Muscle Shoals, AL – The state retirement system has invested $520 million in the Wise Alloys plant in northwest Alabama, a move designed to give the 1,000-employee plant financial stability and flexibility.
Retirement systems chief David Bronner says the loan to Wise Alloys, which can grow by another $70 million if needed, carries a 9 percent interest rate.
He says the company is now one of the most financially sound businesses in the area. Officials with the plant's parent company, Wise Metals, say the investment cleared the way for a refinancing and new long-term contracts.
Wise Metals took over the plant in 1999.
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