French nuclear group moves into green power business French nuclear group moves into green power business
David Gow in Brussels Tuesday January 23, 2007 The Guardian French energy group Areva, the world's biggest builder of nuclear power stations, yesterday signalled an expansion drive in renewable energy by offering to buy German wind-turbine maker REpower in a deal valuing it at €850m (£560m). The French group, which already owns 29.99% of REpower, said it was seeking a majority stake in the German company and could take this as high as 100% control. Its offer is a 17% premium to REpower's close on Friday. Areva, which is helping to build western Europe's first nuclear power plant for 20 years in Finland and is suffering losses on the contract because of delays, is already active in building biomass-fuelled power plants, mainly in Brazil, and owns Jeumont, a small business making and maintaining windmills. Areva became an investor in Repower in 2005. The offer for the remaining stock would add sales of about €450m and is timed with a global surge in wind-power projects as national governments seek to cut carbon emissions and reduce dependence on oil and gas. It said its plans to take over REpower, which is 25% owned by a Portuguese company, reflected its strategy of investing in carbon-free electricity generation which would be what Anne Lauvergeon, the chief executive, called "the driver of utilities in the years to come." The German company, which employs 740, specialises in producing bigger offshore turbines capable of generating 5 megawatts and is the country's third-largest manufacturer. It had installed 142 turbines by mid-2006, with an order book for a further 821. It is active in France, Britain and the US and has joint ventures in China and India. Ms Lauvergeon said she hoped to complete the deal in the second quarter after winning the backing of the German company's management . "Being in a position to provide financial guarantees for large-scale offshore projects will accelerate REpower's development," she said. Areva, which had global sales of €10bn in 2005, has warned that last year's operating income would be significantly lower because of the Finnish problems. It is a driving force behind the EU's campaign to promote new generation nuclear plants in European countries willing to embrace the controversial technology.
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