Larger text
Smaller text
Print
E-mail
Mitsubishi may acquire Westinghouse
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., which acquired Westinghouse in 1998, is selling the company because Westinghouse no longer fits with the corporation's mission. Owned by the British government, BNFL reorganized last year to focus on cleaning up nuclear sites in the U.K., rather than developing and servicing nuclear power plants.
Based in Monroeville, Westinghouse has been expected to fetch at least $1.7 billion. But Mitsubishi is believed to have vaulted ahead of the pack with an offer of roughly $2.5 billion, said a Wall Street Journal report yesterday, citing unnamed sources.
"The plan is to have a preferred buyer by the end of this month or early in February," said Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert. He declined to comment on specific bidders.
A Mitsubishi official confirmed that the company had bid for Westinghouse, but could not comment on the status or amount of that offer.
"We have a relationship with Westinghouse and have had one for a number of years," said Vincent DePasquale, director of marketing for MHI America, New York, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Mitsubishi is the co-developer of Westinghouse's advanced nuclear reactor, the AP 1000. The economic and highly efficient reactor received final certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Dec. 30, after a decade of development work.
The AP 1000, meantime, is key to Westinghouse's attempt to win an $8 billion contract to develop four 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors to serve China's growing power demands. The Beijing government is expected to award the megacontract to either Westinghouse, or Russian or French corporations in a month or so, said Gilbert.
Other companies that made offers to acquire Westinghouse are U.S.-based General Electric and the Shaw Group, and Toshiba. The sale of Westinghouse is expected to take at least 12 months to complete once BNFL selects a buyer, said Gilbert.
The British concern acquired Westinghouse for $1.2 billion. It has 8,800 employees worldwide, including about 3,000 in Western Pennsylvania. BNFL employs about 23,000, including Westinghouse workers.
Gilbert said Westinghouse would expect to "remain intact" following the sale, including its "significant operations in Western Pennsylvania." He also said revenue for the nine months ended December was ahead of year-ago levels.
More Business headlines
- Cream of mushroom soup made on North Side recalled
- Giant Eagle spreads wings with Robinson megastore
- Tech industry gaining ground in region
- Potential Hilton buyers name hotel manager
- Kellogg pulls immunity claim
- Cisco Systems says net income dropped 19 percent
- GMAC Financial Services says loss narrowed in third quarter
- GM Opel decision fuels wrath
