By Spencer Jakab 

Nearly everything has gone wrong for General Electric the past few years -- particularly the decisions that can be traced back to longtime boss Jeff Immelt. But it turns out that he was, without meaning to be, a pretty savvy real-estate investor.

Back in 2016, GE announced that it was pulling up stakes in Fairfield, Conn., selling its headquarters complex for $31.5 million. The local tax bill was just too high.

It received tax breaks to build a tower and move its headquarters to Boston. Now that the shrinking company doesn't really need the space -- it has sold business units to repair its damaged balance sheet -- GE sold the parcel where the tower was to be built and made more than $11 million in profit.

Maybe Mr. Immelt was just in the wrong business.

Write to Spencer Jakab at spencer.jakab@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2019 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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