Friday January 23, 06:43 PM
Siemens planning to give up stake in Areva: source
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BERLIN (AFP) - German engineering group Siemens (Xetra: SIE.DE - news) is planning to abandon its stake in Areva NP, the reactor subsidiary of French nuclear power giant Areva (Paris: FR0004275832 - news) , a source close to the matter said on Friday.
Siemens currently holds a 34-percent stake in Areva NP, estimated to be worth 2.0 billion euros (2.6 billion dollars). The source said the decision to pull out was not for "political" reasons.
A Siemens spokesman declined to comment on the matter but added that the company's supervisory board would convene on the question on Monday.
A spokeswoman for Areva also declined to comment, except to say the company would buy the 34 percent stake if Siemens decided to sell it. Areva would have three years to do so, the spokeswoman said.
A 2001 shareholders' agreement which governs Areva NP gives Siemens an option to sell its shares to Areva.
According to French business daily Les Echos, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called her French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss the deal.
Sarkozy has not hidden his desire for Areva to buy the stake in the joint venture with the aim of creating a French national champion based on Areva, engineering group Alstom (Paris: FR0010220475 - news) and construction group Bouygues (Paris: FR0000120503 - news) .
Siemens started in the nuclear power industry in 1980 when it worked together with French group Framatome to develop a third generation nuclear reactor (EPR).
In 2001, Siemens and Areva grouped their nuclear activities from France, Germany and the United States into one company, Areva NP.
The German government has approved plans to mothball the last of its 17 nuclear reactors by about 2020 and polls show a majority of people in Western Europe's most populous country oppose nuclear power.
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