Babcock & Wilcox approves spinoff, sets split date for July 1

The board of directors of Charlotte energy company Babcock & Wilcox has approved the spinoff of its power generation business to create a separate public company headquartered in Charlotte. The spinoff date will be July 1.

The power generation business will be named Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. and operate as Babcock & Wilcox, the company said in a statement Tuesday. On July 1, it will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticket symbol “BW.”

Upon spinoff, the remaining company, the government and nuclear operations business, will change its name to BWX Technologies Inc. and will be headquartered in Lynchburg, Va. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “BWTX” starting July 1.

In the statement, the company said the board believes the two companies will benefit from “independent management teams, strategic autonomy, and financial flexibility” to optimize shareholder value.

“With strong recent performance in both businesses, there is significant momentum for the future growth and success we anticipate from both companies in their separate and important markets,” James Ferland, the company’s president and CEO, said in the statement.

Ferland will be chairman and CEO of the new Babcock & Wilcox, the company said. Sandy Baker will be CEO of BWX Technologies Inc., and John Fees will serve as chairman.

The company said in October that it hired investment bank JPMorgan Chase and law firms Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Jones Day as advisers as it considered the spinoff.

Babcock & Wilcox itself was spun off from McDermott International in 2010. As part of that move, the company shifted its headquarters to Charlotte from Lynchburg, Va.

With about 175 employees at its Ballantyne headquarters, the company offers advanced engineering, manufacturing and construction services in a range of energy fields, from nuclear to coal.

This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 8:45 AM with the headline "Babcock & Wilcox approves spinoff, sets split date for July 1."