Halliburton 04.16.06: Spinoff KBR; Times UK
Halliburton to spin off aircraft carrier firm
timesonline.co.uk
Tracey Boles
The Sunday Times - Business
April 16, 2006
"KBR, the American company helping to manage the construction of the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers, is to split from parent company Halliburton, in a $550m (£314m) float.
KBR is the largest military contractor in Iraq, and counts the British government as a key customer. As well as the carrier contract, it is part of a group that recently won an £8 billion deal to rebuild and manage the Salisbury Plain military garrisons.
On Friday KBR filed details of its planned float with American financial regulators.
Halliburton, whose former chairman and chief executive is US Vice-President Dick Cheney, is seeking to raise up to $550m from the spin-off.
The Ministry of Defence is the second-biggest customer of KBR’s government and infrastructure division. KBR is part of a joint venture to refit and maintain Britain’s nuclear- submarine fleet, and has been short-listed for a military supply-ship contract that could be worth more than £2 billion.
About two-thirds of KBR’s $10.1 billion revenues last year was generated by government-related business. Some $5.4 billion came from Iraq, where KBR is the subject of several American government investigations into billing and accounting practices linked to its war-related contracts. The American government’s expected cutback in military spending is cited as a risk factor for prospective investors, as is the possible withdrawal of troops from Iraq."
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