Toshiba agrees to buy Westinghouse for $5.4 bln

Japan's Toshiba Corp. has agreed to buy Westinghouse, the U.S. power plant arm of British Nuclear Fuels, for $5.4 billion to bolster its position in the world's resurgent nuclear power industry. Japan's second-biggest electronics maker said it expected several minority investors to join the deal but that it would retain a controlling stake of over 51%. The takeover, which values Westinghouse at almost three times initial expectations, is expected to be completed in around six months. Westinghouse builds and runs nuclear power plants worldwide and is a leader in the Chinese nuclear power market.

Nuclear power was out of favor after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and has been dogged by concerns about the financial and environmental costs of dealing with radioactive waste. But it has recently returned to the fore. Concern over the security of power supplies and growing demand worldwide for energy have fueled a surge in crude oil prices, prompting fuel-hungry countries such as China to expand investment in other energy sources including nuclear power.

Initial expectations were for Westinghouse to fetch about $1.8 billion, however Toshiba's Chief Executive and President Atsutoshi Nishida said bidding interest in the final three weeks of negotiations pushed the price up from around $3.2 billion to $5.4 billion. "There was a lot of competition in terms of bidding. Given the potential and future growth and profit, we believe this was the right price," he said.

- Looks like, at the same time that Toshiba has abandoned manufacturing in Singapore, it's been going after much bigger game - the nuclear power industry. Me, I'm still waiting for that first nuclear power plant opening in Tuas, perhaps after the first snow falls in Singapore, probably the day after tomorrow .. ;)

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