The U.S. government proposed that South Korea join it in acquiring a 51% stake in Westinghouse Electric Co. (WEC), the global nuclear power company, according to findings confirmed by this newspaper. The two governments discussed a specific breakdown under which the U.S. would take 26% and Korea 25%, but the plan collapsed after Brookfield, the Canadian firm that is WEC's largest shareholder, objected. Korea has since lowered its target from more than 10% to between 5% and 10%. The 5-10% stake Korea would secure carries voting rights.
According to a closed-door briefing on strategic investment in the U.S. delivered to the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on the 22nd, the government explained the course of negotiations over a WEC stake and said Washington had initially proposed that Korea join it in acquiring 51% of the company.
Brookfield currently holds 51% of WEC and Cameco, the Canadian uranium producer, holds 49%. The U.S. proposal for Korean investment in WEC had been reported previously, but the disclosure reveals that the two countries went as far as discussing a joint purchase of the entire 51% majority holding and specific allocation ratios.
Two options were on the table at the time — one giving the U.S. 26% and Korea 25%, the other reversing those figures — but the joint acquisition plan fell apart as Brookfield strongly opposed selling its stake. WEC itself was also said to be unfavorable toward Korea taking a stake that would give it influence over the company's business and decision-making.
The 5-10% stake now under discussion carries voting rights. An official on the committee said the shares in question were "common stock with voting rights."
Funding for the WEC stake purchase will be arranged separately from the $200 billion earmarked for strategic investment in the U.S. Rather than the government investing directly, officials are considering a structure in which domestic nuclear power companies, including Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, take part alongside private capital. Under that approach, the investment share of KHNP, a state-run utility, would be kept to a minimum while participation by private-sector players such as nuclear industry firms and funds would be expanded.
