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France: State utility to buy Areva’s reactor business

By  |  July 30, 2015

Government run EDF has said that it would buy a majority stake of the reactor business of nuclear group Areva. The French government is looking to buy 51 percent of the business while leaving 25 percent to Areva and it is hoping to find a third partner to purchase the remainder.

EDF chief Jean-Bernard Levy said, “This is a structural change in the French nuclear reactor industry. From now on there will be only one strategic leadership, one single product policy, and only one export policy.”

Areva separately stated that it needs7 billion euros to finance the next two years and is willing to part with up to 75 percent of its reactor business for about 2 billion euros to raise some capital.

Following due diligence, EDF will submit a binding offer for the reactor unit in the last quarter of 2015 with a view to closing the transaction in the second half of 2016.

Full content: Reuters

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