French nuclear engineering giant Areva SA is expected to put its transmission and distribution business up for
sale to finance new investment, Paris-based Paul Whitfield reports on The Deal Pipeline (subscription required).
The decision, and a related move by state-controlled Areva to seek outside investors, is the latest example of the strategic positioning and dealmaking now under way as companies seek to participate in the booming market for new nuclear energy facilities across Europe and the U.S. Areva needs additional funds to invest in new nuclear technology. It also needs about €2 billion ($2.8 billion) to buy back a stake in its reactor subsidiary now held by Siemens AG (NYSE:SI).
In the U.S. the Department of Energy is providing $18.5 billion in financing to four companies to
help build a new generation of nuclear reactors. One of them, the UniStar venture co-owned by Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE:CEG) and EDF Group, on Tuesday got the
go-ahead to build a nuclear power plant in Maryland.
According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, already an Areva partner,
confirmed its interest in taking a stake in Areva, a possibility first raised by the Financial Times on Friday. -
Kenneth Klee
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