London-listed miner and commodity trader Glencore would be willing to take over Bosnia & Herzegovina’s troubled aluminium smelter Aluminij if the authorities agree to guarantee a fixed electricity price of €50 per MWh, Indikator.ba reported on July 4.

Aluminij, once one of the biggest companies in Bosnia, has significant outstanding debt with 74%, or BAM280mn (€143.2mn), of it owed to electricity supplier Elektroprivreda HZHB. The power utility now says it will stop delivering electricity on July 6, which will force Aluminij to stop operations.

In an attempt to save the company its management entered into talks with Glencore, but the company is only willing to acquire Aluminij if the electricity price is guaranteed. However, the government of Bosnia’s Muslim-Croat Federation, which holds a 44% stake in Aluminij, so far has not pledged to provide such guarantee.

Meanwhile, workers of Aluminij went out to protest for a second day in a row, appealing to the government to take action and save the company.

Klix.ba has reported that two companies from Dubai and Saudi Arabia might be interested in acquiring the company. Their representatives are due to meet the entity’s government on July 4 to discuss a potential takeover of Aluminij. Klix.ba has not disclosed their names, but wrote that they are global players.

On July 4, the government met with Aluminij’s representatives and explained that they will hold meetings with representatives of both Glencore and the unnamed company from Dubai.