Toshiba in talks over Westinghouse stake: source

Japan's Toshiba Corp is in talks with Shaw Group over the U.S. company's 20 percent stake in nuclear power plant company Westinghouse Electric Co, a person familiar with the matter said.

Shares of Toshiba fell more than 7 percent to 2-1/2-year lows on Tuesday on concerns the chipmaker would be saddled with costs of buying additional shares it agreed in principle to acquire five years ago, before Japan's worst nuclear disaster put a chill on global demand for new reactors.

Shaw wants Toshiba to buy the stake, the source, who did not wish to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters. "Something may be decided within a month," the source added.

Shaw partnered with Toshiba and Japanese engineering firm IHI Corp to buy Westinghouse from British Nuclear Fuels PLC for $5.4 billion in 2006. Toshiba bought 77 percent, Shaw purchased 20 percent, and IHI took 3 percent.

Toshiba's stake in Westinghouse fell to 67 percent after the company sold part of the stake to Kazakhstan's state-owned nuclear power company Kazatomprom.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Toshiba is in talks to buy out Shaw's Westinghouse stake first, adding that a deal could be announced as early as Tuesday but that discussions are still ongoing and could fall apart. The Nikkei business daily reported that the price tag for the deal could be at least 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion).

"The company (Toshiba) is not cash-rich, so investors are concerned that it may have to go through equity financing if it decides to buy the stake," said Makoto Kikuchi, chief executive of Myojo Asset Management.

A Tokyo-based spokesman for Toshiba declined to comment on the report. Officials at Westinghouse were not immediately available for comment. Shaw declined to comment.

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