Private Equity Digs Deep

Private equity is mining the metals sector for deal nuggets.

Apollo Management's $1.15 billion plan to acquire Swiss Xstrata's aluminum business, unveiled earlier this month, underscores private equity's attraction to mining. And increasingly, the story goes well beyond silver and gold.

Instead, hard assets such as steel and aluminum -- and even rare metals such as uranium -- are luring private equity investors who expect demand for these commodities to spike as supplies dwindle, says one industry observer. ...