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Toshiba to Pay $5.4 Billion for Westinghouse

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the much-longer-laptop-battery-life dept.

Philip writes "Business electronics firm Toshiba is bidding for 100% control of Westinghouse - famous for making blenders and LCD televisions, but principally in the business of building nuclear reactors. 'By 2020 the market for nuclear power generation is expected to grow 50 percent compared to 2005,' Toshiba CEO Nishida said at a London news conference. 'Toshiba is responding to this challenge by acquiring Westinghouse.'"

7 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Does this mean... by baryon351 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Small, safe and convenient nuclear laptop batteries, right here right now. :)

  2. National Security by qwertphobia · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does the DOE have any limitations on foreign corporations handling parts of our Nuclear Energy programs?

    Is anyone else a little concerned about this?

    --
    Never ask for directions from a two-headed tourist! -Big Bird
  3. Not necessarily by jd · · Score: 3, Interesting
    There's a campaign to ban energy-wasteful technology where cheaper, superior alternatives exist. In the unlikely event that the campaign achieves a meaningful result, America could dispose of several existing power stations without the need for nuclear stations to replace them.


    (Better yet, if the campaign succeeds AND one of the two fusion reactor projects produces cheap energy, we could eliminate all conventional and all fission reactors entirely and have just two or three fusion reactors per continent.)

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  4. GE ESBWR by chipperdog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As far as the next generation of "traditional" fission reactors, I guess I've been more impressed with GE's ESBWR , than Westinghouse's APxxx ...
    IANANE (I am not a Nuclear Engineer), but BWRs seem to have fewer problems (no steam gnerators to leak/plug up, no vessle head degradation) and are theroetically more efficent (single cycle)...
    I wonder if anyone is going to make a bid for GENE (General Electric Nuclear Energy)...
    I also wonder why we dont hear more about CANDU reactors . They use natural uranium instead of enriched uranium, which could provide more peaceful energy in unstable areas of the worls

  5. It's already in play in the west by Quirk · · Score: 4, Interesting
    In Canada during the recent federal election campaign an add ran on national TV showing nuclear power as a clean air alternative to existing technology. The ad sported the requisite azure blue skys and big fluffy white clouds while touting nuclear power.

    In the UK the BBC website recently ran articles pointing to upcoming reviews of existing nuclear power plants and the impact of bring new plants online.

    As noted before the environmentalist camp has had some of it's big guns come out in support of nuclear power as the only alternative available to stave off global warming.

    Probably the various political power bases have decided nuclear power is the way to go and have given the spin doctors orders to soften public reaction.

    Good news for Canada with a mature nuclear technology, substantial Uranium resources, not to mention being oil and hydro rich.

    --
    "Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
    Cohen
  6. The purchase of Westinghouse... by nero4wolfe · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Actually, this is just about Toshiba buying the Westinghouse nuclear unit. The current owner of this unit is a British company.

    The rest of the old Westinghouse has been gone for many years. When you see a new "Westinghouse" consumer product, such as a lcd television, that's a separate individual or company that purchased the right to use the brand name in a certain product area, and then contracted with an asian manufacturer to produce the product.

    The same point is true of "Polaroid" lcd televisions; an investor bought the right to use the brand name for electronic products at Polaroids bankruptcy auction, and then contracts with asian manufacturers to bring in product.

  7. How qualified is Toshiba to managing nuclear sites by EMIce · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Famed investor Peter Lynch says to start worrying when companies "diworsify" as he calls it. When companies find themselves unable to gain additional marketshare in the industries they already compete in, they tend to go around buying into other industries at inflated prices. Often they buy into industries that require different know how to run effectively, and many botch the job once things have played out in a few years. Think of all the internet startups that were overvalued, bought up, and mismanaged. The same thing happens in other fields as well.

    There is incentive on the part of executives to diversify, as managers can then get promoted, whereas there was little room to grow before. In the short term the stock goes up and executive salaries also rise, but in the long term, mismanaged divisions only weigh a company down, offsetting profits from the healthy divisions and hurting long term investors.

    There is a rising market for nuclear reactors, so this might turn out to be good thing for Toshiba, but I'd do more research before plopping down some coin for Toshiba stock.