France not against General Electric’s bid for Alstom

General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt may be moving closer to pulling off his largest ever acquisition, even after French officials over the weekend urged Alstom to consider a rival offer from Germany’s Siemens.

The French government doesn’t oppose GE’s proposal, and a meeting in Paris between Immelt and President Francois Hollande focused on protecting jobs and maintaining the independence of France’s nuclear industry, according to a source. The state doesn’t favour either bid, the source said.

Siemens’s executive and supervisory boards will convene Tuesday to decide whether to bid for Alstom, following a meeting of CEO Joe Kaeser and Chairman Gerhard Cromme with Hollande, said a source.

The board of Alstom so far prefers GE’s proposal, which is a binding offer, compared with Siemens’s more informal expression of interest, other sources said. However, it is considering Siemens’s offer out of deference to the French government’s wishes, they said.