Swiss company Glencore has bought the Aughinish Alumina refinery in Limerick. Neither party has disclosed the price, but Alcan Aluminium, which owns Aughinish, has taken an after-tax loss of $120 million (#103.55 million) on the sale.

Last night, a spokesman for Aughinish said the 450 jobs at the plant would be unaffected. It is understood staff were informed of the sale at meetings yesterday. Page 4

(# - Euro)