NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Shaw Group, a provider of engineering and construction services for the energy, chemical and construction industries, said Wednesday it would pay $1.08 billion for a 20 percent stake in the group acquiring Westinghouse Electric, a producer of atomic power plant equipment.þþUnder the plan, the Japanese electronics company Toshiba would own 77 percent of Westinghouse and the remaining 3 percent would be owned by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries of Japan. Shaw said it would finance its part of the acquisition through a private placement of bonds.þþShaw also said Wednesday it would book a fourth-quarter charge related to cost overruns on a clean fuels project. Shaw, which did not specify the size of the charge, blamed the overruns on escalating expenses related to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as delays. Shaw said some of the extra expense might be recoverable.þþToshiba agreed earlier this year to acquire Westinghouse, based in Monroeville, Pa., from British Nuclear Fuels for $5.4 billion. Toshiba said Wednesday that it expected to complete the deal by the end of this month.þþToshiba said Wednesday in Tokyo that it had cleared all antitrust reviews and completed all the necessary regulatory filings in both the U.S. and the European Union as of the end of September.þþDuring a conference call with analysts, Shaw’s chairman, James Bernhard said the combination of Shaw’s engineering and design services in the nuclear industry, along with Westinghouse’s expertise in nuclear power equipment, would “help solve the world’s long-term energy needs.”þþUnder the deal, Shaw said it would get certain exclusive agreements for engineering, procurement and construction services on future Westinghouse AP 1000 nuclear power plants, the chosen design for 10 proposed new power units in the United States and four in China.þþShaw Group shares rose $2.67, or 11.3 percent, to close at $26.33 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have traded in a 52-week range of $19.55 to $36.08.þþ
Source: NY Times
