ABB/Alstom Venture Will Form New Company

ABB Group and Alstom announced June 2 that the European Commission has approved the creation of their joint power-generation company. The joint company -- named ABB Alstom Power -- will consist of all of Alstom's energy sector activities, excluding its heavy duty turbine business, and all of ABB's power-generation segment, excluding its nuclear activities and distributed power business. "This decision is a major step toward the creation of a strong new competitor in the global power-generation market, one that will be an important contributor to the long-term growth and profitability of both partners," says Gran Lindahl, ABB's president and CEO. ABB Alstom Power will employ about 54,000 people in more than 100 countries. Claude Darmon, current Deputy CEO of Alstom, is slated to head a management board composed of current ABB and Alstom employees. Operations are scheduled to begin once the companies receive regulatory clearance in the U.S. and a few other districts. ABB also announced Wednesday that it received a turnkey contract to build a 500-Mw combined-cycle power plant near the city of Adelaide, Australia. ABB received the order, valued at approximately $200 million, from the British-based power-plant owner and operator National Power PLC.