GE’s $17B bid for Alstom ‘not good enough’
by The Canadian Press
French President Hollande, who is struggling to revive France's industrial base, says the deal must improve
PARIS—French President Francois Hollande says General Electric Co.’s offer for troubled French engineering company Alstom is not good enough and wants the U.S. company to sweeten the deal.
The $17-billion bid for Alstom’s energy division has prompted resistance within the French government, which is struggling to revive the country’s industrial base and stay globally competitive.
Alstom calls GE’s offer “practically perfect” and is ready to accept, but bowed to government pressure to wait amid discussion of other options.
Hollande said on BFM television that the bid is “not good enough today, it’s not acceptable.”
He didn’t reject the idea of a takeover, but instead appeared to be pushing for a better offer. He said that even though the decision is up to Alstom, the government is an Alstom client and “has enough means of pressure to end up with something that is good for Alstom, good for French industry.”
Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg, a leftist firebrand who has vociferously resisted foreign bids for French companies, is proposing a “partnership” instead of a straight buyout.
In a letter to GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Montebourg suggests that GE sell its transport activities to Alstom, while GE buys Alstom’s energy activities.
GE, in a letter to Hollande last week, promised to increase jobs, investment and energy activities in France, not cut them.
