B&W completes spin off

Published July 1, 2015 by Jessica Sabbath

Babcock and Wilcox Co. has completed the separation of its companies, leaving Lynchburg as the headquarters of nuclear company BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT).

BWXT began trading on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday under the ticker symbol BWXT.

Charlotte-based The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (B&W) announced in 2014 its plans to spin off its power generation business, which is now known as Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. That business has remained headquartered in Charlotte.

BWXT will include the remaining four operating segments of the business, focused on the nuclear power industry. Those segments had revenue of about $1.5 billion, according to the company’s prospectus.

The company has more than 5,000 employees at operations in Lynchburg, Erwin, Tenn., Mount Vernon, Ind., Euclid, Ohio and Cambridge, Ontario and U.S. Department of Energy sites throughout the country.

BWXT is led by Executive Chairman John A. Fees, who was chairman of B&W, and President and CEO Peyton S. “Sandy” Baker, who was president of B&W’s Government and Nuclear Operations Group.

“As a standalone company, BWXT will have greater management focus on the distinct business of government and nuclear operations,” Fees said in a statement. “We will also have greater ability to attract an investor base suited to our company’s specific operational and financial characteristics.”