EnergySolutions, a private nuclear waste treatment firm based in Salt Lake City has completed its $396 million purchase of Duratek, Inc. in Columbia, S.C., buying up Duratek?s 14.9 million outstanding shares at $22 per share, company officials said.
By Friday, Duratek had changed its name to EnergySolutions and its stock symbol DRTK was no longer trading on the NASDAQ market.
Duratek, formed in 1990, helps utilities and governments process low-level nuclear waste on site prior to shipment. It has about 1,200 employees nationwide with about 100 in Columbia responsible for administrative work, said Diane Brown, Duratek?s vice president of investor relations.
For Duratek, the acquisition made sense because the company was looking to build its international business, Brown said.
“Our services are complimentary,” Brown said. “We are both well known in the industry.”
Steve Creamer, CEO of EnergySolutions, said Duratek will help the company move into more markets.
“Duratek is an integral part of our company and our objective to be a major international nuclear service supplier committed to meeting the needs of government and the nuclear industry.”
Robert E. Prince, CEO of Duratek, who will step down, said the acquisition “provided very significant current value for our shareholders.”
Group opposes Acquistion
The acquisition was opposed by Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, (HEAL Utah) an environment advocacy group based in Salt Lake City.
With the acquisition, EnergySolutions now controls two of the three sites in the nation where nuclear waste can be disposed, said James Groenewold, director of HEAL Utah.
HEAL Utah fears that with fewer players, there won?t be much competition, which creates checks and balances for the nuclear waste industry, Groenewold said.
