Toshiba, China wealth fund eye stake in Areva T&D

Japanese conglomerate Toshiba and China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) are pursuing plans for acquisition of stake in French nuclear giant Areva, reports quoting industry sources said.

The UK's Financial Times said Toshiba Corp has announced plans to acquire a power distribution and transmission equipment unit owned by the French group while a French newspaper reported that the CIC is in talks with Areva for acquiring the 15 per cent stake in Areva T&D that it plans to sell.

Electronics and power equipment maker Toshiba is limiting investments in chip operations and is now focusing on power generation equipment business, especially nuclear power, for growth.

The Toshiba deal, if realised, could be worth between 500 billion and 700 million yen ($5.40 billion to $7.56 billion), another report quoted sources as saying.

The acquisition of Areva T&D stake could bolster Toshiba's power and infrastructure business, which in turn could help double the company's profits over the next three years.

Toshiba, which acquired US nuclear firm Westinghouse, in 2006 for $5 billion, hopes the Areva acquisition to boost its nuclear power business in Europe.