General Electric has revised its offer for French industrial champion Alstom in an attempt to appease government concerns and strike a killer blow against a rival bid by Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
In a significant concession to government demands, GE and Alstom will enter into a 50:50 joint venture for their combined power grid assets and another joint venture containing Alstom’s renewable assets.
There will be a third 50:50 joint venture mainly in nuclear technology, in which the government will get a “golden share” that would grant it a veto. This will “assure security and growth of nuclear steam technology for France”, GE said.