Cameco exits Bruce Power
Cameco has sold its stake in Bruce Power saying it wants to invest in its core uranium business. The 31.6% stake has gone to one of Bruce's other shareholders.
"We believe the best option for our shareholders is to sell our interest in Bruce Power and continue to reinvest in our core uranium business where we see strong potential for growth," said Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel.
The 31.6% stake has gone to one of Bruce's other shareholders, BPC Generation Infrastruture Trust for price of CAD450 million ($402 million), effective from the end of last year. Also known as Borealis, the firm is a division of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.
Bruce Power's remaining shareholders have a right of first offer to take part of the stake, but this is not expected. They are TransCanada Corporation, Power Workers Union and the Society of Energy Professionals.
Bruce Power owns and operates the eight Candu reactors at the Bruce A and Bruce B nuclear power plants, which lie adjacent to one another in Tiverton, Ontario. The four Bruce A units were laid up in the 1990s but were refurbished, uprated and brought back into operation progressively between 2004 and 2012. The Bruce B units operated throughout, and decisions are pending on whether to refurbish those for longer operation. The complex produces some 30% of the province's electricity and features large in its Long-Term Energy Plan.
"Cameco played a critical role in the formation of Bruce Power in 2001 and has been a strong partner, contributing greatly to the success of the site," said Duncan Hawthorne Bruce Power's president and CEO. "However, the outlook of both Bruce Power and Cameco has evolved and this is a unique opportunity for Bruce Power to turn our policy position in the Long-Term Energy Plan into action."
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
