The European Commission announced that following an in-depth review, the Commission has approved the acquisition of Alstom’s energy businesses by General Electric subject to divestment of central parts of Alstom’s heavy duty gas turbines business to Ansaldo.

Following an in-depth review, the Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the energy businesses of Alstom of France by U.S.-based General Electric (GE).

The approval is conditional upon the divestiture of central parts of Alstom’s heavy duty gas turbines business to Ansaldo of Italy. Heavy duty gas turbines are mainly used in gas-fired power plants. The Commission had concerns that the transaction would have eliminated one of the main global competitors of GE in the heavy duty gas turbines market, where GE is the world’s largest manufacturer and Alstom is the number three or four player globally. This would have led to less innovation and higher prices in a market for a technology vital to meeting climate change goals. The commitments offered by GE address these concerns.

Concerning the other businesses that are part of the transaction, namely the thermal power generation businesses (other than gas), grid and renewables, the Commission did not identify any competition concerns essentially because the activities of the two companies are complementary and do not overlap.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “I am glad that we can approve this transaction, which shows that Europe is open for business and that Europe-based technology can thrive and attract foreign investment.

We have had a very close and successful cooperation with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice both as regards the investigation and the analysis of suitable remedies.

Divestment of Alstom’s key technology to produce heavy duty gas turbines to Ansaldo will ensure that European business and consumers continue to benefit from this innovation and know how.

Furthermore, advanced heavy duty gas turbine technology is crucial to face the challenges of climate change and modernising our energy supply. It is the most efficient, cleanest and flexible fossil fuel power generation technology and an important complement to more unpredictable generation from renewables – when the wind stops blowing it is mostly flexible gas-fired plants that can step in.”

Access the full text of European Commission report here.