EU: GE acquisition of Alstom unit red flagged by antitrust regulator

The European Union’s top competition regulator has voiced concerns over General Electric’s proposed $17 billion acquisition of French engineering group Alstom.

The concerns flagged in a list forwarded to the American industrial giant on Friday added to the continued uncertainty around a potentially transformed deal, already fraught with multiple delays.

“We can confirm that we have received a ‘Statement of Objections’ from the European Commission,” GE said in a statement.

It added that the communication from the commission is a standard part of the extended merger review process and that it had already started to discuss potential remedies with the regulator.

The European Commission said the statement of objections was sent to the US multinational company Friday.

In a statement, the commission said its decision to send the list of its concerns was a “standard step” that didn’t prejudge the outcome of its investigation.

GE now has the right to respond to those concerns and can review the material in the EU’s case file which includes possible input from other market participants and request an oral hearing to better make its case.

Full content: Politico

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