The French government is aiming to bring Areva to a full market listing before June next year in a U-turn on the future of the strategic and politically sensitive nuclear group.
The first stage of Areva’s fundraising was launched by finance minister Christine Lagarde on Friday, with the Kuwait Investment Authority and the French state offering to back the company’s €6bn ($8bn) investment programme with a €900m capital injection. The deal values Areva at €11.5bn, above most recent expectations but still lower than valuations put on the group more than a year ago.
In a surprise announcement, the government has also pledged to “make its best efforts” to ensure the shares to be issued in the capital increase would be quoted before the end of the first half of 2011.
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