July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Areva SA’s Japanese partner in nuclear power projects, said it’s preparing for talks to buy a stake in the French reactor maker.

Japan’s largest heavy machinery maker is planning for “a formal discussion with Areva, because we would properly and constructively consider an investment if we receive an official request from the French side,” Hideo Ikuno, a spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy, said by telephone in Tokyo today.

Areva plans to sell a stake of about 15 percent and may divest its power-grid operation to finance expansion, it said yesterday. Deeper ties with the world’s biggest maker of nuclear reactors may help Mitsubishi Heavy compete with the General Electric Co.-Hitachi Ltd. alliance and Toshiba Corp. and its acquired Westinghouse Electric Co. unit, said Eiji Tomaru, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo.

“It’s an ideal and significant step for Mitsubishi Heavy to take a small, single-digit percentage portion of Areva’s 15- percent stake sale in the midst of a fierce global contest with the two other rivals for the growing nuclear reactor market,” Tomaru said.

Paris-based Areva, currently 93 percent owned by the French government, intends to raise capital by selling shares to industrial and strategic partners.

Atmea Reactor

The Financial Times reported yesterday that Areva will raise 10 billion euros ($14 billion) from asset disposals and the sale of the 15 percent stake.

Mitsubishi Heavy, Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. signed an agreement in February to form a venture to supply nuclear fuel. Mitsubishi Heavy and Areva started work under a joint venture named Atmea in 2006 to develop a 1,100- megawatt pressurized water reactor, targeting buyers seeking medium-sized units.

The International Energy Agency last year said the world needs to build 32 new nuclear power plants and 17,500 wind-power turbines each year to halve emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming by 2050. Mitsubishi Heavy forecasts that nations excluding China and Russia will build about 130 new reactors by 2030.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at ssato10@bloomberg.net; Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 1, 2009 01:04 EDT