BDA advises AREVA on joint venture in China with Xiamen Huadian

Business Development Asia LLC (“BDA”) is pleased to announce that its client, Areva, has through the Areva Transmission & Distribution (T&D) Division, formed a 55/45 joint venture with Xiamen Huadian Switchgear Co Ltd (“Xiamen Huadian”). The joint venture will manufacture medium and high voltage switchgear products. This is an expansion of the existing cooperation between the two parties in Xiamen, Fujian province. The restructured entity has been named Areva T&D Huadian Switchgear (Xiamen) Co Ltd.

The transaction involved technology transfer and capital contributions in kind (including manufacturing equipment) from both Areva and Huadian. The expanded scope of operations will enable Areva to consolidate its penetration of China’s rapidly-growing electricity infrastructure market, producing medium voltage switchgears, medium voltage circuit breakers, vacuum interrupters and high voltage gas-insulated units within a single company.

Commenting on the transaction, Philippe Guillemot, Chairman and CEO of Areva’s T&D Division said, “This joint venture agreement is key to our company. It will enable us to sustain our goal to be Chinese in China and to reach €1 billion in orders in the country by 2010 while increasing our global presence on the GIS market.”

Charles Sher, Managing Director of Xiamen Huadian added, “Based on successful collaboration to date, both companies decided to extend the business scope of the existing joint venture to include the full range of medium voltage switchgear up to 145kV gas-insulated units. This will enable us to better serve the Chinese and Asian markets and maximize the value for customers and employees of both partners. We believe the new joint venture will soon become the largest, strongest and the most competitive force in medium and high voltage switchgear R&D and manufacturing in the world.”

BDA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Areva on this transaction. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This is the second transaction on which BDA advised Areva in China in 2008.

For more information regarding this transaction, please contact Andrew Huntley in London on (44) 20 7655 3500 or Mark Webster in Shanghai on (86) 21 5407 5580.

AREVA Transaction Team
Frederic Palanque, T&D, M&A
Junmin Shen, T&D, M&A

BDA Transaction Team
Shanghai
Mark Webster, Managing Director mwebster@bdallc.com
Bob Hong, Associate bhong@bdallc.com

London
Andrew Huntley, Senior Managing Director ahuntley@bdallc.com
Christophe Walewski, Associate cwalewski@bdallc.com

About AREVA

With manufacturing facilities in 43 countries and a sales network in more than 100 countries, Areva offers customers reliable technological solutions for CO2-free power generation and electricity transmission and distribution. It is the world leader in nuclear power and the only company to cover all industrial activities in this field. Its 71,000 employees are committed to continuous improvement on a daily basis, making sustainable development the focal point of the group’s industrial strategy. Areva’s businesses help meet the 21st century’s greatest challenges: making energy available to all, protecting the planet, and acting responsibly towards future generations.

Areva’s T&D division is an active player around the globe. It designs, manufactures and supplies a complete range of equipment, systems and services for all stages in the transfer of electricity, from the generator to the large end-user. www.areva-td.com

About Xiamen Huadian

Xiamen Huadian Switchgear Co Ltd is a limited liability company serving the Chinese and global markets. Xiamen Huadian manufactures HV and MV switchgear equipment, including HV-gas insulated switchgear (HV GIS), MV switchgear, vacuum circuit breakers, and load break switches. “In Touch With Technology” is the core philosophy of the company. Introducing advanced switchgear technology and undertaking its own research and development, Xiamen Huadian has established itself as an internationally renowned power transmission and distribution switchgear player. Xiamen Huadian was founded in 2003. Since then it has grown to record 2007 revenues of more than €40m. www.huadianswg.cn

About Business Development Asia

Business Development Asia LLC was founded in 1996. BDA assists multinational corporate and financial sponsor clients to identify and execute cross-border acquisitions, divestments, JVs, restructuring and capital raising, in Asia, the Middle East and internationally. The company is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Bahrain, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo. BDA employs 55 full-time professional staff across its eight offices, supplemented by a team of senior advisors around the world. BDA’s client list includes Air Products, Apar Industries, Areva, BorgWarner, Cadbury Schweppes, Celestica, DIC, DuPont, Ecolab, Federal-Mogul, Godrej, Hanjin Shipping, Haldex, Henkel, Hercules, Huntsman, Inabata, ITT, Johnson Controls, Johnson Matthey, Kennametal, Kimberly-Clark, Lear, Lubrizol, Mars, Molex, Nalco, Reuters, Rohm & Haas, Ryder, Seera, SigmaKalon, Sumitomo Chemical, Sun Chemical, TATA Auto Components, Tenneco, Timken, Tredegar, WR Grace, and the British Government. Further information on BDA is available at www.bdapartners.com.