Toshiba plots bid for Britain’s nuclear fuel maker

Monday, January 21, 2013

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Toshiba Corp. is weighing plans to bid for Urenco, the nuclear fuel producer backed by the U.K., the Netherlands and two German energy giants, the Sunday Times reports without citing sources.

The newspaper says the Japanese industrial giant, which owns the nuclear reactor builder Westinghouse Electric, wants to bid for the business if and when it comes on the market.

Urenco, which enriches uranium for nuclear fuel, is owned by the U.K. and Dutch governments and German firms RWE A.G. and E.ON S.E., who own a third each.

According to press reports, the U.K. government last year hired banks to advise on a possible sale. The Sunday Times says the U.K. and Dutch governments are in discussion about sale plans. The Dutch government's intentions for Urenco, and the status of a sale process, remain unclear, however.

Neither Toshiba nor Urenco could immediately be reached for comment Sunday.

Posted in |