Nuclear group Framatome, majority-owned by Électricité de France (EDF) with an 80.5% stake alongside Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and TechnicAtome, a company specialised in naval nuclear propulsion, announced on 31 March the acquisition of Segault SAS. Previously a subsidiary of Canadian group Velan Inc., Segault designs critical valve systems used in both civilian nuclear power stations and onboard nuclear boilers of French submarines and the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
The acquisition of Segault aligns with an industrial strategy aimed at securing France’s nuclear supply chain, particularly amid heightened pressure on precision components. Segault’s equipment currently features in approximately a quarter of the operational nuclear reactors worldwide. Through this move, Framatome and TechnicAtome stated their intention to “consolidate their specific activities” in a sector classified as strategic by the French authorities.
Government blocks sale to American company
This acquisition comes several months after the direct intervention of the French state, which in October 2023 opposed the proposed takeover of Segault by the Texas-based American company Flowserve Corporation. The Ministry of the Economy cited rules related to France’s foreign investment screening mechanism (known as IEF), which requires prior authorisation for any acquisition of 25% or more of the voting rights in a non-listed company operating in a strategic sector.
Canadian group Velan Inc. had earlier signed an agreement in early 2023 to sell all its assets, including Segault and its French subsidiary Velan SAS, to Flowserve for a total amount of $245mn (approximately €230mn). This deal ultimately failed due to the French veto, derailing Flowserve’s full acquisition of the Velan group.
Industrial positioning and state involvement
TechnicAtome is majority-owned by the French State Holdings Agency (Agence des participations de l’État), the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and Naval Group, reflecting the public anchoring of the nuclear propulsion sector. In the joint statement issued on Monday, TechnicAtome’s Chief Executive Officer Loïc Rocard said the transaction aimed to “strengthen our supplier chain for the benefit of nuclear propulsion and French deterrence”.
Framatome’s Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fontana, for his part, highlighted that the integration of Segault “reinforces [our] industrial sovereignty”. The transaction was completed without disclosure of its financial terms and enables France to retain an industrial capability deemed sensitive, amid growing concerns over technological and strategic dependence in the nuclear sector.
