Areva, a company that makes nuclear reactors, reviewed its development plan and, in June of 2009, asked its executive board to initiate a process for the sale of the transmission and distribution (T&D) business.  

At the close of the bidding process, Areva received three binding
offers submitted by Alstom/Schneider, General Electric and
Toshiba/INCJ, respectively. All three bids were relatively similar in
terms of value, representing more than four times the price paid by
Areva for the business five years ago.

Areva’s supervisory board met on November 30, 2009 to examine the
bids. After review, the executive board began exclusive negotiations
with Alstom/Schneider.

The consortium offered 2.29 billion euros in equity value (which is
4.09 billion euros in enterprise value). The bid does not include any
requirement for a seller’s warranty but includes a buyer’s commitment
to maintain all European sites for a 3-year period.

Unless the economic environment deteriorates significantly, the buyers
made a commitment not to implement any layoff program except for
voluntary terminations.