Toshiba Sells 10% of its Share in Westinghouse to Kazatoprom

13 August 2007

World Nuclear News. Toshiba has sold 10% of its 77% share in Westinghouse to Kazatoprom, the Kazakh state-owned uranium producer, for US$540 million in cash.

Toshiba led a group of firms which bought the US-based reactor vendor from the UK’s BNFL in 2005 for $5.4 billion, taking 77% for itself. The purchase created a global nuclear business with expertise in both pressurized water and boiling water reactors and large interests in Europe, Japan and the USA.

With its new share, Kazatoprom will become the third largest shareholder in Westinghouse after Shaw Group with its 20%, and ahead of Ishikawajima Heavy Industries with its 5%.

Westinghouse’s existing nuclear fuel business is capable of supplying and servicing most of the world’s reactor designs and has annual sales of around $750 million, which Toshiba in 2005 did not predict would grow significantly. Current plans for new reactors include up to 18 of Westinghouse’s AP1000 units in pairs at seven sites in the USA and two in China. New reactors are usually fuelled by the vendor and require a full-core load, two to three times bigger than typical subsequent reloads.

Kazakhstan has the world’s second largest uranium reserves.