Areva has announced that it has finalised the sale of its transmission and distribution business to Alstom and Schneider Electric.
The deal was agreed late last year after the French engineering firm put the unit up for sale as part of an extensive financing plan. Alstom and Schneider Electric paid around EUR3 billion for the T&D business.
Alstom has created a new business unit – Alstom Grid – to accommodate the acquisition of Areva T&D’s high voltage business. The medium voltage part of the business, essentially the distribution end, has been transferred to Schneider Electric.
“This consolidation reinforces considerably our offers in medium voltage and network automation,” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, president & CEO, Schneider Electric. “It will also strengthen Schneider Electric’s presence in new economies and access to utilities and electro-intensive customers, and enhance the Group’s position at the centre of the smart grid technological revolution.”
The sale of Areva’s T&D arm has received the approval of European antitrust authorities and the French privatisation commission. The deal will boost Areva’s finances, helping the firm with its plans for expansion in the international nuclear energy sector.
Alstom Grid will be among the world’s top three groups specialising in electricity transmission, alongside ABB and Siemens, said Alstom in a statement. The company says that it will build on the unit’s existing strengths and take advantage of a projected three per cent per annum growth rate in the global transmission market.
