Alcoa Buys 10% Of Electronic Recyclers International

Alcoa Inc. （AA） paid $10 million for a 10% equity stake in electronics-waste recycler Electronic Recyclers International, the aluminum giant said Wednesday.

The purchase comes as Pittsburgh-based Alcoa is trying to expand in the consumer electronics market as it benefits from rising aluminum prices. The company swung to profitability in the fourth quarter as sales grew and its average realized aluminum price jumped 17%.

ERI's Chief Executive John Shegerian--who refers to electronics-waste recycling as "urban mining"--said in an interview the company will put proceeds from the sale toward expanding domestically and abroad, mentioning India and Brazil as potential targets for 2012.

Alcoa's stake represents a second large outside investment in ERI, as companies seek to secure supplies of raw materials.

Alcoa expects aluminum content in laptops to increase 30% from 2010 to 2013.

The purchase comes on the heels of Alcoa's late-January $240 million acquisition of an aerospace-fastener business from TransDigm Group Inc. （TDG）.

With the move, Alcoa gets a piece of both ends of the aluminum spectrum. Consumer electronics is a big market for aluminum vendors as it winds up as casing for laptops like Apple’s MacBook. Alcoa noted that aluminum content is expected to increase 30 percent by 2013 compared to 2010.