12 November 2010 - Gide Loyrette Nouel advises Areva on innovative manufacturing joint venture in China:

Gide Loyrette Nouel (GLN) has assisted Areva NP’s subsidiary Compagnie Européenne du Zirconium (CEZUS), the world’s largest producer of zirconium components for nuclear fuel, regarding the establishment in China of a joint venture company with a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). The joint venture company, called CAST - CNNC Areva Shanghai Tubing Co., will manufacture M5™ zirconium cladding and guiding tubes for nuclear power plants in the PRC. 
 
GLN assisted the client in the drafting and negotiation of the transaction documents including the joint venture agreement, articles of association and other related agreements (technology license agreement, equipment supply and purchase agreements, land use rights transfer agreement, secondment agreements etc) and advised on the various legal and tax aspects pertaining to the establishment and operation of the joint venture.  

This is the first joint venture to be established in the PRC for the manufacturing of zirconium alloy tubes. The deal is a further step in Areva NP’s long-standing cooperation with Chinese players in the nuclear sector and reinforces the overall cooperation between France and China in the sector. Based in Shanghai, this joint venture company will be operational from the end of 2012.  

The GLN legal team advising Areva in this project was led by partner Stéphane Vernay from the Paris Office, with assistance from senior associates Nadine Ganesan and Sun Jin from the Beijing Office.