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Viewing cable 08LONDON2443, FRANCE'S EDF BUYS BRITISH ENERGY, TAKING THE FIRST

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08LONDON2443 2008-09-25 09:43 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy London
P 250943Z SEP 08 
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON 
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9874 
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 3291 
RUEHED/AMCONSUL EDINBURGH PRIORITY 0983 
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY 
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY 
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY 
RUEANFA/NRC WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 002443 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
EEB FOR CBA/FRANK MERMOUD 
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FOR JAMIE ESTRADA 
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FOR GEORGE KERESTES 
NRC FOR CHARLOTTE ABRAMS 
USEU FOR RICHARD FROST 
EMBASSY PARIS FOR JENNIFER MERGY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG UK
SUBJECT: FRANCE'S EDF BUYS BRITISH ENERGY, TAKING THE FIRST 
CONCRETE STEP TOWARD NEW NUCLEAR BUILD IN BRITAIN 
 
1. (U) Summary: French utility Electricite de France (EDF) 
will purchase the UK,s nuclear energy firm British Energy 
(BE) for a reported USD23 billion (USD 14.40 per share), 
making HMG's 36% stake worth an estimated USD 8.3 billion. 
The long-discussed entry of EDF, with its financial and 
technical resources, into the UK,s civilian nuclear sector 
is a large step forward towards building new nuclear power 
plants in the UK. EDF also signed an MOU with Centrica, owner 
of British Gas, for a 25% stake in British Energy and options 
for part ownership of any new reactors. 
 
Why Purchase British Energy? 
---------------------------- 
 
2. (U) The primary value of BE is that it owns the best 
sites for new nuclear reactors, and has a nuclear-skilled 
workforce. Existing sites already have grid connections, a 
major hurdle for any new site to overcome. Also, communities 
around existing nuclear plants tend to be supportive of 
nuclear plants, reducing the uncertainty of obtaining 
planning permits. Next steps for EDF are site selection for 
the first planning permit, and the Generic Design Assessment 
and site-specific assessment for Areva,s EPR reactor. 
Ivesco Perpetual, BE,s largest institutional investor, 
blocked a previous offer from EDF in July but has been won 
over by a slightly improved offer worth $23 billion. BE owns 
all of the UK,s nuclear power plants and generates 15% of 
the UK,s electricity. BE is producing less power, though, as 
maintenance outages increase at its ageing reactors. All but 
one reactor are expected to be decommissioned by 2024. 
 
3. (U) Centrica, owner of British Gas, had signed an MOU with 
EDF for a 25% stake in British Energy. This gives Centrica 
the right to 25% of BE,s output, cushioning Centrica from 
any rise in natural gas prices. Centrica had attempted to 
purchase BE after EDF,s offer was rejected in July, but was 
unable to acquire the cash necessary to complete the 
transaction. (Comment: Centrica currently only operates 
gas-fired power plants, and may be looking to diversify 
supply. The participation of Centrica in the BE deal not only 
helps EDF offset the cost of the purchase, but also keeps 
partial control of BE in the hands of a British company. It 
has been well documented that BE is being sold to a utility 
owned by the French government. End Comment.) 
 
Enough Sites to Go Around? 
-------------------------- 
 
4. (U) An important part of the deal was that EDF has 
reportedly agreed to sell an as-yet undisclosed number of 
BE,s nuclear sites to other utilities looking to build new 
reactors. According to the Financial Times, this includes 
land at Bradwell in Essex, and possibly at Dungeness in Kent 
or at Heysham in Lancaster. Cliff Harris, Vice President for 
Europe of GE-Hitachi, noted in a private meeting with Embassy 
officers that without these provisions a technology provider 
other than Areva would find it difficult to get a foothold in 
the UK market. (Note: EDF is expected to build Areva 
reactors.) David Powell, Westinghouse,s Regional Vice 
President for the UK, stated in a separate meeting that there 
were other sites that were appropriate for their AP-1000, but 
that having access to some of BE,s sites would help with 
economies of scale. Both representatives pointed out that 
their respective companies aimed to build more than one 
reactor in the UK for economies of scale and supply chain 
development. 
 
5. (SBU) Comment: HMG has publicly supported EDF,s purchase 
of British Energy over the past few months, with both 
Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory 
Reform (BERR) John Hutton and Minister for Energy Malcolm 
Wicks endorsing an EDF takeover deal. EDF increased their 
offer from July by only 17 cents per share, which suggests 
the possibility of some political pressure on the hold-out 
investors. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment: The purchase of BE will help to speed up 
the development of new reactors in the UK. It is expected 
that EDF will finance mostly from its balance sheet, and is 
relatively unaffected by the current credit situation. With 
an investment of 23 billion dollars in the UK market, EDF has 
made the firm financial commitment that will allow vendors 
and other pieces of the supply chain to begin making 
preparations. 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit  ed_Kingdom 
 
TUTTLE