OTTAWA - The lengthy saga of a one-time crown jewel of Canadian technology appears nearly over.
Reports say the federal government is poised to announce the sale of AECL to Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group (TSX:SNC).
The company won't confirm reports of an impending sale, but negotiators are apparently working out the final details of the deal.
AECL has had billions of dollars of government support and faced major cost overruns at key projects in recent years, while failing to find an international partner in sale talks.
In May 2009, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government announced plans to spin off AECL's profitable commercial reactor business from its problem-plagued research division.
SNC-Lavalin emerged as the sole bidder to meet Ottawa's conditions for buying the financially troubled Crown corporation.
