GE Agrees to Sell Industrial Unit to ABB for $2.6 Billion -- Update
September 25 2017 - 3:11AM
Dow Jones News
By Dana Mattioli and Thomas Gryta
General Electric Co. agreed to sell its industrial-solutions
business to Switzerland's ABB Ltd., a sign that GE's new chief is
moving ahead with efforts to streamline the industrial giant.
ABB will pay for $2.6 billion for the GE unit, which makes
electrical equipment for utilities
John Flannery, who took over as GE's CEO on Aug. 1, has promised
to review the conglomerate's operations and report on his plans by
mid-November. But he isn't waiting to complete that process to sell
the unit or make other changes.
Last week, GE grounded its corporate fleet of jets and is
preparing to sell them. Mr. Flannery also recently delayed part of
GE's new headquarters complex in Boston, a relocation initiated by
his predecessor Jeff Immelt. Mr. Flannery is also moving
aggressively to cut costs and trim corporate staff.
GE plans to take out $2 billion in cost by the end of 2018, it
has said, and Mr. Flannery is reviewing all aspects of the
company.
GE's industrial solutions business was started around 130 years
ago when Thomas Edison patented the first circuit breaker,
according to the company's website. The ABB deal includes a
long-term right to use the GE brand.
The business supplies equipment to the electrical-distribution
and grid industries. The unit has about 13,000 employees and had
$2.7 billion in revenue in 2016.
ABB expects to save $200 million in annual costs in the fifth
year after the deal closes.
Last year, GE said it would sell the industrial solutions unit,
as well as its water business, in an effort to boost its profit
margins by shrinking its operations. In March, GE struck a deal to
sell the water business to France's Suez SA and one of Canada's
largest pension funds for around $3.4 billion.
The industrial solutions sales process took longer than deal
makers expected. After negotiating with strategic companies for
months, GE disrupted the process and had private-equity firms take
a look at the unit as well, people familiar with the matter have
said.
Zurich-based ABB has a market value of $50 billion. The company
has a vast array of products, ranging from motors and generators to
semiconductors.
Write to Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com and Thomas Gryta
at thomas.gryta@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 25, 2017 02:56 ET (06:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024