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New York - General Electric on Thursday proposed several industrial alliances and the sale of its signaling business to Alstom as it seeks French government support for its purchase of Alstom's energy assets.
GE, which has bid $17bn for Alstom's power generation business but faces stiff political resistance in Paris to the deal as well as a rival offer from Germany's Siemens, proposed to create three joint-ventures with the French industrial giant in covering the electricity grid, renewables and nuclear equipment businesses.
GE also said it would sell to Alstom its signaling business, which is coveted in the global rail industry. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding for a global alliance in transportation, GE said in a news release.
GE also pledged to create 1 000 high-end jobs in manufacturing and engineering in France over the next three years.
"Our discussions with the French government over the past seven weeks have been productive," said GE chief executive Jeff Immelt.
The proposed joint ventures "will retain and strengthen France's presence in the energy business and reinforce Alstom Transport. It creates jobs, establishes headquarters decision-making in France and ensures that the Alstom name will endure."
Thursday's move marks GE's effort to lock up the Alstom deal after German engineering group Siemens and Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Monday together offered takeover proposal for Alstom that they said was worth €2.0bn ($2.7bn) more than GE's.
