USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU), a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel,
announced today that it has entered into a stock purchase agreement to
sell NAC International Inc. to Hitz Holdings U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary
of Hitachi Zosen Corporation, for $45 million in cash following a
competitive sale process.
USEC acquired NAC in 2004 as NAC was adding to its diverse suite of
spent fuel management technologies with the development and licensing of
its ground-breaking MAGNASTOR® technology. In addition to specializing
in technologies for the safe interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, NAC
also provides transportation services for radioactive material and
nuclear industry and government consulting services. Hitachi Zosen has a
long-standing business relationship with NAC as a fabricator of NAC’s
dry cask storage and transportation systems and is a leading supplier of
such systems in Japan.
“We are proud of the accomplishments of the NAC staff in recent years as
they developed, licensed and started selling and delivering the
industry-leading MAGNASTOR technology for storing spent fuel. NAC
expects to deliver more than 100 dry storage systems in 2013,” said John
K. Welch, president and CEO of USEC. “In the aftermath of events at
Fukushima, there is a greater focus on spent fuel storage. Hitachi Zosen
has been actively involved in NAC activities through fabrication work
and is well positioned to further develop market opportunities for NAC’s
innovative systems.”
Welch said the sale of NAC is part of USEC’s strategic focus on its core
uranium enrichment business and the deployment of the American
Centrifuge technology over the next several years. At closing, Hitz
Holdings U.S.A. will acquire all outstanding shares of NAC for $45
million in cash, subject to a net working capital adjustment. The sale
will also benefit USEC’s near-term balance sheet improvement efforts.
USEC purchased NAC for $16 million in 2004.
Hitachi Zosen commented that “through the acquisition of NAC, Hitachi
Zosen will be able to offer a ‘one stop’ solution from
engineering/consulting to manufacturing/transportation for spent nuclear
fuel storage and transportation and to develop this business globally.”
In addition, Minoru Furukawa, president of Hitachi Zosen, said, “We have
a strong aspiration to seek further development in spent nuclear fuel
business in partnership of NAC.”
Hitachi Zosen, a Japanese corporation, has guaranteed the performance
and payment obligations of Hitz Holdings U.S.A. under the stock purchase
agreement. USEC will agree to certain non-competition and
non-solicitation covenants that restrict USEC from engaging in
competition with NAC for a period of three years following the closing.
“We are very excited about becoming part of Hitachi Zosen,” said NAC
President Kent Cole. “We have a long-standing relationship with Hitachi
Zosen and have a deep respect for its excellent operations. We view this
acquisition as a strategic move that has great promise for our customers
and our employees.
“During this period of transition, I expect NAC will operate as usual,
serving its customers with a high level of performance and
professionalism. I expect the NAC organization to remain intact as we
develop and implement a transition plan that will leverage the synergies
and strengths of the combined organization,” Cole said.
The transaction closing is subject to customary conditions, notices and
approvals including lender approval under USEC’s credit facility and
will be submitted to the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United
States (“CFIUS”) for review. Subject to completion of CFIUS’s review,
USEC expects the transaction to close in 60 to 90 days after signing.
Additional information about the transaction is contained in a current
report on Form 8-K filed by USEC today with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Lazard served as the financial advisor for USEC on the transaction and
legal counsel was provided by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd and Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. served as financial advisors to Hitachi Zosen
and legal counsel was provided by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and City-Yuwa
Partners.
About NAC
Founded in 1968, NAC employs approximately 70 people and is
headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, with a branch office in London. The
company has more than 40 years of experience in providing a wide range
of services and equipment to the nuclear industry that includes
designing, engineering, licensing, operating, and maintaining spent fuel
management systems for storage and transport. NAC also has more than
four decades of experience transporting nuclear materials using the
company’s NRC-certified cask fleet. NAC has successfully completed
transportation projects for the U.S. Department of Energy, the
International Atomic Energy Agency, other governmental agencies and
private entities from around the world. NAC’s consulting group includes
internationally recognized experts in the nuclear power industry.
About Hitachi Zosen
Hitachi Zosen was founded in 1881 and has celebrated the 130th
anniversary of its founding in April 2011. As of the fiscal year ended
March 2012, Hitachi Zosen had sales of approximately $3,367 million and
employed 8,846 people on a consolidated basis. Hitachi Zosen is
headquartered in Osaka and Tokyo and has 20 offices and works in Japan,
including seven manufacturing facilities, eight branches in overseas and
67 consolidated subsidiaries in the world. Hitachi Zosen engages in
engineering and manufacturing of environmental systems, industrial
plants, industrial machinery, process equipment, precision machinery,
steel structure, construction machinery and disaster prevention systems.
Under its corporate philosophy - We create value useful to society
with technology and sincerity to contribute to a prosperous future -
Hitachi Zosen especially focuses on energy-from-waste business and
positions green energy field and social infrastructure and disaster
prevention field as their business domains.
USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched
uranium fuel and nuclear industry related services for commercial
nuclear power plants.
Forward Looking Statements:
The information provided in this news release contains “forward-looking
statements” – that is, statements related to future events. In this
context, forward-looking statements may address USEC’s expected future
business and financial performance, and often contain words such as
“expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “will” and
other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements by their
nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For
USEC, factors that could cause its actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed in its forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to: the likelihood and timing of fulfilling
the closing conditions in the stock purchase agreement governing the
transaction with Hitachi Zosen, including conditions related to USEC’s
obtaining lender approval under its credit facility and CFIUS review;
risks related to the performance of NAC and the market for dry cask
storage; risks related to USEC’s ability to continue enriching uranium
and to deploy the American Centrifuge project; risks related to USEC’s
ability to successfully restructure its balance sheet and the impact of
USEC’s potential balance sheet restructuring efforts on its stock and
convertible notes; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in USEC’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are
available on USEC’s website at www.usec.com.
USEC does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements except
as required by law.
