Liabilities associated with the Grenfell Tower disaster in London are threatening to derail the sale of New York-based aluminum giant Arconic, The Post has learned.
Apollo Global Management, the buyout firm headed by billionaire Leon Black, has demanded that liabilities from the June 2017 fire — which left 72 people dead and is being investigated by Scotland Yard — be ring-fenced as a condition for any bid for the company, sources close to the situation said.
That’s despite the fact that Apollo has lined up financing for a buyout worth more than $15 billion including debt, according to sources. Arconic shares on Friday were recently at $21.21, giving the company a market cap of about $10.3 billion.
As reported by The Post, a rival bidding bloc formed by buyout rivals Blackstone and Carlyle Group has already been investigating the Grenfell liability ahead of making any bid.
With Apollo doing the same, Arconic will likely have to first cut a deal to sell its building and constructions systems division — the unit that was implicated in the Grenfell disaster — to another buyer before signing a deal to sell the entire company, a source said.
The timing and prospects for such a deal aren’t clear. Since July, Arconic has been shopping the unit, which had supplied aluminum cladding that was partly blamed for the quick spread of the devastating fire in the 24-story residential building in West London.
“The sale process for the building and construction systems business is well underway and has drawn robust interest,” CEO Chip Blankenship said on a conference call earlier this week.
The company also said it is conducting a strategic review of all operations, not commenting on whether it was also exploring a full company sale.
The chances of a sale happening with any party are now about 50-50, according to one source close to the talks.
Arconic’s building and construction business represented about 8 percent of Arconic’s overall 2017 sales of $13 billion. Most of Arconic’s sales come from selling aluminum parts to the aerospace industry.
Reuters reported this week that Apollo Global Management was in advanced talks to buy Arconic.
The Post reported earlier this week that the rival bidding team led by The Blackstone Group and Carlyle Group was gauging the potential liability costs facing Arconic.
That includes figuring out how many Arconic tiles used in high-rise buildings throughout the world were sold, and what the statute of limitations is in each jurisdiction.
Apollo declined to comment. Blackstone and Carlyle didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.



