(Reuters) -Britain’s competition regulator said on Wednesday it was investigating Cameco Corp and Brookfield Renewable Partners’ $7.9 billion deal to acquire nuclear power plant equipment maker Westinghouse Electric.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had invited comments on the deal from interested parties. It did not give any further details.
The deal was announced in October last year on the heels of an uptick in interest in nuclear power amid an energy crisis in Europe and soaring crude oil and natural gas prices.
“This is part of the standard regulatory approval process for transactions of this nature,” Cameco said in an email to Reuters.
The company added that it expected the deal to close before the end of the year.
Westinghouse did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Brookfield Renewable Partners declined to comment.
Cameco will own 49% of Westinghouse, while Brookfield Renewable and its institutional partners will own the rest, the companies have said.
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Additonal reporting by Radhika Anilkumar; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Mark Potter)
