Babcock buys UK Atomic Energy Authority's commercial arm
19 Sep 2009
The Gordon Brown government has decided to sell its stake in UKAEA Ltd, the commercial arm of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, to engineering group Babcock International, for £50 million.
UKAEA Ltd is a specialist in decommissioning and cleaning up Britain's nuclear power stations.
The UK business secretary Lord Mandelson said the deal "generates good value for taxpayers."
"Today's announcement is good news for UKAEA Limited and its employees. The sale will allow the company, as part of Babcock International, to continue its development and take advantage of new opportunities in the nuclear industry," he added.
Peter Rogers, chief executive of Babcock, said the acquisition would bolster the group's existing nuclear business, which employs 2,500 engineers and technicians out of a total workforce of 18,000.
He added that a renewal of interest in nuclear power globally, linked to the desire to cut dependence on fossil fuels such as oil and gas, was opening up new opportunities for the industry.
