|
AECL Sale to SNC-Lavalin June 30, 2011 The federal government announced Wednesday a deal to divest itself of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and get out of the business of nuclear reactor sales and servicing. Joe Oliver, the Minister of Natural Resources, said at a news conference in Toronto that the Crown corporation's Candu reactor business has been sold to engineering giant SNC-Lavalin Group of Montreal, ending a process that has been in the works since 2009. The arrangement disposes of the AECL division that builds and services commercial nuclear plants, but not the Chalk River, Ont., reactor unit that makes medical isotopes and does research. SNC was the sole remaining bidder after Bruce Power, which runs the Bruce nuclear plant in Southwestern Ontario, withdrew in January. The Ontario municipal employees' pension plan, OMERS, had been a partner with SNC in its bid until it also withdrew in May. AECL has been attempting to compete with Areva, Westinghouse, Hitachi and others. According to the CBC ,the company lost $800 million last year, and has not sold a new reactor since the 1990s. However, some reports said AECL's business was hindered by a cap on new contracts that the government had ordered during the sale process, to avoid having the company burdened with new liabilities. Versant Partners analyst Neil Linsdell told CBC News there's still a market for the existing reliable Candu technology in the developing world. "SNC is really a great partner for [Ottawa] because of their international expertise in working with emerging economies," he said before the sale was officially announced. Even excluding any new sales, the servicing side of AECL's reactor business is profitable, Linsdell said. "The service business is going to be a good one," he said. "SNC is going to get a good deal out of this thing. |
