01/06/2004

Montreal, Canada — On December 30, 2003, Alcan (NYSE, TSE: AL) acquired the remaining 65 per cent stake in the Aluminium Dunkerque smelter, located in Dunkerque, France, from the smelter’s financial partners. This follows the agreement to acquire announced on July 9, 2003 by Pechiney, owner of 35 per cent of the Aluminium Dunkerque smelter and now an Alcan subsidiary.

The acquisition, including all of the shares and subordinated loans owned by the financial partners, was made for 248 million euros. The transaction also resulted in the consolidation by Alcan of an additional 112 million euros in debt, on December 30, 2003.

Aluminium Dunkerque’s annual production capacity is 250,000 tonnes. “This acquisition adds an excellent primary aluminium asset to Alcan’s global capacity,” said Travis Engen, President and CEO of Alcan.

Alcan is a multinational, market-driven company and a global leader in aluminum and packaging, as well as aluminum recycling. With world-class operations in primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum as well as flexible and specialty packaging, today’s Alcan is even better positioned to meet and exceed its customers' needs for innovative solutions and service. Alcan employs 88,000 people and has operating facilities in 63 countries.