US: GE to pay DoJ over delayed Baker Hughes divestiture

The US Department of Justice has announced that General Electric has agreed to make incentive payments beginning in 2018 until the energy giant completes the worldwide divestiture of its Water & Process Technologies business.

GE agreed to divest GE Water to resolve the Department’s competitive concerns with GE’s acquisition of Baker Hughes Incorporated.

As part of the original proposed settlement filed on June 12, GE committed to divest the worldwide assets of GE Water to SUEZ, a leading global water and waste management company, by approximately the end of September 2017. While GE has divested GE Water assets accounting for approximately 90% of GE Water’s revenues, including all assets in North America, it has not yet transferred to Suez legal title of GE Water assets in certain international jurisdictions due to various administrative challenges.

Delays are likely to push the divestiture in some international jurisdictions into 2018, the US Justice Department said last night. In the meantime, GE has conferred beneficial ownership and operational control of the assets in these jurisdictions to Suez.

Full Content: Reuters

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