PARIS (Reuters) - French state-controlled nuclear group Areva is in talks with its Spanish partner Gamesa and Germany's Siemens about a possible sale of Areva's stake in offshore wind joint venture Adwen.
Talks over a Siemens takeover of Gamesa have stalled over Adwen, as Siemens, already Europe's dominant player in offshore wind, does not want to buy Gamesa's stake in Adwen, sources have told Reuters.
General Electric (NYSE:GE), which bought the energy assets of France's Alstom (PA:ALSO) last year, said this month it was interested in Adwen, but that no talks had been held with the companies involved.
"Gamesa and Siemens have a rapprochement project. Within that framework, and taking into account our agreements with Gamesa, we are in talks with Gamesa, Siemens," Areva Chief Executive Philippe Knoche told Areva shareholders.
He did not specify possible timing for an Adwen sale or a valuation for Areva's stake.
Siemens is European market leader for offshore wind with 63.5 percent of installed capacity at the end of 2015, followed by MHI Vestas with 18.5 percent. Adwen accounted for 5.7 percent, but was second in terms of installations in 2015, with an 18.2 percent share of newbuild.
Adwen has contracts to build 1,500 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind on the French coast for utilities Engie and Iberdrola (MC:IBE).
With the acquisition of Alstom, GE also acquired contracts to build 1,500 MW of offshore wind on the French coast for utility EDF (PA:EDF).