Japan Government Backs Toshiba Areva Bid In Letter To French Min
Source
PARIS -(Dow Jones)- The Japanese Trade and Industry Ministry has lent its
support to Japanese conglomerate Toshiba's (6502.TO) bid for the transmission
and distribution assets of French state-controlled nuclear group Areva (CEI.FR)
in a letter to the French finance minister, a person close to Toshiba who had
seen the letter told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.
In the letter to Christine Lagarde, the Japanese Trade and Industry Ministry,
or MITI, stressed its support for the Toshiba bid, underlining that it would
reinforce industrial cooperation between France and Japan. It also pledged to
endorse Toshiba's commitments to job preservation in France.
The letter also expressed "MITI's confidence over the way the French
government is handling the privatization process", the person added.
A spokesman for the French finance ministry confirmed it had received a letter
from MITI concerning the potential sale of Areva T&D. But he declined to comment
on the contents of the letter, only saying "there was nothing negative in it".
This comes as persons close to bidders have expressed worries that the auction
process for Areva T&D could be biased in favor of French buyer.
Toshiba, backed up by Japan's recently-created sovereign fund INCJ has bid
EUR4.2 billion for the Areva unit, according to several people familiar with the
situation.
Besides Toshiba, bidders include an all-French consortium comprising
engineering firm Alstom SA (ALO.FR) and electric equipment maker Schneider
Electric SA (SU.FR) and U.S. conglomerate General Electric (GE).
- By Nathalie Boschat and Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1
40171740; nathalie.boschat@dowjones.com; geraldine.amiel@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-26-091211ET
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