Westinghouse Will Acquire Rolls-Royce’s Civil Nuclear Business
Credit to Author: Sonal Patel| Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 23:19:59 +0000
The post Westinghouse Will Acquire Rolls-Royce’s Civil Nuclear Business appeared first on POWER Magazine.
Westinghouse Electric Co. will acquire Rolls-Royce’s Civil Nuclear Systems and Services business in North America for an undisclosed amount under a “definitive agreement” announced on Sept. 26.
The merger will conjoin two of the most traditionally significant nuclear businesses in the U.S. and the UK and give the two industry giants more clout in the global nuclear power operating plant services sector. It could also substantially boost growth for Westinghouse, which emerged from bankruptcy in August 2018 as a Brookfield company.
The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, will see Westinghouse absorb Rolls-Royce’s Civil Nuclear Systems and Services division, a business the UK company established in July 2008, that today operates 11 sites in Canada, France, the UK, and the U.S.The division has grown into a formidable provider of instrumentation and control systems; inspections, testing, and site services; plant automation and monitoring systems; and digital services.
Rolls-Royce has been part of the UK’s nuclear industry for more than 60 years, but reports emerged in March that the company was looking to slim down, and in the process, was seeking a buyer for its revered engineering division.
Westinghouse, which supplied the first pressurized water reactor at Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in 1957, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with U.S. courts in March 2017 to enable it to undergo strategic restructuring. It was acquired by Brookfield from Toshiba in January 2018, and has since sought ways to reestablish its presence in the nuclear sector.
The acquisition of Rolls-Royce would create customer value and support customer operations, said Patrick Fragman, Westinghouse president and CEO on Thursday. “Acquiring Rolls-Royce will strengthen our ability to serve the nuclear operating fleet through an expanded presence in our core business while adding new digital offerings,” he said. “This acquisition is an important step in our growth strategy.”
In a statement, Westinghouse noted that combining Westinghouse’s and Rolls-Royce’s global customer base would enhance customer offerings and experience in field services and plant automation. It would also “enhance the company’s digital innovation efforts to optimize customer planning and maintenance, and provide engineering solutions to maximize cost effectiveness and obsolescence risk.”
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior associate editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine)
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
The post Westinghouse Will Acquire Rolls-Royce’s Civil Nuclear Business appeared first on POWER Magazine.