EDF Bids $4.5B for 50% of Constellation Nuclear

EDF Bids $4.5B for 50% of Constellation Nuclear

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Electricite de France SA, the world’s biggest operator of nuclear reactors, bid $4.5 billion for half of Constellation Energy’s nuclear power business, in an attempt to thwart a rival offer from Warren Buffett.

EDF said its offer values the whole of Constellation at $52 a share, more than double yesterday’s closing value of $25.15.

Constellation agreed earlier this year to be bought by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. for $4.7 billion. Constellation has called on shareholders to approve the deal with MidAmerican in a vote scheduled for Dec. 23.

EDF, which owns 9.5 percent of Constellation, in October backed out of an earlier bid after Constellation accepted Buffett’s proposal. EDF and Constellation have a joint venture to build new nuclear reactors in the U.S. as part of the French utility’s strategy to operate atomic plants outside France.

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