BNF subsidiary in £18m deal

Sep 12 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

A US-BASED nuclear services provider has acquired a Warrington-based subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels in a multi-million pound deal.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has provided an £18m funding package to EnergySolutions, part of which is being used to purchase Reactor Sites Management Company (RSMC).

The deal sees EnergySolutions acquire the entire share capital of RSMC and its subsidiary company Magnox Electric, the nuclear operational and decommissioning specialists, and is part of a strategy to expand its European operations.

Magnox holds the license to operate 22 reactors at 10 nuclear power stations in the UK on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

These sites include Wylfa on Anglesey, Berkeley and Oldbury in Gloucestershire, Hinkley Point A in Somerset, Dungeness A in Kent and Chapelcross and Hunterston A in Scotland.

Magnox is undertaking decommissioning work on 20 of the 22 reactors, with only Wylfa and Oldbury remaining as operational power stations. RMSC and Magnox employ 3,500 people across these 10 sites.

EnergySolutions, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, specialises in nuclear services such as radio- active waste management and treatment, nuclear fuel handling and the decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear reactors.

It has operations in 40 US states and subsidiary companies in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Canada. The company has 2,000 employees and an annual turnover of around £300m.

Vice chairman Chip Everest said: “This deal represents a landmark deal for Energy Solutions in the UK and Europe.”

The funding package was arranged by Mark Taylor and Steve Lewis from RBS Corporate Banking and comprised of working capital to enable EnergySolutions to finalise the acquisition.

The company also provided funds from its reserves to complete the purchase. Nigel Dale of Eversheds provided legal advice to RBS.

tonymcdonough@dailypost.co.uk