Monday, February 24, 2025, 7:06AM |  31°
MENU
Advertisement
This March 2017 photo,shows a sign at the entrance to Westinghouse headquarters in Cranberry.
1
MORE

Westinghouse emerges from bankruptcy with new owner

Keith Srakocic/AP

Westinghouse emerges from bankruptcy with new owner

Westinghouse Electric Co. now officially belongs to a Canadian asset management firm.

The Cranberry-based nuclear company announced that it emerged from bankruptcy on Wednesday, having secured all the regulatory approvals to transfer ownership to Brookfield Business Partners.

The purchase price now stands at $3.8 billion.

Advertisement

Westinghouse was plunged into bankruptcy last year after billions of dollars in losses on two new nuclear construction projects in Georgia and South Carolina. The latter one was canceled.

In January, Westinghouse, which was then owned by Toshiba Corp., said Brookfield had emerged as the successful bidder.

“With the support of Brookfield, Westinghouse will continue to build on its legacy of leading the nuclear industry,” said Westinghouse CEO José Emeterio Gutiérrez.

Sarah Cassella, a spokesperson for the nuclear firm, said no leadership changes have been announced. The company’s global headcount is now around 10,000, she said.

Advertisement

Over the past week, Westinghouse has sought a number of changes to its purchase agreement to finalize the deal. They included transferring responsibility for the company’s executive pension plan to the reorganized company.

Participants in the plan — which stopped accruing money in January 2017 — had filed claims totaling $135 million, assuming that the company would seek to reject the plan in bankruptcy. But Westinghouse told the court that it can handle the plan, with its projected monthly expenses of $400,000.

Another change was making sure that Westinghouse’s continuing dispute with CB&I, its former construction contractor on the two AP1000 projects, doesn’t follow the business on its new path.

CB&I claims Westinghouse owes it $1.1 billion. Westinghouse wanted that legal fight to be fought by the entity that will be left behind to settle the bankruptcy claims and dole out Brookfield’s money to creditors.

In a statement supporting these changes, along with a $40 million drop in the purchase price, Westinghouse’s CFO Daniel Sumner said Westinghouse is on track to cut $241 million from its costs by December and is already ahead of targets in its five-year strategic plan.

The company’s earnings before income taxes and depreciation totaled $424 million as of March 31, he wrote.

Anya Litvak: alitvak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1455.

First Published: August 1, 2018, 9:26 p.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Protesters gathered at the corner of Murray and Forbes avenues to speak out against the Trump administration's policies on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Squirrel Hill.
1
news
'We will fight back': Hundreds rally in Squirrel Hill in opposition of Trump, Musk and president's administration
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
2
business
Amid funding uncertainty, Pitt pauses doctoral admissions
York County District Attorney Timothy J. Barker reacts during a news conference regarding the shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
3
news
Police officer killed, gunman dead in shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York
This undated photo provided by the Denver Police Department shows Andrew Duarte who served as a Denver police officer from 2017 to 2022.
4
news
Officer killed in York hospital shootout was PennWest California graduate
Kash Patel, new Federal Bureau of Investigation director, speaks after he is sworn in during a ceremony at the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building within the White House complex Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Washington.
5
news
New FBI Director Kash Patel will also be named acting head of the ATF, source says
This March 2017 photo,shows a sign at the entrance to Westinghouse headquarters in Cranberry.  (Keith Srakocic/AP)
Keith Srakocic/AP
Advertisement
LATEST business
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story