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Alstom to consider $17bn General Electric offer Alstom to consider $17bn General Electric offer
(35 minutes later)
French engineering company Alstom is considering a $16.9bn (£10bn) offer from US firm General Electric (GE) for its energy business.French engineering company Alstom is considering a $16.9bn (£10bn) offer from US firm General Electric (GE) for its energy business.
But the French firm, which also makes TGV high-speed trains, also left the door open to German firm Siemens, which is also interested in its power turbines business. But the French firm said it would be open to a rival bid from German firm Siemens, which is also interested in its power turbines business.
Siemens said it would make an offer if given access to Alstom's books. Siemens has said it would make an offer if given access to Alstom's books.
Both bidders have already met French President Francois Hollande. Both bidders have already met French President Francois Hollande to discuss their potential offers.
GE's chief executive, Jeff Immelt, said he had had a "productive two-way dialogue" with the French government.
"We think we've got a good deal and it's going to be executed," he added.
'Strategic merits'
Alstom said it would use the proceeds of a GE deal to concentrate on the other side of its business, which makes TGV high-speed trains.
In a statement, the French firm said its board recognised "unanimously the strategic and industrial merits" of the GE offer, and that it would make a decision by the end of May.
"Alstom's employees would join a well-known, major global player, with the means to invest in people and technology to support worldwide energy customers over the long term," said Alstom's chairman and chief executive, Patrick Kron.
But the company also said it would give Siemens access to its books so the German firm could weigh up a competing bid.
Alstom has about 93,000 employees in 100 countries around the world, and employs about 18,000 people in France.
The engineering giant had to be bailed out by the French government in 2004, and has suffered heavy debts and a fall in orders over the past decade.