Electricite de France SA, the world's largest owner of nuclear power stations, may sell UK atomic sites to gain approval for the purchase of British Energy Group Plc, two people with knowledge of the talks said. The British government will ensure Paris-based EDF allows fair competition among developers of reactors after buying the UK's largest nuclear plant owner, according to the people, speaking yesterday, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are private. Francois Molho, a spokesman for Electricite de France in Paris, declined to comment. The French utility is close to an accord to buy British Energy, including the British government's 35.7 percent stake, for about 12.5 billion pounds ($24.8 billion), three people said this week. Gaining control of the East Kilbride, Scotland-based, company, which operates eight UK atomic plants, would give EDF most of the sites on which new ones can be built amid a British nuclear revival. “There is no guarantee that EDF will have exclusive use of the sites,'' said Florence Roche, a fixed-income credit analyst at Societe Generale SA in Paris. Without that exclusivity, it makes the deal even more expensive, she said yesterday. “At the level of valuation reported by press, the assets are not very attractive.'' UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said in a Bloomberg Television interview on April 17 that Britain is wary of a monopoly company or business group having control of all new nuclear power stations in Britain. The government, which is reviving nuclear power to replace older plants due to shut down, is identifying suitable sites for new reactors. A report produced for the government by Jackson Consulting recommended that any new capacity should be developed first at one of the country's existing nuclear sites. Those are owned by British Energy and the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, an agency set up to run and clean up older plants. Those locations already have much of the infrastructure required and grid connections, and local communities may be more likely to have the required skill base. EDF recently bought land adjacent to the Wylfa power station, owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, as a backup plan in case it misses out on British Energy. The French power producer has said it wants to build as many as five nuclear reactors in the UK. British Energy in November signed an agreement with the national grid operator to connect six new nuclear reactors on four southern England sites to the country's power transmission network from 2016. Centrica Plc may acquire about 25 percent of British Energy.
