Constellation Energy Remains Committed To Nuclear Sale To EDF
31 October 2009 - 12:33AM
Dow Jones News
Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) said it remains committed
to selling nearly half of its nuclear business to Electricite de
France SA (EDF.FR), expecting a decision on the deal from Maryland
regulators later Friday.
Constellation Chairman and Chief Executive Mayo Shattuck
reiterated the Baltimore power company remains on track for the
sale during a third-quarter earnings conference call. Questions
have been raised about the completion of deal following a report in
the Financial Times earlier Friday that EDF is facing pressure from
the French government to abandon it, citing unidentified government
officials.
Shattuck said Constellation should receive a final decision on
the deal from Maryland regulators at noon EDT and will move forward
given the ruling is fair and reasonable. This is the final
regulatory decision the deal needs with Maryland regulators
deciding earlier this year they wanted to take a deeper looking at
the agreement.
The French government has so far taken no position on whether
state-controlled EDF should drop the $4.5 billion deal, but EDF's
designated chairman and chief executive, Henri Proglio, told
lawmakers this week that he had doubts about whether the investment
in Constellation is in the company's best interests, a French
government senior official told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.
EDF has agreed to buy 49.9% of Constellation's nuclear assets
and build four nuclear reactors.
-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2457;
mark.peters@dowjones.com
(Geraldine Amiel in Paris contributed to this report.)