EU Restarts Clock on Its Review of General Electric's Alstom Merger

By Tom Fairless

BRUSSELS--Antitrust regulators in Europe said Tuesday they had restarted their investigation of General Electric Co's (GE) $17 billion acquisition of Alstom SA's (ALO.FR) power business following a two week pause, after receiving information they had requested to conclude the case.

"We have now received the information requested from the parties," the European Commission, the bloc's top antitrust regulator, said in a statement.

The commission opened an in-depth investigation into the deal in February, warning it could lead to higher prices for heavy-duty gas turbines. The merger would reduce the number of suppliers of such turbines in Europe from three to two, including Germany's Siemens AG (SI), the commission said.

GE has not yet submitted any remedies aimed at assuaging regulators' concerns, and its Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said in April that he wouldn't do a deal at any price.

However, a senior GE executive said Monday that the firm was willing to make concessions to win approval for the deal. GE power and water Chief Executive Steve Bolze said the lengthy regulatory process was taking its toll on the French unit's business, but he said any concessions must preserve the deal's value.

The new deadline for a decision by EU regulators is Aug. 21, six weeks later than the initial deadline of July 8.

Write to Tom Fairless at [e-mail]

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