French nuclear group AREVA said Thursday last week it had concluded a series of agreements with CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) for the management of nuclear facilities being dismantled at Marcoule and for assistance with onsite work covering the period 2016 to 2020.
The services, AREVA said, represents approximately $401.6 million in revenue.
AREVA also said that it had revised its projected 2015 target for net cashflow from its operations to show a neegative $1.3 billion from an initial prediction of up to $1.85 billion.
AREVA said the figures excluded the company's competitiveness plan and related implementation costs announced July 30. “I.E. about minus $1 billion including net savings had already been generated by the plan," AREVA said in a statement.
The company still expects a “heavy” net loss on the year, it said. The Wall Street Journal said AREVA, which is 87 percent owned by the government, needs $7.63 billion to balance its accounts.
The Journal said Westinghouse Electric could be added to the list of nuclear power giants that are interested in AREVA assets. Chief Executive Officer Danny Roderick said he was “always interested in good acquisitions.”
French utility Electricite de France (EDF), which is 84.5 percent owned by the government, has been expected to purchase AREVA NP, the company's nuclear reactor division. Reports, however, say the deal has run into snags. Specifically, EDF now values AREVA NP at $2.39 billion to $2.5 billion, substantially less than earlier this year.
Sources said the holdup also pivots on the French government's concerns over lawsuits in Finland.
The government, which owns a majority of EDF, wants to avoid liabilities associated with construction delays in Olkiluoto, Finland. AREVA is building an EPR reactor for the utility Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), but delays have triggered court filings and counter-filings over billions of dollars
However, AREVA said it was making progress in talks with EDF and expected to close the deal early next year. It had been anticipated that a deal would have closed by the end of 2015.
The China National Nuclear Corp. said in November that it, too, was seeking to purchase a minority stake in AREVA, which would give the company a clear presence in Europe and in other markets.
Last week, th French daily La Tribune reported that the government was close to making an offer to buy 50 percent of AREVA TA, which makes equipment for France's nuclear aircraft carrier. In that deal, DCNS, a military contractor, would increase its holding in AREVA TA to 20 percent, while CEA, the nuclear research group, would by 20 percent.
Other sources have said that U.S. radiation monitoring company Mirion Technologies is planning a bid for Canberra, AREVA's nuclear radiation measurement division. Sources said investment funds Apax Partners, 3i and Triton are also expected to bid on Canberra.