French utilities Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) and GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) will join up to build France's second EPR nuclear power reactors.
The Prime Minister's office said Friday that state-controlled EDF will manage have 50% of a joint-venture company created for the project at Penly.
GDF-Suez, in which the state holds a minority stake, will have 33.33% of the joint venture company, the Prime Minister's office said in a statement.
It added that French oil major Total SA (TOT) might take over part of GDF-Suez's stake at some point. Total has said it wants to get involved in the nuclear power industry.
EDF will parcel out the remaining 16.66% that it and GDF Suez don't own at the onset of the joint venture to other electric companies, the statement said.
The EPR reactor is one of the world's most advanced power units and was developed by French nuclear engineering giant Areva SA (CEI.FR). French president Nicolas Sarkozy has said he wants another EPR facility in France, which has a sweeping network of nuclear power plants that account for about 80% of the country's power generation.