Britain seeks to sell 33.33% stake in Urenco Limited. The British government said that it had made the decision to sell the stake after securing agreement from Urenco's Dutch and German partners, both holds 33.33% stakes each. "Urenco is a world leading, high technology company with strong earnings and the time is right for government to sell its stake. It makes good commercial sense now and is consistent with our position that assets should be sold where ownership itself does not deliver any policy objective," British Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon said.

The UK Government expects to raise up to £3 billion by divesting its one-third stake in Urenco Limited in 2013. The UK, German and Dutch Governments are expected to retain ‘golden shares’ after a deal. RWE AG and E.ON SE have started the sale process for their stakes in Urenco. Areva S.A. and Cameco Corporation have been named possible buyers for the stake. On March 11, 2013 it was reported that Cameco had retained Sachs to prepare a bid for a substantial stake in Urenco. The stake is valued at about £2 billion. The German government is being advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley is advising the UK Government. The Dutch government is being advised by Credit Suisse, however ABN Amro is now understood to be undertaking that role, sources said.

Areva S.A. confirmed its interest in acquiring a stake in Urenco Limited from E.ON SE and RWE AG. "If ever something were to happen in terms of Urenco's capital, clearly, we would have to be interested," Areva Chief Executive Officer Luc Oursel told French daily Le Figaro at the inauguration of its new enrichment plant. An Areva spokesman confirmed that the CEO made the comment, reuters reported. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toshiba Corporation and series of private equity players have also been cited as potentially interested in bidding for a stake in Urenco.