UPDATE 1-Toshiba eyes $6.9 bln Progress Energy order
(Adds company comment, background, share price)
TOKYO, April 10 (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Thursday its Westinghouse unit is in talks to build two nuclear reactors in Florida for Progress Energy Inc (PGN.N), in a deal estimated to be worth 700 billion yen ($6.9 billion).
Along with other projects Toshiba is finalising, the Progress Energy deal would raise the value of nuclear orders Toshiba could win in the United States to roughly 2.8 trillion yen.
Progress Energy signed a letter of intent with Westinghouse Electric Co and Shaw Group Inc's SGR.N Power Group to buy key components for up to two reactors, Reuters reported on Monday. [ID:nWNAS7024]
If realised, the order would follow Westinghouse and Shaw Group's announcement earlier this week that they had clinched an order to build two 1,100 megawatt nuclear reactors for Southern Co's (SO.N) Georgia Power utility.
Toshiba, which bought Westinghouse in 2006, is competing with home rivals Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (7011.T) and Hitachi Ltd (6501.T) as they twin their experience building reactors in Japan with their partners' brand and technology to ride a wave of nuclear power plant construction abroad.
Toshiba is also slated to head an $8 billion project to install two reactors in Texas to open in 2015 and 2016 for power producer NRG Energy Inc (NRG.N). NRG plans to use Toshiba's advanced boiling water reactor design built in Japan later this year.
Westinghouse is further finalising an engineering and procurement contract to build two new Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear units in South Carolina for SCANA Corp (ACG.N) subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co.
In March, Reuters reported Progress Energy planned to use Westinghouse's AP1000 reactors to build its new plant. [ID:nN24317663]
Shares of Toshiba rose 3.9 percent to 791 yen after local media reported that Toshiba was on the verge of finalising the Progress Energy deal, against a 0.6 percent fall in the Nikkei average. .N225 (Reporting by Mayumi Negishi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
