General Electric's chief executive expressed confidence that the firm's takeover of a French power company will go through despite resistance.
At GE's Electrical Products Group Conference in Longboat Key, Florida, CEO Jeff Immelt said "we've done this before" when asked by an analyst whether the company's bid to buy France's Alstom had become a "s--- show."
"We like this deal and we're confident in the deal," Immelt said. "There is a win here for GE, there is a win here for Alstom and there is a win here for France."
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The deal was front and center at the meeting with analysts. Immelt even greeted the group with a "bonjour."
While Alstom's board has approved GE's binding offer of $13.5 billion for the French company's power business, the French government's been less enthusiastic and is threatening to block the deal if concessions are not made. Germany's Siemens is expected to be in the running as well.
Immelt described the ongoing talks with the government as "constructive." He also repeated he expects the deal to close next year.
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Other headlines from Immelt's presentation:
- The company is on track for an initial public offering in the third quarter of its retail finance business.
- There are no changes to the company's forecast for the year.
- He said the company is still bullish on the emerging markets and the U.S. environment is getting better.
