BWXT to buy Ontario nuclear business from GE-Hitachi, double presence in Canada

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – General Electric and Hitachi are selling a Canadian joint venture that supplies nuclear fuel and equipment for Candu nuclear reactors — a key source of electricity for Ontario.

The buyer is a Canadian subsidiary of BWX Technologies Inc., a U.S. publicly traded company headquartered in Virginia.

BWXT says the acquisition will nearly double its presence in Canada and “signals a long-term strategic commitment” to the Candu nuclear power segment.

BWXT Canada recently signed a contract, valued at $130 million, to design and build eight generators for Bruce Power’s nuclear generation facility in Tiverton, Ont.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. (GEH-C) currently employs 350 people in Peterborough, Toronto and Arnprior, Ont.

Ontario-based BWXT Canada has offices in Cambridge, Ont., and in Pickering, home to one of the province’s three large-scale nuclear facilities. Its says the GEH-C headquarters will remain in Peterborough, northeast of Pickering.

Financial terms of the GEH-C sale weren’t disclosed but the companies expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter after receiving Canadian regulatory approvals.