Nuclear deal on the Horizon for Hitachi as board nears approval
HITACHI, Japan’s largest industrial electronics maker, is close to buying British nuclear new-build project Horizon, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters this weekend.
“Hitachi has made the best offer and has a good chance to get Horizon,” said a source familiar with the matter.
Japanese media said on Saturday the deal was expected to be worth over 50bn yen (£390.1m) while analysts have put the value of Horizon at about €500m (£401.3m).
Horizon was put up for sale by its owners, German utilities E.ON and RWE, in March, as Germany’s decision to pull out of nuclear power hurt their finances.
Hitachi is expected to hold a board meeting tomorrow to approve the deal and announce it later that day, both the Asahi daily newspaper and Kyodo newswire reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Hitachi officials were not immediately available to comment. Officials at E.ON and Horizon declined to comment, while a RWE spokesman said: “We are in the final stages. We will probably say more in the coming days.”