By Inti Landauro
PARIS--The French government would make the final decision on
any deal between Areva SA (AREVA.FR) and Electricite de France SA
(EDF.FR) regarding Areva's nuclear reactor business, as the French
state is the majority shareholder of both companies, Philippe
Varin, Areva's chairman and a board member at EDF, said
Tuesday.
"It is the state, as the controlling shareholder of both
companies, that must decide on the matter, and it has said it would
do so before the summer," Mr. Varin told reporters on the sidelines
of EDF's annual shareholders meeting.
Mr. Varin said a deal between EDF and Areva must make business
sense and allow Areva to continue as "a robust actor" in the
nuclear industry.
Mr. Varin also said Areva is currently talking to other
potential partners.
EDF Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy said Tuesday that his
company would offer "a fair market price" in the coming days for
Areva NP, the company's unit that manufactures nuclear
reactors.
Mr. Varin said he had a clear idea of the valuation of the unit,
but declined to disclose it.
Areva is under severe financial strain after booking four
consecutive annual losses due to an adverse market for nuclear
reactors since the Fukushima disaster, poor investment decisions
and cost overruns on two projects in France and Finland.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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