Toshiba likely to sell 16 p.c. stake in Westinghouse

TOKYO, JAPAN: Japan's Toshiba Corp is likely to sell a 16 per cent stake out of its 67 per cent holding in its U.S. nuclear power unit Westinghouse to businesses including a U.S. nuclear-related firm, to put it in a better position to win orders from developing countries, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Tuesday.

The Yomiuri did not identify the potential buyers of the stake or a deal amount. The leading candidates are U.S. companies but firms from other countries might also bid, th e newspaper added, without citing sources.

With Japan considering phasing out nuclear power in the long term after last year's Fukushima plant disaster, Toshiba is looking to partner with firms that possess reactor-related technologies to help it get overseas orders, the paper said.

A Toshiba spokesman said he would check the report.

Toshiba has also been seeking buyers for a 20 per cent stake that U.S.-based Shaw Group plans to sell back to Toshiba by January 2013.

The sale of the 16 per cent stake would be separate from the Shaw deal, the Yomiuri said.

Shaw Group last year announced the sale of its 20 per cent stake in Westinghouse to Toshiba to eliminate nearly $1.7 billion of debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

Shaw had partnered with Toshiba and Japanese engineer IHI Corp to buy Westinghouse from British Nuclear Fuels Plc for $5.4 billion in 2006. Toshiba bought a 77 per cent stake, Shaw 20 per cent and IHI 3 per cent.

Toshiba's stake fell to 67 per cent after the company sold a 10 per cent stake to Kazakhstan's state-owned nuclear power company Kazatomprom.

Shares of Toshiba were up 0.4 per cent at 272 yen in early trading on Tuesday, in line with the broader market.