France's Areva picks up Japanese investors

France's troubled nuclear energy company Areva announced Friday that two Japanese companies would take equity stakes as part of its restructuring as investors approved a state bailout.
Shareholders approved almost unanimously a capital increase that will see the French state inject 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) into the parent company Areva SA. The French government is already the majority owner of the company which has faced severe difficulties since the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan called nuclear power into question across the world. The restructuring, approved by EU regulators last month, will also see the French state inject 2.5 billion euros into the NewCo unit into which Areva's nuclear fuel mining, enrichment and reprocessing activities will be placed.