Kaiser Aluminum Corp

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. on Thursday made public its bid for competitor Alumax Inc., in a deal valued at between $2.2 billion and $2.5 billion that would create the world's third-largest aluminum producer. Alumax earlier this month rejected the merger proposal from Houston-based Kaiser, which is controlled by Maxxam Inc., but it has indicated that it would consider a richer offer. There was no immediate response Thursday from Norcross, Ga.-based Alumax.

An Orange County bicycle manufacturer has become the point player in a $4.4-billion price-fixing lawsuit against North America's five top aluminum producers. The bike maker, John Hammons, owner of Full Circle Distributing Co. in Huntington Beach, is the sole plaintiff in the proposed class-action suit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by Century City attorney Richard I. Fine. Hammons could not be reached for comment.

Los Angeles real estate investment company Summit Commercial Properties said Monday that it bought Kaiser Center, a high-rise office building in Oakland, for about $100 million. Built by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser in 1960, the 28-story tower was to be the centerpiece of a sprawling commercial development on Lake Merritt that was never completed. As part of the acquisition, from Kaiser Aluminum Corp.'s bankruptcy estate, Summit bought the rights to build an additional 1.5 million square feet.

Alumax Inc., responding to Kaiser Aluminum Corp.'s unsolicited offer to buy the company for $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion in cash and stock, on Friday called the bid inadequate and said it is not seeking a sale. Investors shrugged off Alumax's response in the belief that the thriving Norcross, Ga.-based aluminum maker may consider a higher offer from Kaiser, an industry laggard and the smaller of the two companies, analysts said. Alumax shares soared 17%, closing up $5.625 at $38.

Aluminum company shares rose Tuesday because the electricity shortage probably will limit production for years and push aluminum prices higher, analysts said. Shares of Alcoa Inc., the largest aluminum producer, rose $1.75, or 4.7%, to $39.25. Alcan Inc. gained $4.19, or 11%, to $42.21 and Kaiser Aluminum Corp. rose 13 cents, or 3.9%, to $3.48.

Reynolds Metals Co. on Sunday rejected a multibillion-dollar takeover bid by Alcoa Inc. as inadequate, a decision that is likely to set off a bidding scramble for the No. 3 aluminum manufacturer.

The Alan E. Clore era at KaiserTech has ended with the British investor's resignation as chairman and director after the sale of his remaining stake in the Oakland-based company. Clore's former financial adviser, Guy de Chabaneix, also resigned as a director. Clore will be succeeded by Barry Munitz, 46, vice chairman of MCO Holdings, whose Maxxam Group subsidiary now holds 31.

An Oxnard forging plant will benefit from the struggles of an Eastern counterpart. Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. has announced plans to shut down its aluminum forging operation in Erie, Pa., with manufacturing jobs previously handled by the plant to be consolidated into the company's remaining forging facilities in Oxnard and Greenwood, S.C.

Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. said Sunday that shareholders have "overwhelmingly rejected" a takeover attempt by a group led by a reclusive British investor, an Oklahoma real estate magnate and a corporate takeover specialist. British investor Alan E. Clore, takeover specialist Charles Holmes and Joseph A. Frates of Tulsa, Okla.