Tuesday 23 April 2013

Government to flog uranium firm Urenco

Government to flog uranium firm Urenco

The Government is planning to flog some or all of its share of the uranium company Urenco, it announced yesterday.

Urenco enriches uranium which is used for fuel in nuclear power stations around the world. It has around 50 customers across 18 countries which makes up roughly 31% of the global market share.

Any cash raised is likely to go towards reducing the UK’s deficit. The Government says it will only agree to a sale which falls in line with commitments to stop nuclear weapons spreading.

Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon made the announcement after the Government was given the nod to go ahead from the Dutch government and German utilities RWE and E.ON which own the rest of Urenco.

Mr Fallon said: “Urenco is a world leading, high technology company with strong earnings and the time is right for government to sell its stake. It makes good commercial sense now and is consistent with our position that assets should be sold where ownership itself does not deliver any policy objective.

“Our priority is to ensure taxpayers’ money is being used in the most effective way to boost economic growth. Any sale will make sure we deliver value for money and protect the UK’s security and non-proliferation interests,” he added.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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