Alstom Confirms Talks with US Department of Justice Are Ongoing

By Inti Landauro

PARIS--Alstom SA (ALO.FR) confirmed on Wednesday that talks with the U.S. Department of Justice are ongoing after people familiar with the matter said Tuesday the company was close to sealing a deal with U.S. prosecutors to pay a $700 million fine.

"Further to recent press reports, Alstom confirms the existence of discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice with respect to its current investigations," the French engineering company said in a statement.

The company will provide further information "in due course," the statement added.

A settlement of that size would be the largest ever related to foreign bribery allegations between a corporation and the Justice Department.

The settlement talks come as General Electric Co. (GE) is closing its purchase of the bulk of the French company, which has faced a number of bribery investigations around the world in recent years.

--Joel Schectman, Rachel Louise Ensign and Andrew Grossman contributed to this article.

Write to Inti Landauro at [e-mail]

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