BNFL will purchase ABB’s nuclear business for $485 million, subject to regulatory approval.
Under the terms of the agreement, BNFL will buy ABB’s worldwide nuclear systems businesses, headquarted in the USA. In addition to the USA, ABB’s main nuclear operations are in Sweden, France and Germany. In total, the divested businesses employ 3000 people, with revenue in 1998 of $500 million.
As a result of the deal, BNFL will acquire ABB’s presence in Asia, where among other projects, it has delivered 8 PWRs to Korea. In the USA, BNFL will add ABB’s nuclear capability to that which it already possesses through Westinghouse.
Having merged its power generation business into a 50-50 joint venture with Alstom in 1999, ABB will now focus its remaining power generation business on renewable energy and distributed power.
BNFL Chief Executive John Taylor said: “This acquisition expands our technology portfolio by bringing ABB’s boiling water reactor (BWR) systems into our product mix.”
