US demands American owner for Westinghouse

[struggle4progress]

By Katherine Griffiths in New York
Published: 10 October 2005

Pressure is mounting on the UK government to sell Westinghouse, the profitable American arm of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), to one of its compatriots amid concerns about foreign companies threatening national security by buying US companies. <snip>

Among the heavyweight contenders that have made bids are Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a long-time business partner of Westinghouse, and Toshiba. South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries has entered the fray. All three are likely to lose out in the auction, making the most likely contenders to clinch the prize the US titan General Electric, which has teamed up with the New York-based hedge fund Cerberus, and the Louisiana-based Shaw. <snip>

Those stepping up the campaign to keep sensitive businesses in American hands include Richard Shelby, the chairman of the Senate banking committee. He is among a group of influential politicians who want a more robust investigation into potential national security threats when foreign companies bid for American ones. The move comes after China's Cnooc bid for Unocal, the California-based oil company, this summer, causing widespread anxiety on Capitol Hill. Such bids are vetted by the White House-controlled committee on foreign investments. The committee, CFIUS, did not have to rule on the Unocal situation in the end because Cnooc pulled out. <snip>

As Westinghouse operates in the nuclear sector, with its associations with possible military use, its sale would almost certainly be reviewed by CFIUS, and any foreign buyer would find it difficult to overcome the national security concerns. In addition, America's powerful Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will review any deal. <snip>

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article318425.ece

[NewJeffCT]

1. I hope they can stay a US company

Too many prestigious companies now have foreign owners... we don't need one as important as Westinghouse becoming part of Mitsubishi.

That said, GE is already one of the 10 biggest corporations in the world (#5 in the US) and is the 2nd most valuable US corporation after ExxonMobil. GE's revenues of $150 billion or so are bigger than the GDP of many small countries.

[NNadir]

2. Actually, foreign companies do a much better job at nuclear than American

companies.

This of course is not entirely the fault of American nuclear companies. The American people, recently revealed for all the world to see as a cadre of silly mystics, are less and less well equipped to understand energy issues. It is very difficult for Americans to understand high technology, since the understanding of technology is an elective in many MBA programs, if it appears at all.

I would like to see Westinghouse sold to Toshiba Nuclear or maybe Framatome. Or maybe the Chinese could buy them.

I'm not sure Framatome would have anything to gain from the deal. As they say there:

"Constellation Energy et le groupe AREVA annoncent aujourd'hui à Washington la création d' "UniStar Nuclear". Cette société commune est destinée à lancer commercialement aux Etats-Unis le premier parc de réacteurs de nouvelle génération.

UniStar Nuclear associe au sein d'une offre globale le leader mondial de l'industrie nucléaire et un électricien bénéficiant d'une très grande expérience dans le licensing et l'exploitation de centrales. UniStar Nuclear est la structure commerciale qui permettra le développement de joint-ventures entre Constellation Energy, d'autres électriciens et tous les acteurs intéressés. Ces joint-ventures devraient prendre en charge le licensing, la construction, l'exploitation des réacteurs en en étant propriétaires, constituant ainsi un parc standardisé d'EPR américains."

They know how to do it.


If I were going to bet money on a nuclear company other than Toshiba, I'd put it down on AECL, Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd. They're losing money right now but man, do they have a future.

[struggle4progress]

3. Westinghouse has historically had a big finger in nuclear weapons, too.

Notice the magic words "national security" popping up in the discussion?

[DODI]

4. Not anymore.