A group of South Korean industrial heavyweights is weighing the purchase of a 5-10% stake in Westinghouse Electric. The consortium would reportedly be led by SK, together with Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Doosan Enerbility and GS E&C. The investment under discussion is around 4 trillion won, or $2.8-3 billion.
The companies recently attended a meeting organized by KEPCO, South Korea’s state-owned utility, to discuss entry options. The government in Seoul has sounded out interest among industry players and is coordinating the size of each contribution. SK is reportedly considering a matching formula, under which it would put in an amount equal to the combined contributions of the other participants. The companies stress that nothing has been decided yet.
The framework is the nuclear agreement signed by South Korea and the United States on October 1. It provides for $120 billion, drawn from Korea’s $200 billion fund for investment in the US, to build eight large reactors: two APR1400s and six AP1000s. The deal also gives the Korean side the right to acquire 5-10% of Westinghouse at a 10% discount to the initial public offering price.
Market participants estimate Westinghouse could be valued at between $20 billion and $30 billion at listing. With the planned discount, a 10% stake would cost about $2.7 billion. Sums of this order exceed what KEPCO and KHNP can shoulder on their own: the two state-owned companies have combined debt of more than 200 trillion won. Bringing in private players eases the burden on the state-run firms.
The benefits differ for each group. Samsung C&T and Hyundai E&C are targeting engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the American sites. Doosan Enerbility could expand supplies of key components such as reactor vessels and steam generators. SK already invested $250 million in TerraPower, Bill Gates’ advanced reactor company, in 2022. With Westinghouse, it would extend its presence from small reactors to large-scale plants.
The deal also ties into the electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence. SK is active in data centers and memory chips, and power is the sector’s bottleneck. If the Westinghouse listing goes ahead, Korea could take an equity position in the leading Western reactor designer while also building its plants.
