Cameco Corporation (“Cameco”) (NYSE: CCJ; TSX: CCO) and Brookfield
Renewable Partners (“Brookfield Renewable”) (NYSE: BEP, BEPC; TSX:
BEP.UN, BEPC), together with its institutional partners (“the
consortium”), are forming a strategic partnership to acquire
Westinghouse Electric Company (“Westinghouse”), one of the world’s
largest nuclear services businesses.
Brookfield Renewable, with its institutional partners, will own
a 51% interest in Westinghouse and Cameco will own 49%.
Bringing together Cameco’s expertise in the nuclear industry
with Brookfield Renewable’s expertise in clean energy positions
nuclear power at the heart of the energy transition and creates a
powerful platform for strategic growth across the nuclear
sector.
The total enterprise value for Westinghouse is $7.875 billion.
Westinghouse’s existing debt structure will remain in place,
leaving an estimated $4.5 billion equity cost to the consortium,
subject to closing adjustments. This equity cost will be shared
proportionately between Brookfield and its institutional partners
(approximately $2.3 billion) and Cameco (approximately $2.2
billion).
Brookfield Renewable is pursuing this opportunity through the
Brookfield Global Transition Fund I (“BGTF I”), which is the
largest fund in the world focused on the energy transition.
Brookfield Renewable, which has significant available liquidity,
expects to invest approximately $750 million to acquire an
approximate 17% interest in Westinghouse, which will be funded
through normal course funding initiatives, including asset level
upfinancings and asset recycling.
Cameco currently has available liquidity and committed financing
facilities for the purposes of supporting the transaction to
acquire a 49% share in Westinghouse. However, Cameco will be
pursuing a permanent financing mix of capital sources (cash, debt
and equity), designed to preserve the company’s balance sheet and
ratings strength while maintaining its liquidity, prior to
closing.
Brookfield Renewable is among the world’s largest investors in
clean energy and transition assets, with approximately 125,000 MW
of operating and development capacity worldwide.
Cameco is one of the largest global suppliers of uranium fuel
for nuclear energy, with extensive uranium mining and milling
operations, as well as refining and conversion facilities and CANDU
fuel fabrication for heavy water reactors.
Investment highlights
- An industry leader:
Westinghouse services about half the nuclear power generation
sector and is the original equipment manufacturer to more than half
the global nuclear reactor fleet. The company has industry-leading
intellectual property and a specialized workforce of roughly 9,000
employees capable of operating in highly regulated markets around
the world.
- Stable and reliable
revenues: Approximately 85% of Westinghouse’s revenue has
come from long-term contracted or highly recurring customer service
provision with a nearly 100% customer retention rate given its
comprehensive services offerings and position as an original
equipment manufacturer, providing stability in all macroeconomic
environments.
- Multiple avenues for
growth: With strong growth projected in the nuclear energy
market, Westinghouse is well positioned to increase business in its
core fuel and services segments, execute on the growing pipeline
for extending and uprating nuclear power plants, and service the
rising demand for new utility-scale and modular baseload nuclear
power generation.
- Compelling partnership
opportunity: Cameco and Brookfield Renewable are well
placed to build a global player in the clean-energy transition. The
acquisition is expected to align Cameco’s uranium production and
fuel services capabilities with Westinghouse’s downstream
capabilities to potentially offer utilities a highly competitive
nuclear fuel solution to deliver value for existing and new
customers. This could include offering customers more efficient
access to fuel supplies sourced in North America and Europe.
Mark Carney, Brookfield Vice Chair and Head of Transition
Investing, said:
“Every credible net-zero pathway relies on significant growth in
nuclear power. It is an essential, reliable zero-carbon technology
that directly displaces fossil fuels and supports the growth of
renewables by providing critical baseload to our grids. The
partnership of Brookfield and Cameco will help drive forward the
growth of nuclear power the world needs for its clean energy
transition.”
Tim Gitzel, President and CEO of Cameco, said:
“We’re witnessing some of the best market fundamentals we’ve
ever seen in the nuclear energy sector. As one of the few forms of
electricity generation capable of safely, reliably and affordably
producing emissions-free, baseload power, nuclear energy is
becoming increasingly important in a world that prioritizes
electrification, decarbonization and energy security. The
opportunity to partner with Brookfield Renewable, a leader in the
clean-energy space, to acquire Westinghouse is expected to create a
platform for growth across the nuclear value chain. Coupled with
our more than 30-year proven track record of providing secure and
reliable fuel supplies to a global customer base, this transaction
fits perfectly within Cameco’s strategy and is expected to increase
our ability to meet the growing needs of existing and new customers
at a time when origin and security of supply is of significant
concern. At the same time, we expect the recurring demand for
Westinghouse’s operating plant services and nuclear fuel will
generate a strong revenue stream and add stable cash flow to
complement Cameco’s existing uranium and fuel services
business.”
Connor Teskey, CEO of Brookfield Renewable, said:
“Westinghouse has successfully refocused on providing core
services to the nuclear industry and is ready for the next phase of
growth. The business aligns well with our existing portfolio,
delivering highly contracted and dependable revenue by serving
customers who operate critical clean energy assets. Partnering with
Cameco brings deep nuclear sector expertise, alongside our
knowledge of energy markets and global customer base, to form a
formidable champion for nuclear power. We see significant potential
to grow the business and deliver on broader growth in the nuclear
power sector through our strategic partnership with Cameco.”
Market trends
The consortium partners see several major external trends that
are expected to benefit the acquisition of Westinghouse,
including:
- Critical transition
technology: Nuclear power is the one of the only
zero-emission, baseload sources of electricity currently available
at scale. Driven by electrification, decarbonization and energy
security benefits, an estimated 400 GW of additional nuclear
capacity will be needed by 2050.
- Accelerating growth
plans: Nuclear power is experiencing a resurgence around
the world with more than 20 countries across the Americas, Europe,
the Middle East and Asia pursuing new projects or plant extensions.
More than 50 GW of plant extensions have been announced to date and
more than 60 GW of new-build reactors are expected between 2020 and
2040.
- Energy security:
Energy supply chains are coming under stress as a result of
geopolitical uncertainty. In the short-term, the transaction
provides the opportunity to win new business supporting dozens of
nuclear facilities across Eastern European countries traditionally
served by Russia. In the medium term, demand for stable supply of
nuclear fuel and technology is expected to grow substantially,
commensurate with the growth in nuclear power generation as
countries look to increase energy security.
- Technology
advancements: There are multi-decade growth opportunities
in the rollout of next-generation advanced nuclear technology and
long-term nuclear energy storage solutions. Modular baseload
generation, such as Westinghouse’s eVinci micro-reactor technology,
can play a growing role in an increasingly decentralized and
decarbonized energy system.
Business summary
Westinghouse’s history in the energy industry stretches back
over a century, during which time the company became a pioneer in
nuclear energy. Today Westinghouse is an industry leader providing
mission-critical and specialized technologies, products and
services across most phases of the nuclear power sector.
Westinghouse has four key business lines:
- Operating Plant
Services: Recurring service provider for outages and
maintenance, engineering solutions, and replacement components and
parts.
- Nuclear Fuel:
Long-term contracting for the manufacturing and installation of
fuel assemblies and other ancillary equipment across multiple light
water reactor technologies, including as the original equipment
manufacturer for approximately half the nuclear plants
worldwide.
- Energy Systems:
Designing, engineering and supporting the development of new
nuclear reactors.
- Environmental
Services: Services to government and commercial customers
that support nuclear sustainability, environmental stewardship and
remediation.
Background to the transaction
The transaction follows the turnaround of Westinghouse by
Brookfield Business Partners (“BBU”) – the industrials and services
business of Brookfield Asset Management – which acquired the
business in 2018. Under BBU’s ownership Westinghouse has refocused
on core nuclear services, reduced its operating cost base and
pursued several complementary M&A transactions to strengthen
its in-house expertise.
Cameco and Brookfield Renewable will bring a compelling
combination of strategic and operational expertise to Westinghouse,
a business which represents a strong fit with the mandate of the
Brookfield Global Transition Fund. With Brookfield Renewable and
its institutional partners taking a 51% shareholding in the
consortium, Westinghouse’s current debt facilities will remain in
place.
This transaction was unanimously approved by the independent
directors of Brookfield Renewable based, in part, on the
recommendation of a committee of independent directors who assessed
the fairness of the transaction from a financial perspective. The
independent committee received an opinion as to the financial
fairness of the consideration from Greenhill & Co. Canada,
Ltd., as independent financial advisor, as well as advice from
independent legal counsel. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLP and CIBC
Capital Markets are acting as financial advisors to Cameco on the
transaction.
The transaction is also subject to the required approval of BBU
unitholders that are not affiliated with Brookfield Asset
Management, as well as customary closing conditions and regulatory
approvals. The consortium and BBU have entered into support
agreements with BBU unitholders who collectively own approximately
37% of the votes eligible to be cast, to vote in favor of the
transaction at the approval meeting. Closing is anticipated in the
second half of 2023.
For further information regarding Westinghouse Electric Company
and its downstream capabilities in the nuclear energy sector,
please visit its website at www.westinghousenuclear.com.
Cameco will be holding a conference call for investors and media
today, October 11, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. There will not be a
participant question session as part of the call. To join, please
dial 1-800-319-4610 (Canada and US toll-free) or 604-638-5340. The
presentation slides and a live webcast of the conference call will
also be accessible from a link on the home page of Cameco’s
website, www.cameco.com.
A recorded version of the proceedings will be posted on the
Cameco website shortly after the call concludes. It can also be
accessed by phone until midnight Eastern on October 11 by calling
1-800-319-6413 (Canada and US toll-free) or 604-638-9010 (passcode
9527).
Contact information |
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|
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Brookfield Renewable |
|
Media: |
Investors: |
Simon Maine |
Cara Silverman |
+44 7398 909 278 |
+1 416-649-8196 |
simon.maine@brookfield.com |
cara.silverman@brookfield.com |
|
|
Cameco |
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Media: |
Investors: |
Veronica Baker |
Rachelle Girard |
306-385-5541 |
306-956-6403 |
veronica_baker@cameco.com |
rachelle_girard@cameco.com |
About Brookfield
Brookfield Renewable operates one of the world’s largest
publicly traded, pure-play renewable power platforms. Its portfolio
consists of hydroelectric, wind, solar and storage facilities in
North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and totals
approximately 24,000 MW of installed capacity and an approximately
100,000 MW development pipeline. Investors can access its portfolio
either through Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE: BEP; TSX:
BEP.UN), a Bermuda-based limited partnership, or Brookfield
Renewable Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BEPC), a Canadian corporation.
Further information is available at www.bep.brookfield.com and
https://bep.brookfield.com/bepc. Important information may be
disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult
the site to access this information.
Brookfield Renewable is the flagship listed renewable power
company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global
alternative asset manager with approximately $750 billion of assets
under management.
The Brookfield Global Transition Fund, co-led by Mark Carney,
Brookfield Vice Chair and Head of Transition Investing, and Connor
Teskey, CEO of Brookfield Renewable, is Brookfield’s inaugural
impact fund focusing on investments that accelerate the global
transition to a net-zero carbon economy, while delivering strong
risk-adjusted returns to investors. The Fund targets investment
opportunities relating to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
energy consumption, as well as increasing low-carbon energy
capacity and supporting sustainable solutions. Consistent with its
dual objectives of earning strong risk-adjusted returns and
generating a measurable positive environmental change, the Fund
will report to investors on both its financial and environmental
impact performance.
About Cameco
Cameco is one of the largest global providers of the uranium
fuel needed to energize a clean-air world. Our competitive position
is based on our controlling ownership of the world’s largest
high-grade reserves and low-cost operations. Utilities around the
world rely on our nuclear fuel products to generate safe, reliable,
carbon-free nuclear power. Our shares trade on the Toronto and New
York stock exchanges. Our head office is in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan.
About Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of
carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear
technologies to utilities globally. Westinghouse supplied the
world’s first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 and the
company’s technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the
world’s operating nuclear plants. Over 135 years of innovation
makes Westinghouse the preferred partner for advanced technologies
covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more
information, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com and follow us
on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking
Statements
Certain information in this press release, including statements
regarding the percentages of the acquisition of Westinghouse;
sources and uses of proposed financing scenarios; timeline of the
acquisition of Westinghouse, including the anticipated closing
thereof; expected investment of Cameco, Brookfield Renewable, and
BGTF I; growth of the nuclear energy market; increase in business
in Westinghouse’s core fuel and services segments; alignment of
Cameco’s uranium production and fuel services capabilities with
Westinghouse’s downstream capabilities; and market trends,
including critical transition technology, accelerating growth
plans; energy security and technology advancements, constitutes
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable
securities laws in Canada and the United States, including the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In
some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking
information can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as “plans”, “targets”, “expects” or “does not
expect”, “is expected”, “should”, “an opportunity exists”, “is
positioned”, “estimates”, “intends”, “assumes”, “anticipates” or
“does not anticipate” or “believes”, or variations of such words
and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”,
“could”, “would”, “might”, “will” or “will be taken”, “occur” or
“be achieved”. In addition, any statements that refer to
expectations, projections or other characterizations of future
events or circumstances contain forward-looking information.
Statements containing forward-looking information are not
historical facts but instead represent management’s expectations,
estimates and projections regarding future events.
Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of
opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered
reasonable by us as of the date of this press release, are subject
to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other
factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity,
performance or achievements to be materially different from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including
but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in (i)
the “[Risk Factors]” section of Brookfield’s current annual report
on Form 20-F and in Brookfield’s other materials filed with the SEC
and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities from time to
time, available at www.sec.gov and www.sedar.com, respectively and
(ii) the “Risk Factors” section of the Cameco’s current annual
information form and in Cameco’s other materials filed with the
Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the SEC from time to
time, available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively.
These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the
factors that could affect Brookfield and Cameco; however, these
factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance
that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made
as of the date of this press release, and Brookfield and Cameco
expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements
containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or
assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
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