Nuclear Waste Firm EnergySolutions Goes Private

Under the terms of the agreement, EnergySolutions may solicit superior bids until February 6. No expected closing date was given for the transaction, which must receive regulatory approval in the United States and the United Kingdom and approval from the company’s current shareholders.

Predecessor companies to EnergySolutions have operated a low-level radioactive waste facility in the desert west of Salt Lake City since 1990. The company also owns another disposal facility in South Carolina. Virtually every nuclear power plant in the U.S. and the U.K. uses EnergySolutions directly or indirectly.

Shares are up 9.6% in early trading, at $3.77 in a 52-week range of $1.43 to $5.43.