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Press Releases
BNFL to Acquire Nuclear Business of ABB
LONDON, Dec. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- BNFL, the global nuclear company, and ABB
today announced that BNFL has agreed to purchase the commercial nuclear power
businesses of ABB. The ABB businesses to be purchased will be merged into and
operated as part of the BNFL Group's Westinghouse Electric Company. The
purchase price of the transaction is US $485 million (300m pounds sterling).
The acquisition is subject to the usual regulatory approvals.
BNFL Chief Executive John Taylor said: "This acquisition builds on BNFL's
purchase earlier this year of Westinghouse Electric Company and represents an
opportunity to offer an even broader range of services to our customers and to
build value for our shareholder."
He continued: "ABB's nuclear businesses fit well with those of the
BNFL Group in both product and geographic scope. The acquisition expands our
technology portfolio by bringing ABB's boiling water reactor (BWR) systems
into the product mix which we will be able to offer to our customers. This
move also allows us to further expand our activities in the US, Europe and
Asia, enabling us to provide our customers with a broader range of product and
service offerings supplied by an expanded global sales and service
organisation."
In addition to nuclear products, services and technology, BNFL will also
acquire ABB's strong presence in Asia where, among other things, eight Korean
Pressurised Water Reactors (PWRs) are based upon an ABB design. In the United
States and Europe, ABB's nuclear plant design, fuel and service capabilities
will expand those offered by the BNFL Group through the Westinghouse Electric
Company.
Goran Lindahl, ABB President and CEO, said the divestiture is in line with
ABB's strategy to expand in knowledge and service sectors, and to focus on
those businesses where clear synergies can be created. He added: "We think
BNFL is in a solid position to develop the nuclear business, while we
concentrate on those areas where we can combine our expertise across a broad
range of industries and tap our global presence for greater growth. That
means delivering intelligent solutions in, for example, industrial automation,
service, power transmission and distribution, building systems, oil, gas and
petrochemicals and in financial services."
Notes to Editors
Under terms of the agreement, BNFL will purchase ABB's worldwide nuclear
businesses that are headquartered in the United States in Windsor,
Connecticut. Other major US operations included in the transaction are
located in Hematite, Missouri; New Britain, Connecticut; Newington, New
Hampshire; and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Key European and Asian operations are
located in Vasteras and Stockholm in Sweden; Barras Provence in France;
Mannheim, Munich, and Frankfurt, Germany; Seoul, South Korea; and Beijing,
China.
The Westinghouse business employs approximately 6,300 people throughout
the world, while the ABB businesses to be acquired employ nearly 3,000. Total
BNFL Group employment, including Westinghouse, is currently about 20,000.
BNFL is a leading specialist in nuclear technology and a global supplier
of nuclear fuel, products and services. Currently around a third of BNFL's
turnover comes from the Westinghouse Electric business which manufactures fuel
and services nuclear reactors around the world; a quarter comes from the
recycling of UK and overseas customers' fuel; a further quarter of turnover
comes from operating the UK's Magnox power stations. The remainder of BNFL's
business is in the area of waste management and decommissioning, which is
expected to grow significantly in the years ahead.
Westinghouse Electric Company was acquired by BNFL in March 1999.
Westinghouse offers a wide range of nuclear plant products and services to
utilities throughout the world, including fuel manufacture service and
maintenance, instrumentation and control, and advanced nuclear plant designs.
ABB is a global technology and engineering company serving customers in
power transmission and distribution; automation; oil, gas and petrochemicals;
industrial products and contracting; and financial services. Power generation
customers are served by the joint venture of ABB and ALSTOM called ABB ALSTOM
POWER. The ABB Group employs about 170,000 people in more than 100 countries.
SOURCE BNFL
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