MHI to buy 5 pct of Areva's NewCo for 250 mln euros
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has reached a general agreement on the terms for making a minority stake investment in a new company (NewCo) to be established by the AREVA Group of France, all-round specialists in nuclear energy. The move follows a formal proposal by MHI to AREVA and ongoing discussions on matters including the investment terms and ownership ratios. Ultimately it has been agreed that MHI will acquire a 5 percent equity stake at an outlay of approximately 250 million euros. With acquisition of a stake in NewCo, going forward MHI will pursue deeper and expanded exchanges of human resources and technologies with the AREVA Group.
The target of MHI's impending investment is NewCo, a new company being spun off from AREVA to handle business relating to the nuclear fuel cycle: in particular, uranium mining, enrichment and conversion, and recycling of spent fuel. NewCo will have among the most prominent marketing and technological capabilities in the global nuclear energy industry, and the new entity is expected to mark solid growth and business expansion in the coming years.
MHI has a robust track record of cooperation with the AREVA Group in the nuclear energy business spanning many years. In 1991 the two entities established a joint venture (JV) in the fuel cycle business, leading to collaboration in the manufacture and sale of diversified recycling equipment. In 2007 MHI and AREVA launched development of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant (NPP) integrating their cutting-edge technologies, culminating in the development of the "ATMEA1," a state-of-the-art PWR NPP in the 1100 MWe (megawatt electrical) class. The ATMEA1 is now marketed worldwide, with notable results already achieved in Turkey.
Through realization of investment in NewCo, MHI aims to support the realization, through the new entity's business expansion, of the AREVA Group's future growth strategies. Also, by building stronger relationships of cooperation in business and technology areas, MHI will play an important role in reinforcing ties between the Japanese and French governments and between their respective nuclear energy industries as confirmed by the two countries in 2015, thereby strengthening the global value chain in the NPP business.
Speaking in reference to MHI's investment proposal, President and CEO Shunichi Miyanaga said that AREVA is a partner of great importance for the Company's nuclear energy business. "For many years AREVA has lent its support to the development of nuclear power generation in Japan. Now that we have reached this general agreement on the terms for investing in NewCo, I'm extremely pleased to be able to contribute to the reorganization of France's nuclear power industry. And I have high hopes that through future investments, MHI and the AREVA Group will not only forge a strong partnership between our two countries' nuclear power industries, but also make a solid contribution together to further advancing technology to enable even safer and more reliable nuclear power generation that, as one among various energies, will resolve the dual issues of stable energy supplies on global scale and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions."
In parallel with investing in NewCo, MHI has been in discussions toward making a similar minority stake investment in AREVA NP, an AREVA Group company that specializes in NPP engineering and equipment supply. By strengthening the ties between French and Japanese manufacturers, efforts will go forward toward achieving an enhanced structure as a comprehensive manufacturer capable of supporting the global nuclear energy business in all aspects from nuclear fuel fabrication to NPP design, construction and maintenance, to recycling of spent fuel.
