GE offer for Alstom has improved, French official says

U.S. conglomerate General Electric has improved its offer for French train and turbine maker Alstom, notably concerning the impact on jobs, an official at French President Francois Hollande's office said on Wednesday. The comments, which followed a meeting between Hollande and GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt, signaled a change of tone from Paris. The French government had until now criticized GE's $16.9 billion bid for Alstom's power arm and earlier this month passed a decree giving itself an effective veto on any deal. He also said GE was considering a tie-up in rail signaling that would give Alstom control of that business, addressing government concerns that a straight sale of the power business would weaken the once-bailed out engineering group by reducing it to its smaller transport arm.

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