TOKYO (AP) - Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. said it is discussing the possibility of selling a stake in its U.S. unit, nuclear reactor manufacturer Westinghouse Electric Co., to a Kazakh state-owned resource company.
Toshiba and the Kazakh company Kazatomprom are discussing details of a possible transaction, a Toshiba spokesman said Monday, but he declined to provide further details.
Toshiba said in a press release over the weekend it aims to form a partnership with Kazatomprom to secure uranium supplies. Kazakhstan has the world's second-largest uranium reserves after Australia.
The Tokyo-based company expects uranium supply conditions to become tight as demand for nuclear plants rises in China and the U.S. to meet growing energy needs and to cut carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
Toshiba holds a 77 percent stake in Monroeville, Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse, which it bought from the U.K.'s British Nuclear Fuels PLC last year for US$4.2 billion.
The Shaw Group Inc. of the U.S. owns 20 percent of Westinghouse and Japanese heavy machinery maker IHI Corp. owns 3 percent.
The Nikkei reported over the weekend that Toshiba agreed to see a 10 percent stake in Westinghouse to Kazatomprom for around 60 billion yen (US$487 million).
