GE boss to meet EU antitrust chief probing Alstom deal - source

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - General Electric's (GE.N) CEO will meet Europe's antitrust chief on Tuesday, according to a source, in what is expected to be a push for unconditional EU approval for its 12.4-billion-euro (£9.1 billion) bid for an Alstom (ALSO.PA) business.

Jeff Immelt will meet European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Tuesday afternoon, said the source, declining to provide details.

Commission spokeswoman Lucia Caudet confirmed the meeting: "Commissioner Vestager will meet Mr Immelt tomorrow as part of the Commission's ongoing merger review."

GE is seeking to convince the Commission to approve its proposal to buy French company Alstom's power equipment business, without having to make concessions, other sources told Reuters.

GE has until next month to offer concessions if it cannot convince the EU enforcer.

The EU's competition authority, which is due to decide on the deal by Aug. 6, has warned of possible price rises because the merger would remove one of GE's three main rivals in the manufacturing of heavy-duty turbines for gas-fired power plants.

The two companies compete with Germany's Siemens (SIEGn.DE) and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, a joint venture formed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Hitachi . Italian peer Ansaldo (STS.MI) is seen as a niche player.

Immelt met EU energy chief Arias Canete, EU internal market chief Elzbieta Bienkowska and EU research and science chief Carlos Moedas in Strasbourg last week.

Speaking to analysts on a conference call last month, the CEO said his company expected the Alstom deal to close in the second half of the year and backed it as a "good strategic and financial fit". But he said that, like any deal, "if this one ever would become unattractive, we wouldn't do it".

The Alstom deal, which would be the biggest acquisition in GE's history, stands to expand GE's installed base of power turbines, which would allow the U.S. company to earn more revenue from servicing the equipment.

GE has said it expected Alstom to add about 1 cent per share in earnings this year, and between 6 cents to 9 cents in 2016. Those earnings could be even more important given GE's new plan to divest most of its finance assets over the next few years.

GE has a chequered history with the Commission, the EU executive, which blocked its planned $42 billion takeover of Honeywell International (HON.N) in 2001 but has since cleared more than 50 deals.

(Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Editing by Jan Strupczewski, Pravin Char and David Clarke)