In the event that the Guarantor’s business group is restructured in a manner such that the Guarantor is no longer an affiliate of the Company, and a new entity in the group becomes the ultimate parent entity of the Company, such new entity shall enter into a replacement guarantee on the same terms and conditions as this Guarantee, and this Guarantee shall terminate.

 

9. Severability . If any term or provision of this Guarantee shall be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this Guarantee shall remain in full force and effect.

 

10. Amendments . This Guarantee shall not be amended or modified except by an instrument in writing signed by or on behalf of the Guarantor and each of the Suppliers.

 

11. No Third Party Rights . A person who is not a party to this Guarantee has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of, or enjoy any benefit under, this Guarantee.

 

12. Governing Law . This Guarantee shall be governed by, and construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales excluding any conflicts of law rule or principle that might refer construction of such provisions to the laws of another jurisdiction.

 

13. Without prejudice to any other mode of service allowed under any relevant law, the Guarantor shall, promptly (and in any event within 10 Business Days) following a request by the Supplier, irrevocably appoint a process agent for service of process in relation to any proceedings before the English courts in connection with this Guarantee.

 

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In witness whereof this Guarantee has been duly executed as a deed on the date that is first above written.

 

Executed as a deed by
OMEGA HOLDCO B.V. acting by

 

Authorised Signatory

 

Authorised Signatory
Executed as a deed by
RIO TINTO ALCAN INC. acting by

 

Authorised Signatory

 

Authorised Signatory
Executed as a deed by
ALUMINIUM PECHINEY acting by

 

Authorised Signatory

 

Authorised Signatory

 

90

Exhibit 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We hereby consent to the use in this Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form F-1 of Constellium N.V. of our report dated May 17, 2013 relating to the financial statements of Constellium Holdco B.V. for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, which appears in such Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit

/s/ Olivier Lotz

Olivier Lotz

Partner

Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex, France

May 21, 2013

Exhibit 23.2

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We hereby consent to the use in this Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form F-1 of Constellium N.V. of our report dated April 24, 2012 relating to the financial statements of Engineered Aluminium Products, a component of Rio Tinto plc for the years ended 31 December 2010 and 2009, which appears in such Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP/s.r.l./s.e.n.c.r.l.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

May 21, 2013