Alstom Sa News

U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co is in advanced talks to buy the global power division of struggling French engineering group Alstom SA for about $13 billion, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Sources said a deal was backed by Alstom's main shareholder, French conglomerate Bouygues with 29 percent, and could be announced in the coming days after an Alstom board meeting on Friday afternoon. The board was due to meet again on Sunday to discuss the transaction, French daily Le Figaro said. "Talks are going ahead swiftly, the deal's structure is defined and everything is almost ready," one of the sources said. Alstom Chief Executive Patrick Kron confirmed to union representatives there were talks about an "industrial deal," but did not name GE.

Electricite de France SA will win government contracts to build wind farms off the French coast, Chief Executive Officer Henri Proglio said during a press meeting in Paris, Bloomberg reports. The French government is scheduled to pick the winners of the off-shore wind farm contracts this week, Industry Minister Eric Besson said yesterday. France’s energy regulator recommended EDF, as well as Alstom SA and Denmark’s Dong Energy A/S to build four of the five planned offshore wind farms, Les Echos reported on March 31. EDF was very aggressive on the price, the newspaper said (Bloomberg).

Alstom SA, the third-largest power-equipment maker, expects higher sales for its wind turbines this year and next, buoyed by growing demand in Brazil and offshore bids in Europe. “We’ve improved all our financial indicators this fiscal year,” ending March, compared with last year, including sales, order intake and operational performance, Alstom renewable unit chief Jerome Pecresse said in a March 15 interview. “We’re seeing strong growth of the Brazilian market this year,” Pecresse said at company headquarters near Paris. “We’re also seeing the pickup of the offshore wind industry in Europe,” which should account for “several gigawatts of new installs per year” within five years. Alstom entered the wind market through the purchase of Spain’s Ecotecnia in 2007.

French shipbuilder Alstom SA will need to set aside at least 20 million euros ($17 million) for claims linked to alleged asbestos poisoning at its Saint Nazaire shipyard, analysts said on Friday. Compensation likely to be demanded following further medical tests on the victims may run to 200,000 French francs ($26,000) per person, according to calculations by financial analysts. The company declined to release its own estimate for how much compensation it would have to pay. "It is first of all a human and legal issue and we are not yet at the point where an estimation can be made," said a company spokesman. But concern the charges will cause a dent in Alstom's cash reserves pushed its shares down 2.14 percent to 32.88 euros in mid-afternoon trading on the Paris bourse.

Alstom SA secured a contract from military shipbuilder Direction des Constructions Navales to help build two military transport vessels for the French armed forces. Alstom's Chantiers de l'Atlantique yard on France's west coast will provide forward accommodation sections for the 200-m ships, designed to transport 450 military personnel. The vessels, to be delivered in the second quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006, would each house six helicopter pads and four smaller barges in which troops would disembark. Alstom did not disclose a price for the contract but said that the work carried out on the two ships would be equivalent to that involved in building one medium-sized cruise ship. - (Reuters)

ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd reportedly received approval from the European Commission to complete a proposed 50-50 joint venture with France's Alstom SA.