Japan’s Toshiba Corp has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) to acquire BNFL USA Group and Westinghouse for $5.4 billion.
The acquisition gives Toshiba access to both BWR (Boiling Water Reactor) and PWR (Pressurised Water Reactor) technologies.
Under the terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement Toshiba will acquire 100% of Westinghouse and will retain more than 51% of the capital interest and remain the majority and controlling shareholder of Westinghouse. Upon completion of the acquisition, which still requires regulatory clearances, Toshiba expects its nuclear power business to expand to three times today’s level by 2015, as a result of operational and technological synergies.
Atsutoshi Nishida, president and chief executive of Toshiba said, “With Westinghouse, Toshiba will be a global nuclear power business organisation committed to delivering world-class nuclear power generation systems and services, backed up by proven technology, reliability and superb efficiency.”
Mike Parker, chief executive of BNFL said, “This partnership will provide Westinghouse with a truly global platform with new export opportunities that will enable us to compete more effectively for new US customers.