Qatar takes 10% stake in Rolls-Royce’s low-carbon nuclear business

(Reuters) – Rolls-Royce said on Monday Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund would invest 85 million pounds ($112.12 million) in the British company’s new low-carbon nuclear power business in exchange for a 10% equity stake.

The London-listed firm has agreed with the Qatar Investment Authority for the funding in its Small Modular Reactors business, which Rolls-Royce said was now fully funded having secured 490 million pounds through commercial equities and grants.

“This investment is a clear vote of confidence in the UK’s global leadership in nuclear innovation,” British Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said in a statement.

Qatar and Rolls-Royce said last month that they would team up in a multi-billion pound project to develop and invest in green technology start-ups in the UK and the Gulf Arab state.

($1 = 0.7581 pounds)

(Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)