Toshiba to acquire 60% stake in UK nuclear venture NuGeneration

Japan's Toshiba Corp has agreed to buy 60 per cent of NuGeneration Ltd, a joint venture between GDF Suez SA of France and Iberdrola SA of Spain, for £102 million ($167 million).

With Toshiba in command, NuGeneration Ltd will move ahead with plans to build three nuclear reactors in Britain at its Moorside site in Cumbria, 400 km north-west of London, the company said.

The UK government had, in its national policy announcement on 24 June 2011, confirmed that NuGen's site was suitable for a new nuclear power station.

NuGen is now preparing detailed plans for developing the site, which will be submitted for consideration by the relevant planning authorities with the aim of a final investment decision being taken around 2015.

On 1 December 2011 NuGen announced the finalisation of Moorside as the project name.

NewGen expects the first new power station to be commissioned around 2023.

The three nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 3.4 gigawatts will be developed by the Toshiba group's company Westinghouse Electric Co, Tishiba said.

As part of the agreement, Westinghouse Electric, Toshiba's nuclear reactor arm, will provide three of its AP1000 reactors for the Moorside site.

Toshiba expects to complete the deal by June, and after the closure of the deal, GDF Suez will hold the remaining 40 per cent stake.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and won't have an impact on Toshiba's full-year earnings forecasts, the company said.