The tandem Alstom / Areva wins Schneider T & D
The supervisory board of French nuclear group Areva, which had sold its subsidiary T & D in early summer, has finally opted for the duo consisting of Alstom and Schneider Electric. The offer of the two French partners has been preferred to the group nippon Toshiba and the U.S. conglomerate General Electric.This sale, representing 4.090 billion euros, will be an opportunity for the duo buyers to separate the activities of T & D, Alstom recovering the Transmission, representing two thirds of the business of Areva T & D, and Schneider getting the p?leDistribution or the remaining third.
A decision criticized by the very leaders of Areva T & D
The proposal that was adopted was harshly criticized last week by leaders of Areva, who fear the social consequences of such an operation would generate such choix.Une "inevitably a period of uncertainty and disruption" and would "impact social "warned leaders of 41 Areva T & D through a letter addressed to Anne Lauvergeon, the president of the group.The main fear of the unions, meanwhile, concerns the industrial sites of T & D that could make duplicate sites with Schneider Electric, forcing it to make layoffs. Both French have repeatedly pledged not to make any site closures or redundancies resulting from the assignment for at least three years after the release of Areva.
Toshiba plans to open a dispute
In a statement issued Monday evening, the Ministry of Economy welcomed a procedure described as "open and transparent" who "has to have three firm offers very high quality." The offer of two French is "appeared the best bid" under the "respect for proprietary interests of Areva" and "development of the industrial and employment," the statement said.
But already, the Japanese group Toshiba is ready to react and could quickly open a dispute for a decision "as it considers unfair" according to the daily Les Echos.
The sale procedure of Areva T & D would not have been fair and raises "questions" in terms of legality, has openly declared Tuesday a professor of public law Guy Carcassonne, which advises Toshiba. "The impression it gives is that the dice were loaded," he said. "It offers a significantly lower prevailed. This suggests that there is a criterion that was applied and which was not originally planned. "Perhaps this is the nationality?" Questioned the lawyer.
At General Electric, it is more reserved, expressing "disappointment" that its offer was not accepted for return Areva T & D."Although disappointed by the outcome of the process, the company will continue to invest in the long term, to develop its technology and foster its growth in the business of transmission and distribution," the company said in a statement. The offer from General Electric was "robust and competitive" and would "preserve the plants, expertise and leadership Areva T & D was built in France," he argues.
Areva had received November 9 three proposals to purchase farms for its subsidiary T & D. This should enable the group chaired by Anne Lauvergeon to fund expensive development projects on his heart craft that represents the nuclear industry. This subsidiary provides systems and services for the transmission and distribution of electricity, employs 31,000 people and accounted for so far 40% of group sales Areva.