Globe Specialty Metals looking at deal for Elkem

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2010 - Silicon metal and alloy maker Globe Specialty Metals is looking to buy Norwegian solar silicon product maker Elkem for more than $1 billion.
Elkem, a unit of Norway's pizza-to-metals group Orkla ASA, has been in talks to be bought by China National BlueStar, a state-run specialty chemicals company backed by U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group, Reuters reported in October.
But a controversy between Norway and China over the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo could endanger that deal, according to the Journal. The Nobel committee is based in Norway.
Orkla, Globe Specialty Metals and Blackstone were not available for comment.