Westinghouse Electric Acquired for $4.6 Billion
"Brookfield's acquisition of Westinghouse reaffirms our position as the leader of the global nuclear industry," Westinghouse President & CEO José Emeterio Gutiérrez said.
Ten months after Westinghouse Electric Company filed for bankruptcy protection, putting in jeopardy its construction work on two new nuclear power plants with AP1000 reactors for South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) in Jenkinsville, S.C., and two others for Georgia Power Company (owned by Southern Company) near Waynesboro, Ga., the company announced Jan. 4 that it "has agreed to be acquired by Brookfield Business Partners L.P. together with institutional partners" for approximately $4.6 billion.
WEC's parent company, Toshiba, on Feb. 14 announced a $6.3 billion writedown to its U.S. nuclear unit and several executive changes, including the resignation of Chairman Shigenori Shiga. WEC at that time was the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor working on the construction of the four new U.S. reactors.
The company's Jan. 4 announcement said the $4.6 billion purchase price "for substantially all of the global business of Westinghouse Electric Company LLC and its affiliated debtors and debtors-in-possession excludes cash, but includes the assumption of certain pension, environmental and other operating obligations."
"Brookfield's acquisition of Westinghouse reaffirms our position as the leader of the global nuclear industry," Westinghouse President & CEO José Emeterio Gutiérrez said. "Our transformation and strategic restructuring process is creating a stronger, stable, and more streamlined global Westinghouse business, for the benefit of our customers and employees."
The announcement said Brookfield's acquisition of WEC is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to bankruptcy court approval and customary closing conditions, and during that process WEC will continue to operate under its existing senior management.