GE to base its renewables unit in France - Alstom chief
PARIS, March 11 (Reuters) - General Electric Co will base its renewable energy unit in Paris and put a Frenchman in charge of the division after it completes the purchase of the energy activities of France's Alstom, Alstom chief Patrick Kron said on Wednesday.
As part of the 12.35 billion euro ($13.07 billion) takeover, to be finalised mid-2015, GE had pledged to put its global headquarters for grids, offshore wind, hydro and steam turbines in France, in a nod to the French government anxious about seeing French jobs going abroad.
"With regard to its commitments in terms of headquarters, General Electric will go above and beyond its commitments," Kron told a French parliament hearing.
Kron said GE's new renewables division will be headed by Jerome Pecresse, the current head of Alstom Renewable Power.
Kron also said he was not worried about the outcome of a European Commission antitrust investigation into the deal as the European gas turbine market would remain highly competitive after the GE-Alstom transaction.
"Alstom has sold three gas turbines in Europe in the past five years ... I do not think that the GE alliance will upset this European market which is totally dead anyway," he said.
European utilities are mothballing dozens of gas-fired power plants as they can no longer compete with cheap coal-fired plants and subsidised renewables.
($1 = 0.9452 euros) (Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Mark Potter)
