Table of Contents

United States
Securities and Exchange Commission

FORM 6-K

Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant To Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of

January 2004

Avenida Graça Aranha, No. 26
20005-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
(Address of principal executive office)

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)

(Check One) Form 20-F [X] Form 40-F [ ]

(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)

(Check One) Yes [ ] No [X]

(If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b). 82- .)

 

---

Table of Contents

This current report on Form 6-K is hereby incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement on Form F-4 of Vale Overseas Limited, File No. 333-109610; the Registration Statement on Form F-4 of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, File No. 333-109610-01; the Registration Statement on Form F-3 of Vale Overseas Limited, File No. 333-110867-01; and the Registration Statement on Form F-3 of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, File No. 333-110867.

---

PRESS RELEASE
SIGNATURES

---

Table of Contents

Consolidation of Docegeo, MSS, Aluvale and MVC into CVRD

Rio de Janeiro, January 05, 2004 – Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) informs that the Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting held on December 30, 2003, approved the consolidation of its wholly owned subsidiaries Rio Doce Geologia e Mineração S.A. – Docegeo (Docegeo), Mineração Serra do Sossego S.A. (MSS), Vale do Rio Doce Alumínio S.A. – Aluvale (Aluvale) and Mineração Vera Cruz S.A. (MVC) into CVRD. These consolidations will not involve issuance of CVRD shares. Docegeo, MSS, Aluvale and MVC assets will be transferred to CVRD at their book value, as of November 30, 2003. CVRD will assume all these companies’ assets and liabilities, according to the effective Brazilian legislation. Such consolidation aims to simplify CVRD ´s organizational structure.

---

For further information, please contact:
Roberto Castello Branco: roberto.castello.branco@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4540
Barbara Geluda: barbara.geluda@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4557
Daniela Tinoco: daniela.tinoco@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4946
Eduardo Mello Franco: eduardo.mello.franco@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-9849
Rafael Azevedo: rafael.azevedo@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4700
Rafael Campos: rafael.campos@cvrd.com.br +55-21-3814-4353

This press release may contain statements that express management’s expectations about future events or results rather than historical facts. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements, and CVRD cannot give assurance that such statements will prove correct. These risks and uncertainties include factors: relating to the Brazilian economy and securities markets, which exhibit volatility and can be adversely affected by developments in other countries; relating to the iron ore business and its dependence on the global steel industry, which is cyclical in nature; and relating to the highly competitive industries in which CVRD operates. For additional information on factors that could cause CVRD’s actual results to differ from expectations reflected in forward-looking statements, please see CVRD’s reports filed with the Brazilian Comissão de Valores Mobiliários and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

---

Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.