Bidding for Kaiser's Alpart should be extended, Russia's Alros says

New York, April 16 - Russian mining company Alros asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to extend the bidding deadline for Kaiser Aluminum Corp.'s Alpart assets.

The extra time would allow Alros to put together its own bid, the company said in a court filing on April 15.

It suggested extending the qualified bid deadline to May 14 from April 15, the auction to May 20 from April 20 and the hearing to May 26 from April 26.

While Alros said the committee of unsecured creditors had no objection, favoring widening the pool of potential buyers, the committee on Friday made a court filing saying that it "opposes in all respects" Alros' suggestion.

Kaiser Aluminum previously said it signed a stalking horse agreement with Rual Trade Ltd. to sell its interest in Alpart for $215 million.

Rual Trade is a member of Rusal Group.

Alpart is a partnership that owns bauxite mining operations and an alumina refinery in Jamaica.

Under the partnership agreement, Hydro Aluminium AS, which owns the remaining 35% of Alpart, has the right for 30 days after the court approves the sale to buy Kaiser's interest at the price approved by the court.

In March, Kaiser was ordered by the bankruptcy court to hold an auction for its Alpart interests after Russian Aluminum or Rusal objected. Instead of running a formal auction, the Houston aluminum company had previously invited bids and assured the winner that the company would ask the court to approve the sale without an auction. Alpart had planned to sell its stake to Glencore AG for $165 million.

Meanwhile Rusal filed a notice with the bankruptcy court Friday saying it was appealing the order terminating the sale to Glencore and approving bidding procedures. No explanation was given.

Kaiser filed for Chapter 11 on Feb. 12, 2002. Its Chapter 11 case number is 02-10429.

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