Toshiba Announces Agreement with Kazatomprom

Tokyo -- Toshiba Corporation, a global leader in nuclea energy, and Kazatomprom, a major supplier of uranium based in the Republic of Kazakhstan, today announced that they have signed a share-transfer agreement, under which Kazatomprom will become an indirect minority shareholder in Westinghouse Electric Company LLC.

Toshiba will transfer 10 percent ownership of Westinghouse's holding companies to Kazatomprom, at a price of US540 million dollars. Toshiba will continue to control Westinghouse, owning 67% of Westinghouse through holding companies in the USA and the UK. The Shaw Group Inc., a major US engineering firm, owns 20% of Westinghouse and IHI, a Japanese heavy apparatus manufacturer, owns 3%.

Toshiba and Kazatomprom have identified various opportunities and agreed to study specific collaboration projects as strategic partners. By welcoming Kazatomprom as a minority investor, Toshiba aims to enhance its global nuclear power business.

The United States and Kazakhstan have a long-standing treaty for peaceful use of nuclear power, and Japan and Kazakhstan also agreed in April this year to reinforce a strategic partnership. The alliance of Toshiba, Kazatomprom and Westinghouse will contribute not only to the promotion of collaboration in the nuclear energy area among the three countries, but also to the expansion of nuclear power generation on a global basis to combat global warming.

Toshiba and Kazatomprom plan to transfer these shares in about one month, upon completion of necessary regulatory procedures in the relevant countries. The agreement requires that any technological cooperation be consistent with U.S., Japanese and other countries' export control laws and international regulation of the industry.