General Electric drops out of bidding for Ansaldo STS
General Electric, the US-listed, Connecticut-based conglomerate, has dropped out of the bidding for Ansaldo STS, the listed, Italian manufacturer of railway signaling equipment.
According to Italian-language daily Il Sole 24 Ore's report, which cited financial sources, GE could have made the move to focus on its bid for listed, French, defence group Alstom. However, the article added that GE could rejoin the bidding at a later stage.
The item said that the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi is also believed to have pulled out.
The report also claimed that the sale of Ansaldo STS and rolling stock manufacturer Ansaldo Breda by listed, Italian, defence group Finmeccanica has been stalled currently due to the replacement of Alessandro Pansa as CEO by Mauro Moretti. However, the item said that the sales process is likely to resume shortly.
The report said that French defence group Thales and Canadian rolling stock manufacturer Bombardier are now believed to be the two keenest suitors for Ansaldo STS and Ansaldo Breda. The item added that Chinese groups CNR Corporation and Insigma are also believed to be interested in the two units.
Source Il Sole 24 Ore