Last year Novelis failed to cover its cost of capital, though Mr Birla is optimistic.
For every Advanced Marketing, however, there is a Novelis (nyse: NVL - news - people ).
Speakers and attendees range from banks, producers and consumers and include firms such as Novelis, Macquarie Bank and Aluminio Brasileiro.
FORBES: Discrepancy Between Aluminum Prices, Premiums To Be Focus Of Conference
Initially, it seemed Birla's critics were right, especially when the global economy went into a spin, causing further hardship to cash-strapped Novelis.
In May Novelis put out results for the first three quarters of 2005 and promised to get up to date by year-end.
Tata and Aditya Birla did too, though their subsidiaries Tata Motors and Novelis are still viewed as risky bets by debt investors.
Investing in Novelis could give it a technology edge, and having value-added products in its portfolio would provide a hedge against volatile aluminum prices.
Analysts gave a thumbs-down, calling the deal an expensive vanity purchase that would crush Hindalco under the mountain of debt it would need to acquire Novelis.
Though mid-sized by global standards, they have entered the consciousness of foreigners too, with takeovers abroad, from Novelis, an aluminium outfit, to Corus, a steel company.
That discipline was brought to bear in turning Novelis around.
Novelis, which had been spun off from Alcan in 2005, had nearly a one-fifth share of the world market for flat-rolled aluminum, used for making beverage cans and auto parts.
When Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group, mooted the idea four years ago of acquiring U.S.- headquartered Novelis, the world's biggest producer of rolled aluminum, key executives at his commodities conglomerate shot it down as too risky.
应用推荐