General Electric (GE)

[millionairemind]

This stock has not seen its price high since Jack left..

Keeps selling units to prop up the numbers might not be a good idea over the long term

GE Second-Quarter Profit Falls 3.9%, Meets Estimates (Update1)

By Rachel Layne

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co.'s second-quarter profit fell 3.9 percent, matching analysts' estimates on a per- share basis after a surprise earnings slump in the year's first three months that hurt its stock price.

Profit from continuing operations was $5.39 billion, or 54 cents a share, compared with $5.61 billion, or 54 cents, a year earlier, the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company said today in a statement. Sales rose 11 percent to $46.9 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt is selling slower- growing units to help prop the stock, which has fallen 25 percent since a surprise drop in first-quarter profit. Earlier today he agreed to sell GE's consumer-lending operations in Japan for about $5.4 billion, one day after saying he will pursue the spinoff of GE's consumer lighting and electrical switches business in addition to the century-old appliances unit.

``That number is quite good, actually,'' James Hardesty, president of Hardesty Capital Management in Baltimore, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television after the results. ``A flat year in the second quarter is an exceptional performance given the underlying conditions'' in financial markets.

In the quarter, higher sales of energy equipment and service contracts and helped temper declining profit in finance. Immelt repeated the 2008 profit forecast for $2.20 to $2.30 a share.

GE, the world's biggest maker of power-plant turbines, jet engines and medical imaging equipment, plunged the most since 1987 on April 11, when Immelt said 2008 profit would grow less than he previously predicted. GE rose 45 cents to $27.64 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

``Certainly the guidance was ratcheted down for the rest of the year as a result of that first quarter, and it's safe to say management was under some pressure to not disappoint again,'' William Batcheller, who helps manage $85 million including GE shares with Butler Wick & Co. from Youngstown, Ohio, told Bloomberg Radio today.

[kennynah]

GE to sell Japanese consumer finance business to Shinsei Bank for $5.4 Bln - Update
7/11/2008 11:40 AM ET

(RTTNews) - GE Money, the consumer financial services unit of industrial conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE: News, Chart, Quote ), said on Friday that it has agreed to sell its Japanese consumer finance business to Japan-based Shinsei Bank for $5.4 billion, or 580 billion yen. The company noted that the transaction would allow it to redeploy capital to areas that will generate strong sustainable long-term growth and returns for its shareholders.

GE Money's consumer finance business includes the Lake personal loan business, wholly-owned credit cards and mortgages under GE Consumer Finance Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries. GE expects to complete the transaction in the third quarter of 2008, subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

The deal puts an end to GE's efforts over the past one year to pull out of consumer lending in Japan, where tighter government regulation and sluggish economic growth has eroded industry profits and led to industry consolidation.

((truncated))

[millionairemind]

General Electric forges ties with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala
By Sameera Anand | 23 July 2008

GE will partner with the sovereign wealth fund in areas such as clean energy, aviation and financial services, in a deal that will make Mubadala a top 10 shareholder in GE.

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Company and General Electric yesterday announced a business cooperation agreement spanning several areas, including an $8 billion commercial finance joint venture.

Mubadala, which is characterised as a sovereign wealth fund, also plans to become a long-term shareholder in GE. “The expectation is that Mubadala will become one of GE’s top 10 institutional investors through the open market, as conditions allow,” Mubadala and GE said in a joint statement. No further financial details were disclosed. GE’s shares closed at $27.69 on Monday after falling 1.11%.

Over the next three years, the two firms will invest $4 billion of equity each to create a jointly owned global commercial financial services business, headquartered in Abu Dhabi. The company will start business in one year. For GE, the JV will provide better access to opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, while Mubadala will gain access to GE’s commercial finance capabilities. The business will initially focus on investment opportunities generated through GE Capital’s existing origination capacity, with targeted assets in excess of $40 billion.

GE and Mubadala will also establish a clean energy technology centre located in Masdar City, a new city in Abu Dhabi which is Mubadala’s alternative energy initiative. Also housed in the Masdar facility will be a new corporate learning programme for which GE will manage the curriculum, courses and instructors.

GE will also commit up to $50 million to Masdar’s second Clean-Tech Fund, while Mubadala will invest up to $200 million in GE Industrial Investment Partners – a new partnership of select global investors that will focus on providing growth capital to companies in the healthcare, energy and transportation industries.

GE and Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT), Mubadala’s Middle Eastern aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul company, will work together to enable ADAT to support the large and growing number of GE aircraft in service in the region.

“This partnership is consistent with our global growth initiatives and builds on our long-term relationships in a high-growth region like the Middle East,” says Jeff Immelt, GE's chairman and CEO. “We can use our unique financial and industrial capabilities to establish profitable relationships across a number of businesses and we welcome them as a long-term shareholder.”

GE has a stated focus on the region and registered revenues of over $5 billion in the Middle East in 2007, an increase of 50% over 2006.

GE and Mubadala have been working together for more than four years and currently jointly manage an infrastructure fund (Mubadala Infrastructure Partners) that invests in major projects in the region. GE is also an anchor partner in the Masdar initiative.

Mubadala is a sovereign wealth fund headquartered in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. It manages a multi-billion dollar portfolio of local, regional, and international investments, projects and initiatives. Mubadala’s sole shareholder is the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

[winston]

Not vested.

GE slashes profit outlook
Friday, September 26, 2008

General Electric has slashed its profit forecast and warned the turmoil in global credit markets could drive its earnings down as much as 12 percent.

The news confirmed Wall Street's fears that the credit crunch would hammer GE's finance arm. Investors had sold the stock heavily over the past two weeks, sending GE shares to five-year lows and cutting its market value by 33 percent for the year.

Investors feared the news could be the start of a surge of profit warnings.

GE said it will earn between 43 US cents (HK$3.35) and 48 US cents a share in the third quarter, down from a previous outlook of 50 US cents to 54 US cents. It forecast full-year earnings of US$19.5 billion to US$21 billion, down from expectations of US$22 billion to US$23 billion.

REUTERS

[iam802]

Wonder how is GE going to turnaround media companies. These are also another class of dinosaurs, their business model have not been able to catch up with privacy and the digital revolution.

Do note Jeff Immelt also said about interest in infrastucture, oil-n-gas and aviation.

------------------------------


GE chief signals appetite for media assets

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cbcc89e2-b42b ... ck_check=1

By Justin Baer, Kenneth Li, Francesco Guerrera and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in New York
Published: November 16 2008 23:35 | Last updated: November 16 2008 23:35

Jeffrey Immelt has declared his interest in buying media assets in a sign that a slumping economy has not shaken General Electric’s confidence in its television and film business, NBC Universal.

Media stocks have plunged this year amid concern the financial crisis will weigh heavily on companies dependent on advertising revenue and consumer spending.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Immelt, GE chief executive, said the company had the resources to capitalise on bargains as it wades through the downturn.

“There are going to be some opportunities in media consolidation, in infrastructure, oil and gas, aviation,” Mr Immelt said. “And my hope is that we can play in some of those as time goes on.”

Mr Immelt’s stated willingness to expand his media business comes as Vivendi, which owns 20 per cent of NBCU, neared its annual window to exercise a put option that would force GE to buy back the stake.

In spite of repeated statements by GE executives that they would not sell NBCU, some investors and industry insiders remain convinced that Vivendi might trigger the put just to force GE’s hand on its commitment to the media company.

They reason that GE would rather sell all of NBCU than tie up cash to a business that does not fit within the conglomerate’s sprawling portfolio of industrial and financial businesses.

“They are, and continue to be, great partners,” GE said, declining to comment on Vivendi’s put.

People familiar with the company’s plans told the Financial Times last year that GE would decide NBCU’s fate only after this summer’s Beijing Olympics, whose US TV rights were owned by the network. The games delivered, helping lift NBCU’s third-quarter profit by 10 per cent.

NBCU was part of the consortium that bought the Weather Channel this year.

GE sold $15bn in preferred and common stock last month to keep its triple A debt ratings and help its financial arm replace any funding sources lost during the deepening credit crisis. As the financial crisis subsides and markets stabilise, the company might use some of the stockpiled cash for acquisitions.

Mr Immelt has said he aims to limit the financial arm, GE Capital, to about 40 per cent of the company’s total profits. GE Capital’s share could decline further if the company’s investments in infrastructure and media businesses accelerate.

People close to Vivendi and GE said the two companies’ estimated value of NBC Universal remained far apart, complicating either an exercise of the put option or even a bid for a larger stake.

A person close to the French group says the 20 per cent stake could command an $8bn price. One banker countered: “You could barely get to $6bn.”

Jean-Bernard Lévy, chief executive of Vivendi, told the FT earlier this year that it was not a short-term seller of the stake, but added: “One day we will probably decide to exit.”

Vivendi declined comment, but it is understood to be reluctant to sell at current depressed valuations.

Vivendi’s annual exercise period runs from November 15 through the first Friday of December, between 2007 and 2016, according to Bernstein Research. GE in turn owns a call option to force a repurchase of Vivendi’s stake in May of each year between 2011 and 2017 with a floor price of $8.3bn. That price increases each year from May 2009 based on the US Consumer Price Index, according to Vivendi.

[kennynah]

GE Dips In Pre-Market On Reports Of Talks With Adding Foreign Sovereign Wealth Fund Investors
11/20/2008 8:39 AM ET

(RTTNews) - General Electric (GE: News ) slid in pre-market trading, on reports that the company is in talks with foreign sovereign wealth funds to add investors.

The stock was down 33 cents just after 8:35 am ET, slipping to $14.12. If pre-market losses hold, the stock will open at multi-year low.

General Electric is in talks with foreign sovereign wealth funds on a possible equity holding and joint operations, reports said. The funds include Temasek and GIC of Singapore as well as CIC and Safe of China.

The report also noted that in Germany, GE is holding discussions to find a partner able to help develop the US group's brands.

[millionairemind]

There we go again.....not sure if our gahmen have learnt the lesson from UBS/CITI/ABC???

Published November 21, 2008

GE in talks with four Asian SWFs: reports
GIC, Temasek, CIC, China Safe being wooed as investors
By SIOW LI SEN

(SINGAPORE) US industrial heavyweight General Electric (GE) is said to be talking to four Asian sovereign wealth funds, including Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) and Temasek Holdings, to rope them in as investors.

China Investment Corp and and China Safe Investments are the other two, Brussels-based GE spokeswoman Elma Peters was reported by Bloomberg as having said yesterday.

A Dow Jones report also said that GIC is in early talks with GE.

Ms Peters confirmed earlier comments by Ferdinando Beccalli-Falco, international head of Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE, reported The Financial Times Deutschland.

GIC spokeswoman Jennifer Lewis declined to comment.

A source said: 'In this environment, everyone comes to talk to GIC, since it has money to invest.'

In September, GIC disclosed a substantial cash hoard, having cut back exposure to equities since mid-2007. It said that cash made up about 7 per cent of its portfolio at end-March.

Based on analysts' estimates of GIC's fund size, cash reserves could be well over US$17 billion, even after GIC invested about US$18 billion in Swiss bank UBS and America's Citigroup in the past year.





GIC executive director Tony Tan said last month that the fund takes a long-term view and will continue to invest in the US.

'In these difficult times, I think one has to have a sense of perspective,' he said. 'All of us are going through difficult times now. But this is not the end of the world. This is not the end of the US as an investment market, we believe. The US will remain, in spite of everything, a resilient and well-diversified economy. And any international investor, including GIC, must still invest in the US.'

Reports yesterday said that GE is seeking to tap investors outside its home market. A recent move was its US$8 billion venture with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co.

Talks with 'a number' of sovereign wealth funds interested in water-technology projects have been held, Steve Bolze, who runs GE's power and water unit, said in a phone interview from Belfort, France.

GE Capital, the lending arm of GE, said this week that it will cut US$2 billion in costs next year as it pares jobs, forms regional units and marks assets such as overseas home mortgages for possible sale amid the global economic crunch. GE Capital accounted for about 45 per cent of GE's profit last year.

GE's stock has fallen about 61 per cent so far this year.

[LenaHuat]

GE Capital accounted for about 45 per cent of GE's profit last year.

I suppose GE Capital has become a drag this year.

[iam802]

So, is it YES...they seek Sovereign-Wealth Investment? Or NO...they did not seek ? Or YES they seek and was rejected..and now..say NO...so that can save face..and even possible sell offs because funds are not touching them

---------------------------------------------

GE Says Not Seeking Sovereign-Wealth Investment

http://www.cnbc.com/id/27820675

U.S. conglomerate General Electric said Thursday it has no intention of raising additional capital from sovereign-wealth funds.

The company is in talks with Asian investment vehicles about possible joint ventures similar to a deal reached earlier this year with Abu Dhabi investment agency Mubadala Development, said GE spokesman Russell Wilkerson.

"With the success of our existing global partnerships, we are always talking to a variety of funds and third parties about new opportunities," Wilkerson said in an email. "We are not talking with any sovereign wealth funds or other global investment funds about a capital investment in the company."

An earlier report in the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper said the company was in talks with Singapore's Temasek and GIC, as well as China's CIC and Safe, about capital investment in GE and joint ventures.

Shares in GE have fallen 61 percent in the past year, and 28.3 percent in the past month.

[ucypmas]

There we go again.....not sure if our gahmen have learnt the lesson from UBS/CITI/ABC???

Don't think so. There's 300 billion left to burn. Go Tony go!