The Canadian government said on Wednesday it will sell the nuclear reactor division of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd to SNC-Lavalin Group Inc (SNC.TO) for C$15 million ($15.4 million), plus royalty payments. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) will retain its past liabilities, SNC-Lavalin said in a long-awaited announcement. No further details on the size or nature of these liabilities was immediately available. About 1,200 AECL employees are expected to move to Candu Energy, a subsidiary of Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin. The royalty payments will come from future new reactor construction and life-extension projects at existing power plants, said SNC-Lavalin, Canada's biggest engineering and construction firm. The government will retain intellectual property rights to Candu technology.
