April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea Electric Power Corp. is seeking an advisor for its possible stake purchase in NuGen, a Toshiba-led nuclear plant project in the UK, The Bell reported on May 31.

The report said KEPCO recently sent out proposals to multiple consulting firms as it is set to review its participation in the 20 trillion won (US$17.78 billion) mega project. 

NuGen is a joint venture between Japan’s Toshiba and France’s Engie to build nuclear power plants in Moorside, UK.

Cash-strapped Toshiba is seeking to sell its stake in the project after suffering a US$6.3 billion write-down in its US nuclear business Westinghouse Electric. In April, Engie pulled out from the joint venture by excercising its right to require Toshiba to purchase all shares held by Engie in Nugen. 

In March, Cho Hwan-Eik, CEO of the state-owned KEPCO, said the company will jump into the NuGen deal once its sales plan, such as debt and equity structure, is set.

Meanwhile, China’s State Nuclear Power Technology has also shown interest in the project. A delegation from SNPTC met with NuGen officials in London on May 23.

Some analysts said that SNPTC might have an advantage over KEPCO as the Chinese company has experience in building Westinghouse AP1000 reactors as it is constructing them in Haiyang, China.

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)