Toshiba and Westinghouse Take Major Step to Expanding Front-End Business

TOKYO and PITTSBURGH, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) and Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC today announced the formation of a new joint venture, Advance Uranium Asset Management, Ltd. (AUAM), that will strengthen Toshiba Group's capabilities in the nuclear front end business segments and enhance the extensive range of support services extended to utilities around the world.

United Kingdom based AUAM will undertake uranium related transactions in the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The company is 60 percent owned by Toshiba and 40 percent by Westinghouse.

The nuclear renaissance is driven in large part by a growing need for global energy security. Toshiba has been a major nuclear reactor vendor with its experience of constructing and providing maintenance services for the Japanese nuclear industry. Acting through the new joint venture, Toshiba will be instrumental in securing uranium supply for Japanese utilities, and will leverage this capability to support utility companies worldwide. In particular, this joint venture will allow Toshiba to initiate uranium transactions for its investment interests in Kazakhstan uranium mines. Westinghouse is a leading supplier of new plant technology and related fuel products and services. The new joint venture allows Westinghouse to explore innovative ways to coalesce fuel technology with Toshiba's uranium interests to existing and new customers.

"This joint venture expands Toshiba's interest in the nuclear fuel cycle at a time when utilities are pursuing new builds, and it extends our ability to provide the nuclear energy industry with holistic solutions," said Yasuharu Igarashi, Corporate Senior Vice President and President & CEO Power Systems Company of Toshiba. "Under the new joint venture, Toshiba and Westinghouse will deliver and execute on a single strategic vision and create a broader portfolio of integrated solutions."

"By establishing Advance Uranium Asset Management, Ltd., we are more closely aligning Toshiba and Westinghouse's activities in the front end business. This move will promote a full expansion of our combined potential in the front end of the fuel cycle and allows us to integrate the right resources to deliver our shared vision," said Dr. Aris S. Candris, President and Chief Executive Officer of Westinghouse.

AUAM is committed to building on the capabilities of the current Uranium Asset Management Ltd. (UAM) and will cover the following business areas:

• Marketing and sales of uranium supplies
• Innovative fuel leasing options
• Spot market trades
• An expanded commercial transport business

UAM will continue to operate and its employees will be seconded to AUAM together with a select number of Toshiba employees to aggressively pursue interests in the front-end fuel cycle.

Outline of Advance Uranium Asset Management, Ltd.

    
    
    Location:             Springfield, Salwick, Preston, Lancashire,
                           United Kingdom
    Start of operations:  April 2010
    Capital:              GBP 3 million (approximately US$4.5 million)
    Ownership:            Toshiba 60%, Westinghouse 40%
    Managing Director:    Mike Smith
    Employees:            Approximately 30
    

About Toshiba

Toshiba is a world leader and innovator in pioneering high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products spanning information & communications equipment and systems; digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; power systems, including nuclear energy; industrial and social infrastructure systems; and home appliances. Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 740 companies, with over 199,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing 6.6 trillion yen (US$73 billion). Visit Toshiba's web site at www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm.

About Westinghouse

Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502), is the world's pioneering nuclear power company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse supplied the world's first commercial PWR in 1957 in Shippingport, Pennsylvania (USA). Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for more than 40 percent of the world's operating nuclear plants, including 60 percent of those in the United States. Information about Westinghouse Electric Company and the AP1000™ nuclear power plant is available on the company's web site at www.westinghousenuclear.com.

SOURCE Westinghouse Electric Company