It has been announced today, 21st June 2005, that AMEC plc has made an Offer to
buy NNC Holdings Limited ("NNC"), the UK's leading private sector nuclear services
business. The Offer is expected to become unconditional in early July 2005.
The NNC Board and management team see this as a positive step for NNC, its
customers and staff. "There is an excellent fit between our two organisations in terms
of skills, customers and strategic intent." said Peter Higton, NNC Ltd's Managing
Director. "It is good news for our customers, because AMEC ownership will leverage
NNC.s capabilities to deliver an enhanced scale and quality of service to our
customers."
"This strategic acquisition will strengthen AMEC's nuclear services business and
position the company to secure a substantial slice of the annual £2 billion operations,
maintenance and decommissioning spend soon to be available to the private sector
in the UK," said Sir Peter Mason, Chief Executive of AMEC. "NNC's reactor services
division adds a new dimension to our portfolio and, with governments across the
world seeking to re-invest in the nuclear industry, we are well placed to benefit from
significant new international opportunities."
The acquisition will complement AMEC's existing strength in the UK and French
markets, where it has worked with British Nuclear Fuels ("BNFL"), the United
Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority ("UKAEA") and Electricité de France ("EDF") for
several decades.
NNC Holdings Limited is an £80m business, providing technical support to the
domestic and international nuclear industry. It is headquartered in Knutsford,
Cheshire. In the UK it provides the complete range of services required to ensure
the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities, from concept design through
managing the building process and maintaining the asset through to eventual
decommissioning. NNC has approximately 700 employees based in the UK and has
around 250 employees in Canada, providing support services to the nuclear market
including clients Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation. NNC also provides
technical and project management expertise in South Africa, Eastern European and
former Soviet Union countries including Lithuania, Russia and the Ukraine.
Additionally, NNC has developed a leading non-nuclear business providing complete
solutions to complex engineering problems, particularly in the defence, environmental
and oil & gas industries, all of which are important markets to AMEC. Customers
include the Ministry of Defence (MoD), BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce. For more
information on NNC visit
www.amecnnc.com
AMEC plc is an international project management and services company that
designs, delivers and supports infrastructure assets for customers worldwide across
the public and private sectors. AMEC employs about 44,000 people in more than 40
countries, generating annual turnover of around £5 billion. AMEC's shares are traded
on the London Stock Exchange where the company is listed in the Support Services
sector (LSE: AMEC.L).
AMEC's nuclear expertise is based on more than 50 years experience in the UK,
including current work at the British Nuclear Group Sellafield site in the north west of
England and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) facility at
Dounreay in Scotland. AMEC also provides specialist engineering services to
France's nuclear industry, where it recently acquired a 49% interest in Game
Nucleaire and advises EDF on decommissioning solutions, and it has a long history
of working within the Canadian nuclear market. AMEC's GeoMelt technology is
being used to clean up nuclear waste at the vast Hanford complex in Washington
State, USA. For more information on AMEC, including its work in the nuclear
industry, visit
www.amec.com
Alternatively, further information is available from
Contacts:
| NNC Ltd |
+44 (0)1925 675000 |
| Peter Higton, Managing Director |
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| Fiona Ware, Communications Manager |
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| AMEC plc |
+44 (0)20 7634 0000 |
| Neil Jamieson, Director of Investor Relations |
|
| Juliet Sychrava, Director of Corporate Communications |
|
| Charles Reynolds, Head of Media Relations |
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