PARIS, July 30 French utility EDF, the world's biggest operator of nuclear plants, is pulling out of nuclear energy in the United States, bowing to the realities of a market that has been transformed by cheap shale gas.

Several nuclear reactors in the U. EDF agreed with its partner Exelon on an exit from their Constellation Energy Nuclear Group CENG joint venture, which operates five nuclear plants in the United States with a total capacity of 3.

The French utility said it had agreed a put option that allows EDF to sell CENG to Exelon at the fair value of its stake between January and June International Energy Agency analyst Dennis Volk said CENG's eastern U. Proglio said EDF would now focus on renewable energy in the United States. EDF employs people in U. It manages another 7 gigawatts for other companies. EDF, Europe's biggest power producer by output, also employs staff in its U.

Morgan Stanley analyst Emmanuel Turpin welcomed the U. I am pleased with the decision; it shows focus on unlocking value," he said. Gadonneix talked about building up to four Areva-designed European Pressurised Reactors in the U. Exelon's takeover of Constellation further complicated things. EDF finance chief Thomas Piquemal said the U. Proglio said the decision would have no impact on talks with the UK government about building reactors in Britain.

The government and EDF are negotiating the minimum price for electricity produced from the firm's proposed Hinkley Point site, Britain's first new nuclear plant in several decades. EDF also said that because of the strong performance of its French nuclear fleet and a renegotiation of Italian gas contracts, it raised its outlook for core profit growth in to at least 3 percent from a range of zero to 3 percent.

First-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 6. EDF shares surged 7 percent, nearly setting a two-year high, as markets focused on the outlook upgrade, despite the tough economic and regulatory environment, a Paris trader said. After sinking nearly 70 percent between early and late , EDF shares have gained 54 percent this year, making them the top performers in France's CAC 40 index.

The shares have been helped by French government plans for the biggest increase in power prices in at least a decade to cover rising costs at the state-owned utility. The Bank of Canada'. Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.

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EDF, Constellation in talks on nuclear venture - MarketWatch

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